Analytics program compares risk and portfolio performance

One of the largest groups of independent financial advisers in Asia is singing the praises of a software research tool new to the region that gives quick and accurate analyses of funds portfolios and compares them to other models.

Phil Neilson, chief executive of The Henley Group, has adopted the tool called Analytics, developed by independent researcher Financial Express, to give his clients up-to-date comparisons on how their portfolios are performing.

'What it meant for me, as the head of an investment adviser practice, was for the first time we could have robust research available and look at any client's funds portfolio - whether it's one we're managing or an external one from another source - and see the actual performance of that portfolio, run it through Analytics and have a number of simple figures that we can pass on to the investor on how that fund has performed over a given period, and also at what volatility or risk.

'There are some measures for more detailed information for our sophisticated investors, where we can look at the alphas and betas and the various ratios people might use.

'For the retail investor through to the professional investor it's a really practical tool to look at a portfolio and then compare it with model portfolios that a practice like ours would make available, so they can see the workings of their portfolio and how it compares.

'A client may have a range of funds and they may have had a reasonable return of say 15 per cent over the past 12 months - because it's been a very bullish market - with a volatility of about 7 per cent.

'And yet with this software they can look at other portfolios and find for the same risk they could have produced 25 per cent, so it empowers the client to be genuinely more informed to make better future decisions.'