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Sheer Analytics
FactSet’s intuitive risk analytics solution caters to the every stage of the portfolio management process wherein investment managers can measure predicted risk, analyze risk-based performance attribution, and construct an optimal portfolio. Predictive risk characteristics such as tracking error, beta, value-at-risk can be viewed and exposures can be studied to gain insight into the sources of portfolio risk. Furthermore, clients can test their portfolio by creating scenarios that represent extreme market conditions through which managers can identify and hedge against investment vulnerabilities. The managers can also leverage FactSet’s predictive risk models to analyze portfolio risk and understand where vulnerabilities exist. Besides, FactSet also helps clients in analyzing multiple portfolios concurrently by comparing results and determining whether there are areas where risk is concentrated among funds.
With FactSet, investment managers evaluate the performance of the portfolios based on the investor’s unique investment attributes such as fixed income, alternative assets, or fund of funds. The managers can not only create portfolios but analyze and optimize them across asset class. By measuring portfolio performance against the benchmark, the managers can view the performance trends and be informed about the risks. Leveraging FactSet’s information-rich databases, the investment community can stay abreast to the latest developments in diverse markets, track specific industries and companies of interest, analyze trends, evaluate transactions, and value companies. FactSet’s analytics solutions also play instrumental role in gaining a clear view of M&A transactions, governance, among others.
FactSet has acquired several companies recently including BISAM Technologies S.A through which the company looks forward to explore BISAM’s solutions for portfolio performance and attribution, multi-asset risk, GIPS (Global Investment Performance Standards) composites management and reporting. “Over the past 20 years, we have continuously invested to evolve our analytics solutions through innovation, acquisition, and strategic relationships,” says Snow. “The combination of BISAM and FactSet allows us to better serve the critical workflows throughout the portfolio lifecycle and fulfill our clients’ need for more consistent performance and risk data, throughout their organizations.”
While analytics is crucial, reporting also forms a key part of FactSet’s overall analytics framework. With the ability to automatically generate portfolio commentary directly, the company is helping investment management firms to scale their reporting capabilities exponentially. Further, users can file quarterly and monthly reports with ease as the generated commentary adheres to compliance best practices.
FactSet has recently bagged a deal with Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF) where FactSet will provide its multi-asset class risk model, workstation, and analytics suite for its finance management needs. Dhvani Shah, Chief Investment Officer, IMRF, says, “FactSet’s multi-asset class risk model, backed by comprehensive analytics, modeling capabilities, and outstanding client support model made FactSet best suited to meet our stringent demands for overseeing the Fund’s fixed income, equity, and alternative asset risk.”
Collaboration as Force Multiplier
FactSet has collaborated with Symphony Communication Services LLC, an integrated financial information and analytical applications provider, to establish seamless integration of the FactSet platform with Symphony’s communications platform to enable real-time collaboration across the financial services industry. “Enterprise-wide collaboration across members of the financial investment community will dramatically improve industry productivity,” states Snow. “This partnership reinforces FactSet’s commitment to delivering solutions that help our clients be more efficient across their workflows.” With this collaboration, investment professionals will be able to access quality messaging experience integrated with FactSet’s advanced analytics, content and technology.
Over the past 20 years, we have continuously invested to evolve our analytics solutions through innovation, acquisition, and strategic relationships
Effective Data Integration
With FactSet’s data integration and management solutions, clients can organize data and distribute it across their locations, enabling them to transform their decision making in portfolio management. The data management solutions integrate accurate data from a numerous data sources—including Factset-sourced and third party databases—in one analytics platform enduing intelligence to the end users.
The company beams real time information pertaining to portfolios right to the user’s mobile device. FactSet StreetAccount news is a feature that scans the U.S., European, and Asian markets for corporate news such as corporate conference calls, FDA and EU drug approvals, SEC filings, FTC antitrust decisions, and brokerage firm upgrades/downgrades. Thus, users can steer clear of all the noise, quickly find relevant news, and get unrestricted access to crucial intelligence about the markets of user’s interest.
The company’s smart data management and delivery capabilities drive the investment community’s capability to traverse the complex maze of compliance and regulatory requirements. FactSet holds expertise in helping clients with regulatory requirements such as KYC and AML, Solvency II, PRIIPs KIDs, MiFID II, GIPS, MAR among others.
Tools for Better Decision Making
With FactSet, building models for analytics is easy. While the presentation tools facilitate adding and updating of latest market data to the Word and PowerPoint, they also enable linking models, text, tables, and charts from Excel to Word and PowerPoint. The users can create and update charts from any application in FactSet and still use their proprietary templates to present the data. They can insert refreshable data into the Excel models and build auditable models with easy access to underlying calculations and source documents.
The company’s screening tools on the other hand help users to uncover investment opportunities and generate buyer list, and find deals. The screening tools enable users to search by specific criteria, identify opportunities, and target potential customers and investors. So users can create profiles for firms with information such as net buyers and sellers. They can also create reports on stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and institutions. The impact of the investments, updated watch lists, and portfolio performance can be viewed through any mobile device.
The users can leverage integrated reporting tools to build data by combining key portfolio analytics with proprietary content in a presentation-ready document format. FactSet provides tool that seamlessly integrates with the company’s portfolios, data, and workflows to ensure compliance and meets Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS) regulation.
As the investment community chases transparency and agility as the gateway for sustained growth, FactSet embraces with its comprehensive analytics, inventive technology and engaging services embraces the global finance world. As volumes of data keeps churning out of the digital platforms, FactSet stands resolute to harness this data so that the investors gain their ROI while the investment management get their due dividends.
