Make Life Easier With Portfolio Management Software (Part 2)

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Yesterday's blog post talked about how some of the most valued experts in our industry - financial advisors and planners - can get bogged down by all of the tasks they try to fit into each day and all of the information they have to manage. We suggested that managing their clients' investment data, an important part of their responsibilities, can be difficult and time-consuming but doesn't have to be!

So how can you make sure that your portfolio management software, such as Axys® or Advent Portfolio Exchange® (APX), is living up to its potential to free up your time and add substantial value to your organization?

Ultimately, it comes down to knowing what the software can do, and then getting it to do it. If you aren't sure about your proficiency on one or both counts, help is available. You just need access to someone that understands your needs, is an expert in the software you're using, and can effectively solve your problems and find opportunities for improvement you didn't know existed. Here are some options:

Call your software company's technical support

• Free!
• You can generally get helpful answers to targeted questions (i.e., "can I add a column to this report?).
• The ultimate answer might not be free (i.e., "we would be happy to build that report for you!").

While helpful for one-off questions, these associates may not have the time or training to help improve your overall operations. If you're not sure what your problem is or what the possibilities are, you might not get much bang for your buck from this solution.

Engage a consultant

• You have an expert on call that understands your business, knows the software, has probably "seen it all before," and has an incentive to provide a lot of value for your dollar; like all good businesspeople, consultants value repeat customers and referrals.
• Works best if you are happy with your existing human resources but think your data and/or processes could use some tweaks, significant enhancements, or even a large overhaul.
• This option isn't free (what expert is?), and they can't do it all for you; both you and they have to understand their role and know their limits.

There's wisdom in "you get what you pay for," and a good consultant makes sure you get much more than you pay for; expert consulting can continue to pay dividends long after the consultant's work is done.

Hire a full-time employee

• You have an in-house expert that understands your business and can help your operations department shine.
• Makes sense when you have the budget and enough work for a full-time portfolio management software expert.
• More expensive

So what option is best for you? Well, only you can answer that... or at least, only you can decide which options to explore.

• Have some specific questions? It will only cost you a few minutes of your time to see if your software's tech support desk can help.
  
• If you're not sure what you need, or not even sure what's possible, a consultant may be your best bet. A good consultant will offer a free initial consultation to talk to you about your business, your challenges, and whether that consultant is qualified to help.
  
• If you have the budget and enough work, hire an expert! If you're not sure how to determine who's really "an expert," find a reliable contact that can help you check out your potential hires' proficiencies; another expert at a peer advisory company, a trusted industry partner, or a consultant that deals with the software in question may all be good resources.

One size never fits all, and the time you invest in selecting the best support for your office will pay for itself many times over. 

We welcome the opportunity to help. Tandem's consultants are experienced, expert industry professionals that have encountered and resolved a wide range of challenges, and helped realize opportunities for dramatic increases in productivity and profitability for users of Advent's Axys® and Advent Portfolio Exchange® (APX). Feel free to contact us, and we will be happy to recommend the best options for your unique organization and situation.