WINNER, The Best Technology of 2006 by Joel Bruckenstein, Morningstar’s Technology Editor
“Software Product of the Year” Joel Bruckenstein, Morningstar’s Technology Editor - There are two software products worthy of honors this year, and as it turns out, both of them are new, so both qualify for Software Product of the Year and Rookie of the Year honors. After careful consideration, I decided to award Software of the Year to IPS AdvisorPro.
This Web-based application, developed by Norm Boone and Linda Lubitz, two highly gifted financial planning professionals,fill a real need for many financial-services firms: It helps them create highly professional, compliant investment policy statements (IPS).
An IPS is a written document that explains the relationship between an investment advisor and a client. An ISP discusses the client’s goals, the investment procedures that will be followed by the advisors, the responsibilities of the client, and the responsibilities of the investment professional. One point should be emphasized: An IPS is not a contract; rather, it is a roadmap that governs the behavior of an investment advisor and the client with regard to one or more investment portfolios. Readers who have never tried to construct an IPS might question the need for an application that can automate this task, but trust me, to do it right, you need IPS Advisor Pro, or something like it. There are a number of reasons for this, but the primary reason is that there is no “one size fits all” IPS. You cannot just create a single IPS and then use it for all of your clients. You will need a different IPS for individuals than you will for a trust, and yet another one for a small retirement plan. Second, there is certain language that you should include in each IPS, or at least certain language that you should consider using. IPS Pro presents all the relevant information to you, and then it lets you decide exactly what to include and what not to include in your documents and templates.
IPS AdvisorPro® comes in two distinct versions: The professional version has an annual license fee of $495; the standard version has an annual license fee of $395. The professional version produces detailed IPSs that typically run 18 to 20 pages. Executive summaries can be generated for internal use. The standard version creates compact IPSs that only run a few pages. Users of either product entitles them to 100 new IPSs per year, and they can maintain an unlimited number of
IPSs. For large firms, institutional pricing is available.
IPS AdvisorPro® is Web-based, so there is no software to install and no upgrading required. All you need is a Web browser and a license to use the product. It is highly customizable, so it is adaptable to a very wide range of needs. If you use IPSs in your practice, or if you want to add them to your practice, take a look at IPS AdvisorPro®.
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