Globeadvisor prostation, offered by Toronto-based Bell Globemedia Publishing Inc., is arguably one of the best free software tools available to Canadian financial advisors who want to incorporate stocks and fixed-income securities as well as mutual funds into their clients\u2019 portfolios.
While Morningstar Canada\u2019s PalTrak and BellCharts may together have a greater range of analytical tools, these programs focus only on investment funds.
Launched in June 2005, ProStation is relatively new to advisors, who are invited to make suggestions for improving the software. Advisors can access ProStation by registering free of charge to use www.globeadvisor.com<\/i> \u2014 the \u201csister\u201d software to ProStation; the former covers only investment funds.
\u201cProStation integrates the best features of GlobeAdvisor with more powerful research and sales presentation tools in a clear-cut user interface,\u201d says Paul Regan, manager of business development for Web products and solutions at the Globe and Mail<\/i>, which is owned by Bell Globemedia. He is responsible for promoting the software.
According to Regan, Web usability has progressed significantly over the past five years, but advisor tools have lagged: \u201cWe wanted our site to feel more like google.com or indigo.ca.<\/i> Our goal is \u2018Fisher-Price usability\u2019 \u2014 meaning big, shiny, clearly labelled buttons.\u201d
While ProStation lives up to its promotional features, it can best be utilized by experienced advisors who are licensed to sell investment funds as well as securities.
ProStation\u2019s \u201cresearch centre\u201d allows advisors to locate and produce reports on more than 5,000 mutual funds, 8,500 Canadian and U.S. companies, 16,000 stocks and 200 indices. Comprehensive information, including charts, is available on funds, stocks and companies.
When constructing a portfolio, advisors can filter investment funds based on a range of criteria, such as return, risk, size, geographical exposure and management expense ratio; and individual companies based on characteristics that include price\/earnings ratio, dividend payout, revenue and capitalization, in order to come up with the most appropriate investment options.
The software\u2019s \u201cportfolio centre\u201d allows advisors to include funds and stocks \u2014 as well as benchmarking indices \u2014 within a single portfolio, or to build portfolios that match one of five suggested model portfolios based on asset allocation. The suggested model portfolios are conservative, income, moderate, growth and aggressive growth. Each model portfolio provides the best and worst expected returns for different time periods.
Advisors can run portfolio diagnostics that include an analysis of a specific portfolio or make multiple portfolio comparisons. The \u201cclose gap\u201d feature allows the advisor to close the allocation gap between a model portfolio and a selected portfolio. The software also allows advisors to check a portfolio\u2019s total exposure to a specific stock, even if it is held in several funds. This can be useful in determining whether a separate investment should be made in that stock.
Advisors can select the holdings they wish to include in a portfolio and make asset-allocation decisions as either a percentage of the total portfolio or as a dollar amount. They can use the software\u2019s \u201callocation slider\u201d to vary the asset class weights in a particular portfolio to come up with a mix of assets that matches their desired risk\/return objectives. Or they can simply use the portfolio optimization feature, which uses risk tolerance as a guide to select the best possible allocations for any given portfolio.
If an advisor wants to replace a specific fund in a portfolio for some reason, this can be done easily using search criteria relevant to the desired fund\u2019s attributes. Although ProStation does not have specific information on fixed-income securities, advisors can create virtual GICs or bonds and assign a desired coupon or interest rate, or select a proxy from a relevant benchmark or index, in order to determine the fixed-income component characteristics that a portfolio should have.
For advisors who wish to present \u201cbefore\u201d and \u201cafter\u201d hypothetical portfolios to clients, the \u201cportfolio head to head diagnostic\u201d report allows advisors to compare two portfolios in the same report, using criteria such as historical performance, volatility, and sector and geographical breakdown. It allows advisors to customize high-quality client reports that include performance measures and market\/style analysis.
The \u201cportfolio presentation\u201d report, which is prepared under a client\u2019s name, provides comprehensive information on portfolio holdings, including a correlation report that shows the relationships among holdings in the portfolio. A personalized investment policy statement can also be generated in a format that is ready to be signed.
@page_break@ProStation was developed within the context of financial planning. It is excellent software that is a cut above any similar free software available to advisors.\t IE<\/b>
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