There are, however, some areas that need work, and some additions that would greatly enhance the platform's value proposition. One work in progress is browser support. Currently, the Revolution team recommends that clients use Internet Explorer 7, 8 or 9 or Firefox 3 (or later). In order for Internet Explorer 9 to function properly with Revolution, the compatibility mode must be enabled. I doubt all users will immediately pick up on this.
Although Chrome and Safari are not officially supported at this time, StatPro says it plans to support them in the future. I did log on for a limited time using both Chrome and Safari. In some cases, they performed fine; in others, I ran into display issues or the browser froze. Given the current state of affairs, I can't recommend using Chrome or Safari; that's a shame, because generally I prefer Chrome.
I'm sure that many advisors will want to use Revolution with prospective clients to illustrate how the advisors' models have fared historically versus the prospects' current portfolios. A hypothetical tool, such as the one offered by Morningstar, or a proposal tool that incorporates a hypothetical comparison of the two portfolios would be a welcome addition to the current suite of tools.
The ten report templates currently included with Revolution are of a high caliber, but a wider variety of reports is needed. The ability to dynamically reposition the elements within a report would also be welcome, as would the ability to dynamically reposition elements on many of the screens within the program.
The support section is sparsely populated. The tutorials and instructions should be beefed up. The quantity of entries within the forums will no doubt grow over time, but early buyers are not going to be impressed with the depth of information currently available.
Ideally, advisors would like an application such as Revolution to integrate seamlessly with their portfolio management application, rebalancing application and/or their custodian/broker-dealer platform. This would eliminate the need for manual data entry. Currently, you can import data into Revolution, but a more seamless method of sharing the data between applications would be highly preferable.
Advisors who build model portfolios from individual securities need high-quality tools to analyze their portfolios, but few need all the bells and whistles that the typical institutional product offers. StatPro Revolution strikes a good balance between functionality and complexity, while keeping costs low, as long as you limit the number of models you create.
If you are in the market for a portfolio analytical tool, StatPro Revolution is definitely worth checking out. With the 30-day, risk-free trial available here (http://info.statpro.com/statpro-revolution-free-trial-account), there's nothing to lose except a bit of your time. StatPro Revolution currently has a good deal of appeal; with a few tweaks, it can be even better.