Products September 13, 2013

R-Squared Debuts Portfolio Risk Tools

The risk management firm has released R-Squared Risk Solutions, tools to manage and forecast portfolio risk.
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The tools combine R-Squared’s range of equity risk models with PRISM, the firm’s proprietary Portfolio Risk Management and risk-adjusted Performance Attribution system. The new risk models incorporate the most recent techniques of the principals of R-Square Risk Management for minimizing estimation error and generating better portfolio risk forecasts.

A variety of geographic regions are covered, including Europe, the U.S., global developed markets and global emerging markets, and are available in different base currencies.

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Portfolio managers can use these models to distinguish their deliberate factor tilts from any unintended risks in their portfolios, according to Jason MacQueen, founder of R-Squared Risk Management Ltd. “They can also be used to determine the sensitivity of their portfolios to a wide variety of macroeconomic variables and currency risks,” he said. “By including a small number of statistical factors, we ensure that there is no missing systematic risk, thereby giving managers more accurate forecasts of portfolio risk and tracking error.”

The R-Squared Risk Solutions provide a standard set of Risk Reports, which can be customized to highlight the more relevant results for managers and investors, including a summary, portfolio risk decomposition by holdings and portfolio risk decomposition by factors. Users can run risk-adjusted performance attribution analyses to identify consistent sources of performance in their portfolios over time, and may also identify the number and size of the truly Independent bets in a portfolio.

The goal of R-Squared is to help managers improve investment performance by ensuring that their portfolio selection skills are harnessed efficiently by aligning risk with expected return and eliminating unwanted risk.

Products September 13, 2013

Online Tool Helps Benchmark Benefits

The Principal Financial Group unveiled a tool that lets advisers help small-business owners see how they stack up against their competitors in benefits offerings.
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Nearly eight out of 10 business owners (79%) agree that a good employee benefits plan is part of their responsibility as an employer. But, despite often competing with bigger organizations for employees, few small-business owners have the resources to assess how their benefits compare with those at larger firms.

Advisers can use the Principal Benefit Design Tool to help small businesses benchmark group benefit features, or business owners can use the tool on their own. The online resource provides a comparison point for group dental, short-term disability, long-term disability and life insurance, previously unavailable in the small-case market, according to The Principal.

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The tool gives advisers hard data they can provide to their small-business owner clients to help them make more informed decisions about their benefit offering, according to Amy Friedrich, vice president at The Principal.

With minimal information—the current benefits offering, number of employees, details about each program—the tool provides a customized report focused on how the particular organization’s benefit designs compare to those of peer businesses. The tool is easy to use via desktop computer, or a tablet or mobile device, generating a report within a few minutes.

The tool also lets a business owner set goals, such as “offer benefits to attract and retain employees,” “provide benefits similar to my competitors,” “control costs”or “help employees maintain financial or physical well-being.”

Small-business owners do not have the same access to resources as their counterparts at larger organizations, putting them at a competitive disadvantage, according to Friedrich. “This new self-service tool puts benefit design intelligence at advisers’ fingertips, helping fill a knowledge gap for owners of small businesses,” Friedrich said.

More information about the Principal Benefit Design Tool is at The Principal’s website.

The Principal Financial Group is a global investment manager that provides retirement services, insurance solutions and asset management.

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