NaviPlan Financial Planning
Software
Review by Kurt Rosentreter, CFP, CA
Financial Planner, Berkshire Securities.
Bershire Securities is a member of CIPF.
Overview Emerging
Information Systems Inc. (EISI) offers two different software
programs, NaviPlan Standard for $400 and NaviPlan Extended
for $800. While Extended offers more bells and whistles, either
can serve as a core financial planning software tool.
NaviPlan software can best be described as a
client cash flow management tool, whereby a client's revenues,
expenses, assets and liabilities are brought together to focus
on maximizing identified goals through proper allocation of
cash flows. Both programs offer basic retirement planning,
goal-driven financial planning, insurance planning, tax planning,
investment planning and cash flow management. Both also carry
additional concept calculators that can analyze borrowing
to invest, RRSP vs. a mortgage, present value/future value,
and more on a stand-alone basis (meaning the results are not
integrated into the main programs).
Best Feature
The visual graphics of the plan analysis windows, particularly
when you do a side-by-side analysis of a client's current
scenario vs. a planned scenario, are eye-catching. This feature
helps clients to understand their entire financial situation
in one picture - simplicity at its best. This feature is only
available in Extended.
Weakness
NaviPlan Extended does not contain a generic embedded risk-profiling
model, however you can enter up to 30 asset classes and create
15 model portfolios. This allows you to model current vs.
recommended plans. A new version of NaviPlan Extended will
be released in early 2002 with more robust asset allocation
capabilities.
AGF has partnered with EISI to offer a risk
profiling section within their privately labelled version
of NaviPlan called Trio. Trio contains the AGF Harmony Asset
Allocation model; this includes a risk tolerance questionnaire,
illustration of current and model portfolios and required
transactions to achieve the model portfolio. You may modify
the model portfolios based on their preferences. Trio and
its asset allocation model are also available from EISI
at no additional charge over the regular NaviPlan pricing.
As well, NaviPlan can build custom risk profiling screens
for their corporate clients.
About the Manufacturer
Before investing in a software tool, you want to know that,
among other things, the manufacturer will be in business for
a while. Here are some facts on the manufacturer behind NaviPlan
software.
EISI is based in Winnipeg and the company
has been in business 11 years, making it one of the longer
established companies in the financial planning software
industry.
Private company with 35,000 users of the software
in Canada and the US today. Some of Canada's largest financial
institutions use NaviPlan tools nationally and EISI's client
list is long. The clients are well diversified and no one
client dominates.
They have a developed U.S. client base using
an Americanized version of NaviPlan.
More than a dozen full-time telephone support
staff are available to troubleshoot, from 8AM to 8PM eastern,
Monday to Friday.
Three types of training (hands-on training
with an instructor, interactive online and multimedia) are
available to you. Hands-on training is available nationally.
Bilingual products and support services
are also available.
Product Characteristics
you may Like
Final client reports that
come in templates can be edited for your personal touch.
You can even insert your logo.
Final client reports can
be converted into a PowerPoint presentation.
Concepts section of both
programs contains historical investment market data that
can be comparatively charted and used to educate your clients
about historical market conditions.
NaviPlan can make you smarter
- the software analyzes client data on its own and suggests
strategies, problems and more that will enhance the client
net worth.
Three words: Monte Carlo
Simulation (MS). MS is the state of the art probability
analysis tool that allows you to show the likelihood of
reaching one's goals, providing your clients with ranges
of answers and helping you create a more realistic financial
plan.
Extended uses actual tax
rates and brackets while Standard uses average rates for
a quicker and simpler calculation.
There
is a drill down capability to find detailed answers behind
many graphs and charts.
Product Characteristics
you may Dislike
NaviPlan does not have an integrated contact
management system, leaving you to input name and address
information separately.
You have to pay for training and it is expensive
($250 per single user). However, self study multimedia tutorials
and user guides are available at no additional cost.
Stand-alone tool is not password protected.
The technical tax and financial statistics
inside the software are not audited or verified by an expert
third party like an accounting firm, which may give you
greater comfort over the accuracy of technical data within
the tool.
There is no foreign currency capability.
There are no client invoicing templates or
engagement letter templates.
Client data is collected on paper or directly,
but there is no direct data upload capability from a disk
or third party program like Quicken.
No integration with mutual fund database tools
like Pal Trak or Bell Charts for its basic model. This feature
is available in the Trio version of the software. Further,
there is no integration with investment trade execution
or insurance products.
You may find it confusing to understand how
the many savings strategies, deficit reduction strategies,
cash flow sweeps and more may be impacting the cash flows
of client data. Therefore, the training program is a must.
It could take a while to get your customizations
done, given the large number of users and corporate clients.
Key Facts for Corporations in Search of Financial
Planning Tools
EISI has built integrated contact management
capabilities for some corporate clients already.
NaviPlan can be networked for large national
dealers. It also offers a web-based capability for regular
use and to obtain software upgrades.
User compliance reports and database mining
reports for marketing are available to companies that network
their software for all users.
Networked versions can be placed behind a
company's firewall and existing password infrastructure.
Key preferences can be locked and standardized. Levels of
control can be established for different types of advisors.
Differentiating Factors that make this Tool Cool
Visual display of results in different scenarios
within Extended is the best I've seen. If you want a tool
to impress a client, this is a great feature.
Final Word NaviPlan is a tool more for a financial
planner than a broker as the cycle time to collect and input
data, deliver the financial plan, generate the report will
take a few hours using either program. Further, it is a tool
for the more established financial advisor who has a basic
understanding of Canadian tax and financial planning terminology,
rules and strategies.
Interestingly enough, the majority of Canadian
users of NaviPlan use Standard, not the fancier Extended version.
NaviPlan is clearly one of the largest and most used financial
planning software tools in Canada today, providing comfort
to an advisor looking for a blue chip tool. It doesn't do
everything, but it does basic cash flow management and goal
management effectively. It is clearly a more comprehensive
tool. If you are looking to do a quick and dirty five-minute
plan, Concepts will illustrate simple scenarios in a one to
two page report. Overall, NaviPlan Extended is a solid cash
flow management tool suitable for fuller financial planning
exercises.
The views and content expressed here have been provided by the author and not FPSC. This article is meant for informational purposes only and readers are encouraged to check with a qualified financial professional before making any financial decisions.
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