Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust (HAST) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources

Introduction to SWOT Analysis

SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust (United Kingdom)

Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, geopolitical disruptions, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, there is backlash against globalization, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing commodity prices, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, etc

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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust

SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust 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.

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SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix

SWOT analysis of Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust
2. Improving business portfolio management of Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in United Kingdom
4. Making a Misc. Financial Services sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust

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Strengths of Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust are -

Digital Transformation in Misc. Financial Services industry

- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust 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.

Operational resilience

– The operational resilience strategy of Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Misc. Financial Services 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.

High brand equity

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

Training and development

– Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust has one of the best training and development program in Financial industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.

Organizational Resilience of Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust

– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.

Highly skilled collaborators

– Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Misc. Financial Services industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.

Successful track record of launching new products

– Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Misc. Financial Services industry

– Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Misc. Financial Services industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

Low bargaining power of suppliers

– Suppliers of Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust in the Financial sector have low bargaining power. Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.

Learning organization

- Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust 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 Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

Superior customer experience

– The customer experience strategy of Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust in Misc. Financial Services industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.

Analytics focus

– Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust is putting a lot of focus on utilizing the power of analytics in business decision making. This has put it among the leading players in the Misc. Financial Services industry. The technology infrastructure of United Kingdom is also helping it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.

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Weaknesses of Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust are -

Skills based hiring in Misc. Financial Services industry

– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust 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.

Capital Spending Reduction

– Even during the low interest decade, Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the Misc. Financial Services industry using digital technology.

Need for greater diversity

– Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust 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.

Employees’ less understanding of Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust strategy

– From the outside it seems that the employees of Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.

Compensation and incentives

– The revenue per employee of Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust is just above the Misc. Financial Services industry average. It 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.

Low market penetration in new markets

– Outside its home market of United Kingdom, Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.

Interest costs

– Compare to the competition, Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust 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.

Increasing silos among functional specialists

– The organizational structure of Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Misc. Financial Services industry, but Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust to focus more on services in the Misc. Financial Services industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.

High cash cycle compare to competitors

Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Misc. Financial Services industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.

High operating costs

– Compare to the competitors, Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust has high operating costs in the Misc. Financial Services industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust lucrative customers.

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 Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.

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Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The opportunities of Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust are -

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 Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust 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.

Better consumer reach

– The expansion of the 5G network will help Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust to increase its market reach. Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust 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.

Using analytics as competitive advantage

– Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Misc. Financial Services sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.

Reforming the budgeting process

- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.

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. Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust 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 Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Misc. Financial Services industry. This can help Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust to build a more holistic ecosystem for Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust products in the Misc. Financial Services industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.

Learning at scale

– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust to conduct training and development for its employees across the world. This will result in not only reducing the cost of training but also help employees in different part of the world to integrate with the headquarter work culture, ethos, and standards.

Developing new processes and practices

– Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust can develop new processes and procedures in Misc. Financial Services 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, Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust can utilize new technology in the field of Misc. Financial Services industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.

Leveraging digital technologies

– Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust 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.

Finding new ways to collaborate

– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Misc. Financial Services industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.

Building a culture of innovation

– managers at Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust 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 Misc. Financial Services industry.

Low interest rates

– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust 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.

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Threats Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The threats of Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust are -

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust 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 Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust prominent markets.

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.

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

– Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Misc. Financial Services industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Misc. Financial Services 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.

Environmental challenges

– Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust 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. Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Misc. Financial Services industry.

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 Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust in the Misc. Financial Services sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

High dependence on third party suppliers

– Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.

Stagnating economy with rate increase

– Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust 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 Misc. Financial Services industry.

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. Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Misc. Financial Services industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.

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 Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust.

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust is facing in Misc. Financial Services sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

Increasing wage structure of Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust

– Post Covid-19 there is a sharp increase in the wages especially in the jobs that require interaction with people. The increasing wages can put downward pressure on the margins of Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust.

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.

Regulatory challenges

– Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust 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 Misc. Financial Services industry regulations.

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Weighted SWOT Analysis of Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust Template, Example

Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust 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 Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust 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 Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust 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 Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust 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 Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.

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