With 2011 here, so are the challenges advisors face enticing clients into investing. As Lauren Barack explains in Registeredrep.com, “thankfully there are updates to financial planning software that offer some back to basics tools designed to help advisors illustrate portfolios more simply, allow investors to assist in their own planning, and even compare their goals against peers”. Hopes are with the new tools, it will give clients “more control, and, as a result, a bit more comfort” Barack writes.

Sophie Schmitt, senior analyst at Aite Group, predicts that the economic downturn has clients less interested in investments and more interested in managing their current cash flow. Schmitt writes “So solutions that do more than just spit out an investment, but also a debt management and emergency cash reserves will be potentially desirable”.

Barack mentions two of EISI’s new tools. Presentation Module, which is “ideal when working with new clients who want a quick overview in a slide show format before deciding to invest further time and money”, has four presentations on retirement, education, insurance and cash flow planning. The Retirement Customer Facing Application, scheduled for release on January 18, “can be re-branded for individual firms, and sit on a rep’s Web site allowing clients to do some mini-retirement calculations on their own before calling a rep to take the next step.”