KBC Alternative Investment Management (A): Convertible Bond Arbitrage SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Finance & Accounting
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of KBC Alternative Investment Management (A): Convertible Bond Arbitrage
Case A: To extract cheap volatility in Duke Energy convertible bonds, Mark Punt, a convertible arbitrageur at KBC AIM, purchases the bonds and delta hedges them with a short position in the company's shares. To manage the credit risk of his long convertible bond position, Mark faces a choice of hedging with CDS, shares of the company or out-of-the-money puts on the company's stock. Key to his hedging strategy is an understanding of the observed negative correlation between credit spreads and share prices for Duke Energy.
Swot Analysis of "KBC Alternative Investment Management (A): Convertible Bond Arbitrage" written by Lucie Tepla includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Convertible Kbc facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in KBC Alternative Investment Management (A): Convertible Bond Arbitrage case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Finance & Accounting.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the KBC Alternative Investment Management (A): Convertible Bond Arbitrage casestudy better are - – supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing transportation and logistics costs, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, technology disruption, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models,
increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, wage bills are increasing, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of KBC Alternative Investment Management (A): Convertible Bond Arbitrage
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in KBC Alternative Investment Management (A): Convertible Bond Arbitrage case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Convertible Kbc, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Convertible Kbc 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 KBC Alternative Investment Management (A): Convertible Bond Arbitrage can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in KBC Alternative Investment Management (A): Convertible Bond Arbitrage case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Convertible Kbc
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 Convertible Kbc
Strengths KBC Alternative Investment Management (A): Convertible Bond Arbitrage | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Convertible Kbc in KBC Alternative Investment Management (A): Convertible Bond Arbitrage Harvard Business Review case study are -
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Finance & Accounting industry
– KBC Alternative Investment Management (A): Convertible Bond Arbitrage firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Convertible Kbc to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Convertible Kbc to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Digital Transformation in Finance & Accounting segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Convertible Kbc digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Convertible Kbc 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Convertible Kbc is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the KBC Alternative Investment Management (A): Convertible Bond Arbitrage are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the KBC Alternative Investment Management (A): Convertible Bond Arbitrage 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.
Learning organization
- Convertible Kbc is a learning organization. It has inculcated three key characters of learning organization in its processes and operations – exploration, creativity, and expansiveness. The work place at Convertible Kbc is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in KBC Alternative Investment Management (A): Convertible Bond Arbitrage Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Organizational Resilience of Convertible Kbc
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Convertible Kbc does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Convertible Kbc has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
High brand equity
– Convertible Kbc has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Convertible Kbc to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Convertible Kbc in the sector have low bargaining power. KBC Alternative Investment Management (A): Convertible Bond Arbitrage has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Convertible Kbc to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Training and development
– Convertible Kbc has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in KBC Alternative Investment Management (A): Convertible Bond Arbitrage 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Convertible Kbc is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in KBC Alternative Investment Management (A): Convertible Bond Arbitrage Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Convertible Kbc 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.
Weaknesses KBC Alternative Investment Management (A): Convertible Bond Arbitrage | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of KBC Alternative Investment Management (A): Convertible Bond Arbitrage are -
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Lucie Tepla suggests that, Convertible Kbc 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Convertible Kbc 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Convertible Kbc 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study KBC Alternative Investment Management (A): Convertible Bond Arbitrage, 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Convertible Kbc is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Finance & Accounting segment. Convertible Kbc needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Convertible Kbc to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As KBC Alternative Investment Management (A): Convertible Bond Arbitrage HBR case study mentions - Convertible Kbc takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Convertible Kbc, firm in the HBR case study KBC Alternative Investment Management (A): Convertible Bond Arbitrage needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Convertible Kbc has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Convertible Kbc has some of the most successful products in the industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. firm in the HBR case study - KBC Alternative Investment Management (A): Convertible Bond Arbitrage should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study KBC Alternative Investment Management (A): Convertible Bond Arbitrage, is just above the industry average. Convertible Kbc needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the KBC Alternative Investment Management (A): Convertible Bond Arbitrage 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 Convertible Kbc has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Opportunities KBC Alternative Investment Management (A): Convertible Bond Arbitrage | 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 KBC Alternative Investment Management (A): Convertible Bond Arbitrage are -
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Finance & Accounting industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Convertible Kbc can take advantage of these changes in consumer behavior to build a far more efficient business model. For example consumer regular ordering of products can reduce both last mile delivery costs and market penetration costs. Convertible Kbc can further use this consumer data to build better customer loyalty, provide better products and service collection, and improve the value proposition in inflationary times.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Convertible Kbc 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Convertible Kbc can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. KBC Alternative Investment Management (A): Convertible Bond Arbitrage 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Convertible Kbc has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Convertible Kbc to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the KBC Alternative Investment Management (A): Convertible Bond Arbitrage case study. Convertible Kbc can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Convertible Kbc is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. KBC Alternative Investment Management (A): Convertible Bond Arbitrage 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Convertible Kbc has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in the sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled, as illustrated in the Harvard case study KBC Alternative Investment Management (A): Convertible Bond Arbitrage - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Convertible Kbc to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Convertible Kbc to increase its market reach. Convertible Kbc 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Convertible Kbc can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Convertible Kbc operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Finance & Accounting sector.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Convertible Kbc 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.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Convertible Kbc to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Convertible Kbc 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Convertible Kbc can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Convertible Kbc can build a diversified supply chain model across various countries in - South East Asia, India, and other parts of the world. This reconfiguration of global supply chain can help, as suggested in case study, KBC Alternative Investment Management (A): Convertible Bond Arbitrage, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Threats KBC Alternative Investment Management (A): Convertible Bond Arbitrage External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study KBC Alternative Investment Management (A): Convertible Bond Arbitrage are -
High level of anxiety and lack of motivation
– the Great Resignation in United States is the sign of broader dissatisfaction among the workforce in United States. Convertible Kbc needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Finance & Accounting industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Convertible Kbc 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 KBC Alternative Investment Management (A): Convertible Bond Arbitrage .
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Convertible Kbc has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Finance & Accounting industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Convertible Kbc needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Finance & Accounting sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Convertible Kbc 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. Convertible Kbc can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Aging population
– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study KBC Alternative Investment Management (A): Convertible Bond Arbitrage, Convertible Kbc may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Finance & Accounting .
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. Convertible Kbc 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Convertible Kbc 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.
Environmental challenges
– Convertible Kbc 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. Convertible Kbc can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Convertible Kbc is facing in Finance & Accounting sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, 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 Convertible Kbc in the Finance & Accounting sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc
– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of KBC Alternative Investment Management (A): Convertible Bond Arbitrage 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 KBC Alternative Investment Management (A): Convertible Bond Arbitrage 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 KBC Alternative Investment Management (A): Convertible Bond Arbitrage 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 KBC Alternative Investment Management (A): Convertible Bond Arbitrage 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 KBC Alternative Investment Management (A): Convertible Bond Arbitrage 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 Convertible Kbc needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.