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Leland O'Brien Rubinstein Associates, Inc.: Portfolio Insurance SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of Leland O'Brien Rubinstein Associates, Inc.: Portfolio Insurance


Leland O'Brien Rubinstein Associates, a small financial advisory firm founded in 1980, has created a successful business by selling a product commonly known as portfolio insurance. Portfolio insurance is a trading strategy that institutional investors use to establish a floor on the value of their equity portfolios, by essentially manufacturing a put option on a broad market index. The crash of 1987 highlights the flaws of this manufacturing process and forces principals of LOR to consider what to do next.

Authors :: Peter Tufano, Barbara B. Kyrillos

Topics :: Finance & Accounting

Tags :: Financial markets, Risk management, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "Leland O'Brien Rubinstein Associates, Inc.: Portfolio Insurance" written by Peter Tufano, Barbara B. Kyrillos includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Leland Rubinstein facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Leland O'Brien Rubinstein Associates, Inc.: Portfolio Insurance case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Financial markets, Risk management and Finance & Accounting.


Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Leland O'Brien Rubinstein Associates, Inc.: Portfolio Insurance casestudy better are - – challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, wage bills are increasing, increasing energy prices, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing commodity prices, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, there is backlash against globalization, etc



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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Leland O'Brien Rubinstein Associates, Inc.: Portfolio Insurance


SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Leland O'Brien Rubinstein Associates, Inc.: Portfolio Insurance case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Leland Rubinstein, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Leland Rubinstein operates in.

According to Harvard Business Review, 75% of the managers use SWOT analysis for various purposes such as – evaluating current scenario, strategic planning, new venture feasibility, personal growth goals, new market entry, Go To market strategies, portfolio management and strategic trade-off assessment, organizational restructuring, etc.




SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix


SWOT analysis of Leland O'Brien Rubinstein Associates, Inc.: Portfolio Insurance can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Leland O'Brien Rubinstein Associates, Inc.: Portfolio Insurance case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Leland Rubinstein
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Finance & Accounting field.
4. Making a Finance & Accounting topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Leland Rubinstein




Strengths Leland O'Brien Rubinstein Associates, Inc.: Portfolio Insurance | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Leland Rubinstein in Leland O'Brien Rubinstein Associates, Inc.: Portfolio Insurance Harvard Business Review case study are -

Effective Research and Development (R&D)

– Leland Rubinstein has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in, as mentioned in case study Leland O'Brien Rubinstein Associates, Inc.: Portfolio Insurance - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.

Digital Transformation in Finance & Accounting segment

- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Leland Rubinstein digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Leland Rubinstein has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.

Highly skilled collaborators

– Leland Rubinstein has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive segment. Secondly the value chain collaborators of the firm in Leland O'Brien Rubinstein Associates, Inc.: Portfolio Insurance HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.

Ability to lead change in Finance & Accounting field

– Leland Rubinstein is one of the leading players in its industry. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in its segment but also across the whole industry. The ability to lead change has enabled Leland Rubinstein in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.

High brand equity

– Leland Rubinstein has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Leland Rubinstein to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Finance & Accounting industry

– Leland O'Brien Rubinstein Associates, Inc.: Portfolio Insurance firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Leland Rubinstein to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Leland Rubinstein to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

Innovation driven organization

– Leland Rubinstein is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Leland O'Brien Rubinstein Associates, Inc.: Portfolio Insurance Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.

Ability to recruit top talent

– Leland Rubinstein is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Leland O'Brien Rubinstein Associates, Inc.: Portfolio Insurance are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.

Cross disciplinary teams

– Horizontal connected teams at the Leland Rubinstein are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.

Training and development

– Leland Rubinstein has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Leland O'Brien Rubinstein Associates, Inc.: Portfolio Insurance Harvard Business Review case study by analyzing – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.

Operational resilience

– The operational resilience strategy in the Leland O'Brien Rubinstein Associates, Inc.: Portfolio Insurance Harvard Business Review case study comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.

Low bargaining power of suppliers

– Suppliers of Leland Rubinstein in the sector have low bargaining power. Leland O'Brien Rubinstein Associates, Inc.: Portfolio Insurance has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Leland Rubinstein to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.






Weaknesses Leland O'Brien Rubinstein Associates, Inc.: Portfolio Insurance | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Leland O'Brien Rubinstein Associates, Inc.: Portfolio Insurance are -

Lack of clear differentiation of Leland Rubinstein products

– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Leland Rubinstein needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.

Workers concerns about automation

– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Leland Rubinstein needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.

Ability to respond to the competition

– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Leland O'Brien Rubinstein Associates, Inc.: Portfolio Insurance, in the dynamic environment Leland Rubinstein has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Leland Rubinstein has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.

Aligning sales with marketing

– It come across in the case study Leland O'Brien Rubinstein Associates, Inc.: Portfolio Insurance that the firm needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department in the case Leland O'Brien Rubinstein Associates, Inc.: Portfolio Insurance can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Leland Rubinstein is planning to shift buying processes online.

High dependence on star products

– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Leland O'Brien Rubinstein Associates, Inc.: Portfolio Insurance HBR case study still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Leland Rubinstein has relatively successful track record of launching new products.

High dependence on existing supply chain

– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Leland Rubinstein supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Leland O'Brien Rubinstein Associates, Inc.: Portfolio Insurance, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Leland Rubinstein vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.

Interest costs

– Compare to the competition, Leland Rubinstein has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.

Need for greater diversity

– Leland Rubinstein has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.

No frontier risks strategy

– After analyzing the HBR case study Leland O'Brien Rubinstein Associates, Inc.: Portfolio Insurance, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Finance & Accounting strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.

