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Morningstar Announces FCSI Acquisition

Posted on August 11, 2008 by in Portfolio Management Software

MSToday 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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Quickly Change Managed Accounts in dbCAMS

Posted on August 5, 2008 by in Efficiency, Portfolio Management Software

CAMS Command Window ThumbThe 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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Idenfity Clients Holding Indymac Products

Posted on July 14, 2008 by in Portfolio Management Software

IndymacIf you’re at all involved in operations and client security reporting, you likely need to identify all of your clients that hold Indymac Bank products.

Over the weekend, Indymac Bank was taken over by federal regulators and control was transferred over the the FDIC.  Click here for the CNN Money story.

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Schwab Portfolio Rebalancer Enhancements

Posted on May 21, 2008 by in Portfolio Management Software, Software

Schwab RebalancerSchwab Institutional recently announced updates to its online Portfolio Rebalancer utility.  In response to feedback from advisers, Schwab added several new features to the rebalancing tool.

Holding Information View

The first feature added is the ability to view holding information for a client either by account or in aggregate from the primary step.  This option saves a few clicks so the user can quickly identify the relevant holdings for any given client.

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Schwab Technology Complex Strengthens Custodian’s Presence

Posted on May 12, 2008 by in Portfolio Management Software, Software, Technology

Technology RoomAt the end of April, Charles Schwab and Texas Tech University announced the creation of a Schwab Technology Complex on the University’s campus, and also named Danielle Winchester as the first Schwab Research Scholar.

Click the link to view the Charles Schwab and Texas Tech University press release.

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TWR Reports and Your Portfolio Management Software

Posted on April 15, 2008 by in Portfolio Management Software, Software

camsDuring the production of our quarterly reports earlier this month, I discovered an interesting property of our portfolio management software (PMS), dbCAMS+. The reports delivered to clients include a variety of information including a report showing the time weighted rate of return (TWR) for asset classes and the portfolio as a whole.

TWR Primer

Essentially a TWR report eliminates the effect of cash flows into and out of an investment and simply identifies the return of the underlying asset. Since cash flow is negated, TWR has become a useful measure when comparing investment managers’ performance, as they cannot control the inflow and outflow of cash within their managed assets.

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