June 27th, 2010 Bill Winterberg
Schwab Performance Technologies® is rolling out updates to its PortfolioCenter® portfolio management software. The first enhancement on its way to version 5.0 is Presentation Studio, a customizable reporting utility.
Presentation Studio allows users to design, edit, and publish custom performance reports using built-in elements. In addition, reports can be created in a batch process and saved to PDF or XPS files.
For more information on the Presentation Studio enhancements, follow the link below and expand the PortfolioCenter 5.0 header in the page.
https://schwabpt.com/resources/presentations/
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June 20th, 2010 Bill Winterberg
Black Diamond Performance Reporting of Jacksonville, Fla. just announced that it is releasing an enhanced portfolio management and reporting platform called BlueSky.
To read the press release from Black Diamond, click the following link: http://www.blackdiamondreporting.com/whoweare/press
BlueSky is a web-based platform that enhances standard portfolio management and performance reporting features by adding an array of customizable options. BlueSky users can now configure the appearance and settings of their home page under the SkyViews feature.
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June 14th, 2010 Bill Winterberg
Back in the day, I convinced ByAllAccounts to allow me to configure its account aggregation service for dbCAMS+ portfolio management software from FCSI, Inc.
At the time, the ByAllAccounts-to-dbCAMS connection wasn’t 100% official as there were some behind-the-scenes issues with data relationships and configuration concerns. Also, dbCAMS users had to pay an annual fee to FCSI in order to use ByAllAccounts’ aggregation, and that fee was on top of the normal fees charged by ByAllAccounts.
Nevertheless, I demonstrated my engineering aptitude and ability to troubleshoot good enough to convince ByAllAccounts to allow me to use their service with CAMS. It was a good decision on their part as it led to a few new contracts for ByAllAccounts as I demonstrated my success to other CAMS users.
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March 17th, 2010 Bill Winterberg
Here’s new news over the wires: Advent announced that it now supports web-based client portals for its APX and Axys products through an agreement with LIGHT[PORT]. From the press release:
Through this alliance, LIGHT[PORT]’s solution is available to Advent clients using Advent Portfolio Exchange® (APX), Advent’s integrated portfolio and client relationship management solution, or Axys®, its turnkey portfolio accounting and reporting solution. These clients can easily set-up automated, web-based reporting for their clients via their own custom portal. These portals can be added to an existing website or can be built as standalone sites. LIGHT[PORT] supports integration with locally installed APX and Axys®, or with APX through Advent OnDemandSM, which delivers Advent solutions via the Software-as-a-Service model.
Click here to read the entire press release on Advent’s website.
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October 26th, 2009 Bill Winterberg
ByAllAccounts, one of the leading asset aggregation providers in the independent investment adviser space, just announced two incentives for advisers using the Schwab Performance Technologies® PortfolioCenter® portfolio management system.
Here are the details:
If you’re a current PortfolioCenter® user, you can earn a $500 credit for each referral that signs up for the aggregation service by December 31, 2009.
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September 11th, 2009 Bill Winterberg
Sure enough, yesterday I posted about announcements coming from technology vendors leading up to Schwab’s IMPACT 2009 Conference.
Today, Tamarac Inc., best known for their SaaS rebalancing solution, announced the release of its Tamarac Advisor® 9 platform (coverage from InvestmentNews). This platform expands on the company’s rebalancing offering to include the following technologies:
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November 26th, 2008 Bill Winterberg
Our firm uses dbCAMS for a variety of portfolio management procedures, including daily account reconciliation, rebalancing, and quarterly reporting. The creators of dbCAMS, Financial Computer Support, Inc. (FCSI), was recently acquired by Morningstar. Morningstar purchased FCSI and its dbCAMS product to enhance the company’s visibility in advisers’ day-to-day management of client portfolios.
Not much mention has been made about Morningstar’s plans for dbCAMS, but I recently came across the Fall issue of Morningstar Advisor that sheds some light on their plans.
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August 11th, 2008 Bill Winterberg
Here’s another quick update to today’s news of Morningstar’s purchase of FCSI. Dusty Huxford sent the message copied below through the FCSI alerts listserv. I am subscribed to the alerts, though I didn’t receive his message today. I had to get it through other resources. I must not be a valued FCSI client!
August 11, 2008
Dear FCSI client,
I am writing to make you aware of some exciting news. We are pleased to tell you that Morningstar is acquiring Financial Computer Support, Inc. (FCSI).
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August 11th, 2008 Bill Winterberg
Today I learned from Financial Advisor Magazine’s breaking news email that Morningstar announced an agreement to buy FCSI, the makers of dbCAMS+ software. This is important news to me as my firm is a current user of dbCAMS as mentioned here, here, and here at FPPad.com
Click here to see the article on Financial Advisor Magazine.
Click here to see a similar article on Business Week.
We also received an email from Chris Boruff at Morningstar’s advisor channel that provided more specific details on the timetable of the acquisition and what it might mean to current dbCAMS users.
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August 5th, 2008 Bill Winterberg
The portfolio management software (PMS) currently used in my firm is dbCAMS+. While many advisers and back-office support staff that I talk to feel dbCAMS+ lacks powerful features, I find that there are hidden gems in the software if you know where to find them.
dbCAMS Command Window
For example, I discovered the Command Window buried in dbCAMS’ Tools menu not too long ago. The Command Window allows scripts, both basic and complex, to be executed in order to modify database information. One example where the Command Window has proved to be very powerful is when I need to change non-managed assets of a client to managed assets as they increase their level of service with the firm.
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