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Which financial planning tool??

AnnaAnna Member
in Paraplanning tips & tricks

Hi,

Just wanted to check what financial planning tools do you guys use? So far we've tried Advisa Centa and Dynamic Planner but both of them have issues so I was wondering if there is anything else out there we are not aware about?

Many thanks

Anna

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  • parawhatparawhat Member
    Hi Anna

    What exactly are you looking for the 'tool' to do? Is it the risk profiling aspect, fund research, portfolio construction or the full end to end process type process etc?

    Cheers

    Jonny
    Jonny (paraflex)
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  • AnnaAnna Member

    Hi Jonny,

    We need to show / explain clients how their investments might perform in the future based on their risk profile comparing with other scores, to show them how they can achieve their goals by increasing their pension, ISA contribution plus using the tool for our annual reviews with cashflow, etc. Advisa Centa (within IO) provides good interactive graphs but cashflow is not good and it has other issues. Dynamic Planner on the other hand provides great reports but lacks investment and retirement forecasts.

    I hope that explains :)

    Many thanks

    Anna

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  • parawhatparawhat Member
    Thought it might be that. In terms of off the shelf solutions those are the only two I am aware of. Bit of a holy grail issue too I think because I've found there's always one too many compromises to be made e.g. having to rely on their risk profile questionnaire and/or asset allocation models which you might not agree with.

    Your only other option might be to look at full cashflow planning options. I think Voyant now integrates with Finametrica? Not sure about Truth or PlanLab.

    Your only option then would be to find a friendly software developer but that's going to cost ££££. Alternatively, you could knock up a rough and ready process using FE Analytics and an Excel spreadsheet with pretty good results (that's what I did in a previous role).

    Sorry I couldn't be any more help Anna and keep us posted if you find what you're looking for.
    Jonny (paraflex)
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  • JonaJona Member
    Voyant integrates with FinaMetrica, plus you can load your own (actual) historic portfolio returns data (if you use models / have this information) and create "black swan" events etc to show worse case scenarios (i.e. clearly demonstrating capacity for loss) for any given risk profile.
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  • AnnaAnna Member

    Thank you for your help.

    We had Voyant but found it too detailed for what we need and our advisers won't use it in clients' meetings as it takes a long time to input all info. We use CashCalc and quite happy with that. But I might have another look at Voyant..

    Many thanks for your comments!

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  • EpochRobEpochRob Member
    Hi Anna

    It doesnt sound like you are after a specific cashflow tool but i think this may be of interest to you.....

    We are currently using a tool which is in Beta testing stage (due to be launched live in April) which combines the complexity of Voyant and Truth with the simplicity of Cashcalc so the adviser problem of it being too complicated to enter details in a meeting goes out the window :-) .  The output is specifically being aimed at paraplanners to help with reports, factfinds and reports but with the clear visibility for clients to easily understand the inputs and outputs in meetings.  

    With regards to risk you can easily play around with the impact different risk/growth rates have on a clients long term financial plans etc.  

    If you would like a demo I can easily arrange this with the developers at no cost to you (they will come to you or do an online demo if easier).  If you would like more info contact James Calvert Jones via email on james@i4c.it or give him a call on 01225 487 252.

    Rob

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  • NathanNathan Member
    Hi Anna

    Have you had a look at MoneyScope?  This offers a great solution to these problems in an easy to understand (For clients) way. 

    You can ask it to tell you what a sustainable drawdown rate is based upon a few assumptions and input 'BlackSwan' events by simply deducting a fixed sum at a certain point in the future. 

    I love it and whilst I understand Trust and Voyant are both very powerful tools, I think £ for £ in terms of your time and the ongoing cost of the tool, Moneyscope is much more worth while.

    You can even sign up for a months free trial.

    Happy to talk you through some of the advanced features of the tool, although you can find some great video online.

    N
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  • parawhatparawhat Member
    Remind me, can Moneyscope model stochastic and/or sequence risk or is it purely deterministic?
    Jonny (paraflex)
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  • richallumrichallum Administrator
    @parawhat it's deterministic

    Paraplanner. F1, Apple, Nutella, ice cream. No trite motivational quotes. Turning a bit northern. 

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  • fabdad17fabdad17 Member

    Hi Folks , just joined to day , noticed this thread ,

    I  have used DT (Dynamic Planner ) in past and found its "OK" , I felt reports layout and appearance of Fonts used a bit  kinda "blocky or clunky", maybe just me but like a nice clear clean layout with minimal colour heading etc  

    As for risk , the DT risk planner report is good but some of the Questions clients take a while to get their head round ,

    Other one I use and has good output from FE Analytics on new Fe Invest models , very good reports output, as well as usual ATR & capacity for loss it also encompasses  use of investing time scales, Short med Long term to match up with specific Model portfolios . Seems fairly robust.   

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