A social network for financial advisers
It’s not often a really cool social networking site just for financial advisers comes along — OK, actually this is the first one I’ve seen.
The site is called IFAlife.com and though it is based in Cranleigh, U.K., there are already plenty of Yanks on board.
“We've worked hard to give the site a clean look and feel,” creator Philip Calvert wrote in an e-mail (ironically, I met Philip via a similar networking site, LinkedIn.com).
“We launched just five weeks ago in the U.K. and we weren’t planning to push into the USA until next year,” he said, but then several eager American advisers signed up within days of the launch.
Access to the site is free and advisers can put together a spiffy profile complete with photo.
There is also a forum for posting interesting tidbits or asking questions, as well as an already popular “article” area for advisers to post links to stories of interest or to share their own insights by writing pieces of their own (you can also apply some formatting as you would on most blogs).
There are other features and more to come, according to Mr. Calvert. Here’s a link to the
IFA Life website and to see a typical profile, check out
mine.
ASI Portfolio Forecaster
Advisers can find lots of financial product providers, such as fund companies, that offer self-service, web-based tools and calculators, but none that I’m aware of have had built-in Monte Carlo simulations.
Enter the Portfolio Forecaster from Advisor Software Inc. of Lafayette, Calif. With the tool, advisers can simulate investment portfolios as well as associated cash flows over the time horizon of their choosing and perform 1,500 simulations of the portfolio.
The probabilities of outcomes are displayed on a year-by-year basis.
“This is a spot modeling tool that uses the actual attributes in the portfolio, not some rigid preset determinants,” said Advisor Software’s president and chief operating officer, Neal Ringquist.
“It is a perfect fit for 401(k) platforms or IRA platform providers,” he said.
The tool would be made available by providers via their websites and hosted by ASI, but advisers have free access.
To take a look at the tool, visit
ASI’s portfolio diagnostic tools page.
Making a case for outer space investing
Advisers interested in an out-of-this-world experience combining investing and the space industry should consider visiting New York for the third annual ISCe Satellite Investment Symposium (ISIS NYC ’08).
It’s to be held on Oct. 14. If you register by Sept. 15, the fee is $525, which gets you into all sessions and social events.
Attendees will be able to “share their insights and predictions about the financial strength and future growth of the satellite business,” according to a press release on the event.
Trends in the $106 billion satellite communications market are at the heart of the event. This year’s sessionsinclude “Mobile Satellite Devices: Will Wall Street Hit Pay Dirt by 2010?”; “Standard vs. Hybrid Satellites: Forecasting New Apps and Economic Models”; “Satellites and the Analog-to-Digital Transition: Show Me the Money!”; “Sports and News by Satellite: The Red and Black of Content Contribution and Distribution”; and “From Satellite Radio Merger to EchoStar-DIRECTV? The Financial Report.”
For more information, visit
ISIS NYC ’08 online.
Davis D. Janowski is the technology reporter for InvestmentNews.
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