Slow to harness new channels of communication

– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Leland Rubinstein is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Leland O'Brien Rubinstein Associates, Inc.: Portfolio Insurance can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.

High bargaining power of channel partners

– Because of the regulatory requirements, Peter Tufano, Barbara B. Kyrillos suggests that, Leland Rubinstein is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.




Opportunities Leland O'Brien Rubinstein Associates, Inc.: Portfolio Insurance | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis


The opportunities highlighted in the Harvard Business Review case study Leland O'Brien Rubinstein Associates, Inc.: Portfolio Insurance are -

Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions

– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Leland Rubinstein in the consumer business. Now Leland Rubinstein can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.

Leveraging digital technologies

– Leland Rubinstein can leverage digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the production process, customer analytics to get better insights into consumer behavior, realtime digital dashboards to get better sales tracking, logistics and transportation, product tracking, etc.

Better consumer reach

– The expansion of the 5G network will help Leland Rubinstein to increase its market reach. Leland Rubinstein will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.

Lowering marketing communication costs

– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Leland Rubinstein in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Finance & Accounting segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.

Building a culture of innovation

– managers at Leland Rubinstein can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Finance & Accounting segment.

Identify volunteer opportunities

– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Leland Rubinstein can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of Leland Rubinstein has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Leland Rubinstein to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Leland O'Brien Rubinstein Associates, Inc.: Portfolio Insurance case study. Leland Rubinstein can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.

Increase in government spending

– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Leland Rubinstein can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Leland Rubinstein operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Finance & Accounting sector.

Finding new ways to collaborate

– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Finance & Accounting industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Leland Rubinstein can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.

Low interest rates

– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Leland Rubinstein can still utilize the low interest rates to borrow money for capital investment. Secondly it can also use the increase of government spending in infrastructure projects to get new business.

Buying journey improvements

– Leland Rubinstein can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Leland O'Brien Rubinstein Associates, Inc.: Portfolio Insurance suggest that firm can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.

Developing new processes and practices

– Leland Rubinstein can develop new processes and procedures in Finance & Accounting industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, Leland Rubinstein is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Leland O'Brien Rubinstein Associates, Inc.: Portfolio Insurance case study suggests that firm can utilize new technology to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.




Threats Leland O'Brien Rubinstein Associates, Inc.: Portfolio Insurance External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis


The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Leland O'Brien Rubinstein Associates, Inc.: Portfolio Insurance are -

Capital market disruption

– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of Leland Rubinstein.

Regulatory challenges

– Leland Rubinstein needs to prepare for regulatory challenges as consumer protection groups and other pressure groups are vigorously advocating for more regulations on big business - to reduce inequality, to create a level playing field, to product data privacy and consumer privacy, to reduce the influence of big money on democratic institutions, etc. This can lead to significant changes in the Finance & Accounting industry regulations.

Consumer confidence and its impact on Leland Rubinstein demand

– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in the industry and other sectors.

Trade war between China and United States

– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Leland Rubinstein in the Finance & Accounting industry. The Finance & Accounting industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that Leland Rubinstein is facing in Finance & Accounting sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

Backlash against dominant players

– US Congress and other legislative arms of the government are getting tough on big business especially technology companies. The digital arm of Leland Rubinstein business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.

New competition

– After the dotcom bust of 2001, financial crisis of 2008-09, the business formation in US economy had declined. But in 2020 alone, there are more than 1.5 million new business applications in United States. This can lead to greater competition for Leland Rubinstein in the Finance & Accounting sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

Barriers of entry lowering

– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Leland Rubinstein with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.

Instability in the European markets

– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Leland Rubinstein will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Leland Rubinstein can face downward pressure on margins from increasing competition from international players. The international players have stable revenue in their home market and can use those resources to penetrate prominent markets illustrated in HBR case study Leland O'Brien Rubinstein Associates, Inc.: Portfolio Insurance .

Stagnating economy with rate increase

– Leland Rubinstein can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the field.

Easy access to finance

– Easy access to finance in Finance & Accounting field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Leland Rubinstein can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.

Environmental challenges

– Leland Rubinstein needs to have a robust strategy against the disruptions arising from climate change and energy requirements. EU has identified it as key priority area and spending 30% of its 880 billion Euros European post Covid-19 recovery funds on green technology. Leland Rubinstein can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry.




Weighted SWOT Analysis of Leland O'Brien Rubinstein Associates, Inc.: Portfolio Insurance Template, Example


Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers in the HBR case study Leland O'Brien Rubinstein Associates, Inc.: Portfolio Insurance needs to zero down on the relative importance of each factor mentioned in the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants. We can provide the relative importance to each factor by assigning relative weights. Weighted SWOT analysis process is a three stage process –

First stage for doing weighted SWOT analysis of the case study Leland O'Brien Rubinstein Associates, Inc.: Portfolio Insurance is to rank the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. This will help you to assess the most important strengths and weaknesses of the firm and which one of the strengths and weaknesses mentioned in the initial lists are marginal and can be left out.

Second stage for conducting weighted SWOT analysis of the Harvard case study Leland O'Brien Rubinstein Associates, Inc.: Portfolio Insurance is to give probabilities to the external strategic factors thus better understanding the opportunities and threats arising out of macro environment changes and developments.

Third stage of constructing weighted SWOT analysis of Leland O'Brien Rubinstein Associates, Inc.: Portfolio Insurance is to provide strategic recommendations includes – joining likelihood of external strategic factors such as opportunities and threats to the internal strategic factors – strengths and weaknesses. You should start with external factors as they will provide the direction of the overall industry. Secondly by joining probabilities with internal strategic factors can help the company not only strategic fit but also the most probably strategic trade-off that Leland Rubinstein needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.



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