Ellerston Global Investments (EGI) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources

Introduction to SWOT Analysis

SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Ellerston Global Investments (Australia)

Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Ellerston Global Investments is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – increasing household debt because of falling income levels, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, wage bills are increasing, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, etc

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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Ellerston Global Investments

SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Ellerston Global Investments can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Ellerston Global Investments, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Ellerston Global Investments 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 Ellerston Global Investments can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Ellerston Global Investments
2. Improving business portfolio management of Ellerston Global Investments
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Australia
4. Making a Investment Services sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Ellerston Global Investments

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Strengths of Ellerston Global Investments | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Ellerston Global Investments are -

Effective Research and Development (R&D)

– Ellerston Global Investments has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Ellerston Global Investments staying ahead in the Investment Services industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.

Innovation driven organization

– Ellerston Global Investments is one of the most innovative firm in Investment Services sector.

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Investment Services industry

– Ellerston Global Investments has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Ellerston Global Investments to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Investment Services industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Ellerston Global Investments to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

Low bargaining power of suppliers

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

Organizational Resilience of Ellerston Global Investments

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

Strong track record of project management in the Investment Services industry

– Ellerston Global Investments is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.

Cross disciplinary teams

– Horizontal connected teams at the Ellerston Global Investments 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.

Superior customer experience

– The customer experience strategy of Ellerston Global Investments in Investment Services industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.

Operational resilience

– The operational resilience strategy of Ellerston Global Investments comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Investment 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.

Highly skilled collaborators

– Ellerston Global Investments has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Investment Services industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Ellerston Global Investments have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.

Learning organization

- Ellerston Global Investments 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 Ellerston Global Investments is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Ellerston Global Investments emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

Ability to lead change in Investment Services

– Ellerston Global Investments is one of the leading players in the Investment Services industry in Australia. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Investment Services industry in Australia but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Ellerston Global Investments in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.

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Weaknesses of Ellerston Global Investments | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Ellerston Global Investments are -

High operating costs

– Compare to the competitors, Ellerston Global Investments has high operating costs in the Investment Services industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Ellerston Global Investments lucrative customers.

Aligning sales with marketing

– From the outside it seems that Ellerston Global Investments needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Investment Services industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Ellerston Global Investments can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Ellerston Global Investments is planning to shift buying processes online.

Ability to respond to the competition

– As the decision making is very deliberative at Ellerston Global Investments, in the dynamic environment of Investment Services industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Ellerston Global Investments has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.

Slow to strategic competitive environment developments

– As Ellerston Global Investments is one of the leading players in the Investment Services industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Investment Services industry in last five years.

Capital Spending Reduction

– Even during the low interest decade, Ellerston Global Investments 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 Investment Services industry using digital technology.

Slow decision making process

– As mentioned earlier in the report, Ellerston Global Investments has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the Investment Services industry over the last five years. Ellerston Global Investments even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.

Slow to harness new channels of communication

– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Ellerston Global Investments is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Ellerston Global Investments to provide better information regarding Investment Services products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.

High cash cycle compare to competitors

Ellerston Global Investments has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Investment 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.

Need for greater diversity

– Ellerston Global Investments 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.

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

Skills based hiring in Investment Services industry

– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Ellerston Global Investments 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.

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Ellerston Global Investments Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The opportunities of Ellerston Global Investments are -

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, Ellerston Global Investments is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Ellerston Global Investments can utilize new technology in the field of Investment Services industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.

Learning at scale

– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Ellerston Global Investments 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.

Building a culture of innovation

– managers at Ellerston Global Investments 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 Investment Services industry.

Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Investment Services industry

– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Ellerston Global Investments in the Investment Services industry. Now Ellerston Global Investments can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.

Loyalty marketing

– Ellerston Global Investments has focused on building a highly responsive customer relationship management platform. This platform is built on in-house data and driven by analytics and artificial intelligence. The customer analytics can help the organization to fine tune its loyalty marketing efforts, increase the wallet share of the organization, reduce wastage on mainstream advertising spending, build better pricing strategies using personalization, etc.

Low interest rates

– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Ellerston Global Investments 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.

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of Ellerston Global Investments has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Investment Services industry. This can help Ellerston Global Investments to build a more holistic ecosystem for Ellerston Global Investments products in the Investment Services industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.

Using analytics as competitive advantage

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

Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19

– consumer behavior has changed in the Investment Services industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Ellerston Global Investments 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. Ellerston Global Investments 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.

Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities

– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Ellerston Global Investments to expand its talent hiring zone. According to McKinsey Global Institute, 20% of the high end workforce in fields such as finance, information technology, can continously work from remote local post Covid-19. This presents a really great opportunity for Ellerston Global Investments to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.

Buying journey improvements

– Ellerston Global Investments can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Investment Services industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. It 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.

Better consumer reach

– The expansion of the 5G network will help Ellerston Global Investments to increase its market reach. Ellerston Global Investments 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.

Reforming the budgeting process

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

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Threats Ellerston Global Investments External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The threats of Ellerston Global Investments are -

Trade war between China and United States

– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Ellerston Global Investments in Investment Services industry. The Investment Services 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.

Easy access to finance

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

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that Ellerston Global Investments is facing in Investment Services 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 Ellerston Global Investments business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Ellerston Global Investments may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Investment Services sector.

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.

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. Ellerston Global Investments needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Investment Services industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.

Stagnating economy with rate increase

– Ellerston Global Investments 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 Investment Services industry.

Barriers of entry lowering

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

Consumer confidence and its impact on Ellerston Global Investments 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 Investment Services industry and other sectors.

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

– Ellerston Global Investments has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Investment Services industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Ellerston Global Investments needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Investment 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.

Increasing wage structure of Ellerston Global Investments

– 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 Ellerston Global Investments.

Environmental challenges

– Ellerston Global Investments 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. Ellerston Global Investments can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Investment Services industry.

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Weighted SWOT Analysis of Ellerston Global Investments Template, Example

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

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