Graphics are grabber at FPA conference

Putting an emphasis on ‘show’ for financial advisers’ show-and-tell Unlike at trade shows, where exhibitors try to…

Putting an emphasis on ‘show’ for financial advisers’ show-and-tell
Unlike at trade shows, where exhibitors try to wow attendees with new products, most vendors at the annual conference of the Financial Planning Association in Seattle last week displayed existing offerings or new iterations of those offerings.
Attendees looking for help with graphical presentation of client data, however, were pleased to find several relevant product upgrades. Here are a few:
SmartDraw 2008
Financial advisers unhappy with their charts and graphics would do well to check out SmartDraw 2008, the latest version of a business- graphics software package from San Diego-based SmartDraw.com.
With the software, advisers can easily create flowcharts, forms, data-flow diagrams and more, all through a very intuitive, simple-to-use drag-and-drop interface. There are literally hundreds of specialized SmartTemplates included that can help create just about every type of business graphic possible.
Thumbnail icons illustrate them all, so remembering the name of a particular chart or graphic is unnecessary.
Among the software’s new features are picture charts, referred to as chartoons. Instead of classic bar graphs or pie charts, users can use images to display data — a money bag scaled up or down, for instance, to depict revenue growth, or another graphic element to represent asset allocation.
There is also automatic flowcharting so that connecting lines are drawn automatically and shapes are evenly spaced and aligned. A single-step chart feature has been introduced in which graphs can be built without first having to create a spreadsheet — users can pick a chart and type their data directly into the bars or drag and manipulate the charts into the position they want.
In addition to allowing users to copy whatever they have created in SmartDraw and paste it into Word, Excel or PowerPoint and then create portable display format documents, the software allows users to import images from digital cameras and place the photos, which they can edit, into business graphics.
A Live Map feature permits map captures from the Internet and makes map customization easy.
The software is available via direct download for $297, or can be ordered from SmartDraw.com as a compact disc.
Visual Advisor Plus
This software’s colorful, dynamically generated client-facing graphics — and its speed — caught the attention of advisers.
“I’ve been using NaviPlan for years, and it can be hard to use and it is slow. Many of the things I go over with clients would probably be much faster on [Visual Advisor Plus], and it certainly does look more engaging, especially for the client,” said Glenn A. Large, an adviser with Magna Financial Planning LLC of Downingtown, Pa.
The software, from Finance Logix of Tucson, Ariz., has been in beta testing for several months. Its asset-allocation, education, estate, insurance and retirement modules are fully integrated with a new cash-flow-analysis component that can be manipulated on the fly with its goal-based planning features. Side-by-side plan comparisons feature what-if scenarios that can be developed real-time in collaboration with clients.
The new version will debut formally next month. A single-user license can be purchased for $975; annual renewals are the same price. A version of the suite minus the education, estate and insurance modules is available for $495.
More information is available at financelogix.com.
Intuition Pro
Laserfiche of Long Beach, Calif., officially rolled out its new, small-advisory-firm-oriented Intuition Pro document-management system during the conference. Not a graphics solution in the sense of the other products reviewed, Intuition Pro allows advisers to capture, store, archive, search for and retrieve a secure graphic image of any document in a few mouse clicks. This ability helps advisers on their path to a paperless — and more efficient — practice.
Anyone familiar with Windows Explorer will feel right at home with Intuition Pro’s main interface and its straightforward file structure. It has an effective search engine for finding and retrieving scanned documents, a feature for protecting sensitive information prior to printing and a set of document-distribution features to help advisers with e-mailing customer documents and compliance records.
The software costs $1,495 for a single PC license and includes a manual, a registration key for the support site and one year of technical support. Bundled with a Visioneer Strobe XP 450 scanner, the cost is $1,995. Special scanners aren’t necessary, however, as most document scanners are supported by the software.
More information is available at intuitionpro.com.
Davis D. Janowski is the technology reporter for InvestmentNews. He can be reached at djanowski@ crain.com.