InvestCloud Client Portals – Making the Leap via Applets Last week we referenced a recently released broad survey of wealth management CTOs representing over $1 trillion of assets under management. One of the critical questions was [CTOs] to rank their top priorities among nearly 30 areas of concern. Four of the top 5 among those 30 all related in some measure to client reporting: 1. lack of client-oriented eBusiness applications, 2. reduction or elimination of paper client statements, 3. provision of aggregated client reporting, and 4. reduction of manual processes. Given the degree to which a well-engineered client portal can address most of these concerns, it is not surprising how electronic client reporting has become a central project focus for many firms. As the leading provider of fully integrated client portals, we often find that when firms approach this area, they have their expectations set too low. They believe all that is practical is being able to offer basic information about client positions and balances through screens that mimic their custodian’s offering. They do not understand what the advances in cloud technology are making possible. Our industry is so ingrained with the “one-report-fits-all” mind-set, that the notion of reports that vary by client interest, need, or product type is difficult to see. InvestCloud’s applet-based delivery offers a more flexible approach to application licensing, as well as more options of applets in reporting design and customization. One version of this more creative approach to reporting can be seen in the extensive quarterly reporting books that many firms assemble for clients. The problem in using these "books" as a primary reference is that they tend to be “over-kill” to report design. The size and scope of many of the report books seem to be more about comparative rationalization than clear and direct communication.
Using our applet approach, not only can a firm cost effectively bring the best of their quarterly “book� into an automated daily report schema, they can do things that are not possible with print reporting. One of the reasons we call our various report views applets rather than screens is that they are much more functional than simple data screens. They have imbedded logic and intelligence that allow you or your clients to use simple drag-and-drop tools to rebuild report views on the fly. What does this mean for your clients? For those clients that just want a simple and basic view of positions or performance, that is what they get. But for those more sophisticated clients that want more, they can add or move columns of data and use real-time filtering to see whatever sub-sets or alternative views interest them. This is an amazingly powerful way to offer reporting that any client can make as custom as they like. To the point of the primary concerns of the CTOs in the survey, this applet-based approach to reporting is not only a brilliant clientoriented eBusiness application, it can reduce or eliminate paper client statements, offer an aggregated view of client assets, and do so using fully automated processes. To learn more about InvestCloud’s amazing applets for client reporting how that help you outpace your competitors who are still bound by their quarterly books, visit us at www.investcloud.com.