Products June 17, 2009

Advisor Software Upgrades ASI Wealth Manager

Advisor Software, Inc., a provider of wealth management solutions for the adviser market, announced a new release for ASI Wealth Manager, a platform for personalized goal-based investment management.
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The enhancements are designed to improve the adviser’s ability to gather household balance sheet information and communicate more effectively with clients about their recommendations, said Advisor Software’s President Neal Ringquist, in a news release. “A recommendation is only as good as an adviser’s ability to explain it. With this upgrade, we continue to help advisers connect investors’ personal goals with their investing decisions,” he said.

The following new features were added to release 1.1 of ASI Wealth Manager, according to the company:

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  • Portfolio Diagnostics—allows advisers to compare a client’s Current Portfolio and ASI Wealth Manager’s Proposed Portfolio with the Target Strategy produced by ASI Wealth Manager. Advisers can see in summary form how the Proposed Portfolio better implements the Target Strategy, by analyzing various portfolio characteristics such as tracking error, expected risk, expected returns, and tax costs.
  • Retirement and Expenses Goal—gives advisers the option to calculate current and retirement annual expenses instantly as one total number, or as a detailed breakdown of expenses into categories such as utilities, transportation, children, or health care. Advisers can also adjust the retirement and expense goal prioritization as a percentage of a target goal amount, to illustrate for minimum and maximum levels within goals.
  • Balance Sheet Analysis—The household balance sheet is improved to provide feedback, alerting advisers when a client’s resources are insufficient to fully fund their liabilities and goals.

 

Data & Research June 17, 2009

Brains over Beauty

A University of Florida study found that people with intelligence earn more in their lifetime than those who are self-confident or attractive.
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The researchers found that after brains, self-confidence ranked second in importance, followed by beauty, according to a news release of the study results.

The researchers studied how intelligence, beauty and self-confidence affect income and financial strain. Results came from surveys of 191 men and women between the ages of 25 and 75 who participated in the National Midlife Development in the United States study.

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Measures of intelligence were derived from a series of established tests and mental exercises, while self-confidence was determined from a 15-item questionnaire examining attitudes about one’s ability to cope with various life situations. Researchers judged attractiveness by rating personal photographs of the participants on a scale of one to seven.

By knowing men’s and women’s scores in the areas of intelligence, beauty, and self-confidence, the researchers were able to accurately classify them into one of 35 income categories more than half the time, according to the news release.

Coauthor Timothy Judge suggested that brains rank first because intelligence is rewarded early in life with positive strokes from teachers, which boosts self-confidence and encourages future academic success. “Smart people do better in their careers because they are more likely to be educated and are more confident in their abilities,” he said. “And it’s also possible that smart people make better career choices, learn more on the job, negotiate for pay more effectively, and adapt better to changes in the workplace.”

Part of the reason for attractive people’s success is their educational prospects are influenced by their looks, the study found. From an early age, studies show that good-looking students receive more teacher instruction and attention, while being punished less frequently, making them more likely to finish high school and attend college, according to Judge.

 

The study was published in the May issue of the Journal of Applied Psychology.

 

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