New Analytical Features
Workstation's fund comparison capabilities also are worth mentioning. Suppose you identify a particular mutual fund that would be perfect for a client's portfolio, but the fund is closed. You can now have Workstation find other funds with similar characteristics. You can then pick a fund from the resulting list and have Workstation compare it side-by-side with other funds on the list. You might use this tool to show a prospect examples of how you would restructure his or her existing portfolio.
Beta Issues
Remembering that what I was shown by David Harrell, Morningstar's product development manager, was a beta version of Workstation, here are some additional features I'd like to see:
Wizards or Prompts. Since new users of any software often jump right in without reading instructions first, it might be useful if Morningstar were to provide some wizards to guide the new user in configuring Workstation to meet his individual needs. For example, the user may be confused about using the research alert vs. the customer alert features. An alert wizard, or perhaps some context-sensitive help, could solve this type of problem.
Alerts. The mutual fund alerts are a valuable feature, but perhaps they could be expanded upon. For example, I'd like to see an alert for major style box shifts that occur within a mutual fund.
Snapshot changes. The layout of Workstation's Snapshots, a familiar Morningstar convention providing a fund overview, could be re-ordered for greater functionality. For example, some advisors might want to see year-to-date returns displayed more prominently since this is the type of information clients often call asking for. Either revising the Snapshot layout or, better yet, allowing the user to configure his own version the way that he wants it, would be an improvement.
Rolling Return Graphs. I've always liked Morningstar's Rolling Return Graphs-those graphs that display the best and worst returns of a portfolio for different historical time periods. It's not apparent if they are included in this version of Workstation; if they are, they must be buried deep within. If Morningstar is not planning to include them, they should reconsider; if they are including them, these graphs should be featured more prominently.
Risk Profile changes. It's commendable that Morningstar has included a risk profiling capability within Workstation, but the feature employs only a handful of risk questions that may not be robust enough to give accurate results. The company might consider partnering with an established risk-profiling provider, like the ProQuest software folks in Sydney, Australia, (www.risk-profiling.com) to make this feature more robust.
In conclusion, the very few issues we've raised may be addressed by the time you see a fully functional version of the new Workstation. All in all, this is a significant upgrade-an altogether new and improved program, actually. And best yet, its price hasn't changed: $425 per month (paid by credit card) or $5,000 for an annual subscription.
David J. Drucker, MBA, CFP ([email protected]), a fee-only financial advisor since 1981, is editor of the Virtual Office News monthly newsletter, and co-author of the book Virtual Office Tools for a High-Margin Practice (Bloomberg Press, 2002), both available at www.virtualofficetools.net.