Raymond James Financial SWOT and PESTLE Analysis

Strength

1. Recent mergers and acquisitions: The Recent acquisition of Deutsche Bank AG’s U.S. Private Client Services unit and MacDougall, MacDougall & MacTier Inc. added 265 advisors with approximately $50 billion in client assets and significantly enhanced their strategic positioning in both US and Canada.Also, it united with Morgan Keegan to become one of the largest wealth management and investment banking firms in the country not headquartered on Wall Street.The combined entity comprises approximately 6,500 financial advisors in 2,600 locations throughout the United States, Canada and overseas, along with total client assets of approximately $372 billion.

2. Diverse business services offered: Raymond James Financial has built its expertise at entering new markets and being success in those ventures. The company offers diverse business services like Financial services, asset management, securities and insurance brokerage, investment banking, banking and cash management, trust services. This has helped the company to build new revenue stream and diversify the economic cycle risk in the markets it operates in. Also over the years, RJF has invested in creating a strong brand portfolio for itself, which is key to expand into new product categories in future.

3. Fortune 500 company-Rank 482:In addition to extending its naming rights deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ stadium, Raymond James has added its brand to the Fortune 500 roster. Achieving a record net revenue of $5.40 billion and net income of $529 million in 2016, Raymond James Financial is expanding its locations in the Northeast and Midwest.Also, the earning per share(diluted) of $3.65 in 2016 increased by 6% from $3.43 in 2015.

Weakness

1. Limited global presence: Raymond James Financial is mostly limited to Europe and North America with less global presence. Also, given the scale of expansion and different geographies the company is planning to expand into, Raymond James Financial needs to invest more in technology to integrate the processes across the board which will put stress on its assets.

2. Insufficient marketing of products: Marketing of its financial products is not done enough as USP of a successful product is not clearly defined or communicated. So, competitors can easily replicate and attack that customer segment. The company has not been able to tackle the challenges present by the new entrants in the segment and has lost small market share in the niche categories. Raymond James Financial has to build internal feedback mechanism directly from sales team on the ground to counter these challenges.

Opportunity

This section is available only in the 'Complete Report' on purchase.

Threat

This section is available only in the 'Complete Report' on purchase.

References

1. https://www.raymondjames.com/alex_brown/

2. Annual Report 2016: https://www.raymondjames.com/-/media/rj/dotcom/files/our-company/investor-relations/financial-reports/annualreport16.pdf?la=en

3. Fortune 500 ranking: https://fortune.com/2016/06/06/fortune-500-companies-making-debuts/

4. Acquisition of Morgan Keegan: https://www.raymondjames.com/news-and-media/press-releases/2012/04/02/raymond-james-financial-completes-acquisition-of-morgan-keegan

5. https://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/rjf/financials/cash-flow

Political

This section is available only in the 'Complete Report' on purchase.

Economic

1. Passive investments inflow has been on the rise: Recently, automated trading by computer and algorithms has reduced the volume of trades, thus being less prone to errors by human error and emotion. Thus, it decreases the impact of these traditional forces behind market fluctuations. Market fluctuations affect businesses by influencing consumer spending. Consumers spend more during bullish markets because they feel wealthier when they see their portfolios rise in value. During bearish markets, they pull back on spending, fearing an erosion of wealth and purchasing power as the value of their investments contracts.

Social

1. Involvement in various social organizations: The associates, advisors and leaders of Raymond James are involved in numerous organizations across the country, from civic clubs and schools, to chambers of commerce and social service organizations. Besides this, RJF has taken several initiatives to minimize the impact on the environment. Every year, the company hosts sustainability fair which created opportunities to volunteer with the local groups and e-recycling pickup.

Technological

This section is available only in the 'Complete Report' on purchase.

Legal

This section is available only in the 'Complete Report' on purchase.

Environmental

This section is available only in the 'Complete Report' on purchase.

References

1. https://www.raymondjames.com/campdavis/resources/2017/10/10/policy-politics-and-performance-3q-in-review

2. https://www.raymondjames.com/campdavis/resources/2017/10/10/low-volatility-all-quiet-on-the-market-front