MoneyGuidePro - Financial Planning Software

We developed the MoneyGuidePro (MGP) financial planning software for the "real world" where you and your clients live. We believe that the proper focus for financial planning software is the client, and our design philosophy and planning approach centers on what is most important to clients. Our mission is to assist you in providing reliable, complete, and understandable Plans for your clients.

We begin with what's most important to clients -- their goals. Clients want to know how they can use their financial resources to accomplish their goals. Next, we focus on presenting results that are clear and understandable. If clients don't understand their results, they are less likely to take action, and more likely to be dissatisfied with recommendations.

Third, we provide What If Scenarios so that you and your clients can explore multiple alternatives, and can see how sensitive a Plan is to tax changes or increased longevity. Fourth, we provide "Stress Testing" and Risk Management so that the client can see what might happen to a Plan across a range of real world uncertainties (e.g., down markets, premature death, or the need for long-term care).

Finally, MGP is interactive -- you can make adjustments during a client meeting, clients can be involved in the creation of their Plan, and clients can access their Plan, via the web, from their home or office.

What functions and features are in MoneyGuidePro Planning?

Overall Planning

One version of the system for both advisors and clients. Simple enough for clients to use, sophisticated enough for the range and complexity that advisors need in comprehensive financial plans.
Plans can be copied and modified, so creating multiple plans is quick and easy
Configuration options for advisors include use of historical and/or projected returns, selection of asset classes, input of model portfolios

Goal Planning

Either single or multiple Goals can be in a Plan
Shows how all Goals interact
Funds Goals in Priority Order, which may be different than chronological order
Initial entries are defaulted for ease and speed
Flexible entry of assets - in summary or detail
Flexibility in assigning assets to specific Goals, using assets in Priority Order, or both

College Planning

Can include one child or all children in a Plan
Includes average estimates for Public, Private, 2-year, and 4-year schools
Includes Peterson's college cost database
Identifies alternate funding sources (loans, scholarships, etc.) used to offset costs

Retirement Planning

Can be used alone or with other Goals
Three expense periods
Realistic life expectancy default calculation
Allows adjustments to future expenses
Allows fixed expenses (e.g., no inflation)
Allows for change in state of residence, which affects state taxes
Automatic calculation of Social Security
Allows unlimited other Retirement Income Sources (pension, alimony, rental, part-time work, etc.)

Post Retirement Planning

Unique capability separates basic living expenses from discretionary expenses (e.g. Travel, Major Purchases)
Focuses on the clients' needs and goals to help them create the retirement they want

Other Goal Planning

Can include single or multiple Goals in any Plan
Supports periodic goals (annual, biennial, every five years, etc.)

Assets

Supports all standard Employer Retirement Plans (ERPs) and IRAs
Limits contributions on each ERP and IRA based on current tax laws
Allows selection of "maximum" contribution for Traditional and Roth IRAs
Supports all types of tax-deferred, tax-free, and taxable asset types
Supports Coverdell IRAs and 529 Plans
Supports qualified, tax-deferred, taxable, and tax-free lump sum additions
Includes personal and business assets, and selection of whether to use to fund goals
Supports both current and future Deferred Compensation plans
Includes robust Stock Options module that compares results when varying exercise scenarios and return assumptions

Goal Planning Results

Capability to see Results for one Goal or multiple Goals combined
Option for graphs and detailed charts
Extensive What If capability allows for different scenarios, quickly and easily
Each What If Plan allows assumption changes in rates of return, inflation, goals, and savings
What If Plans allow new investments or retirement incomes
What If Plans show sensitivity to longevity, taxes, and SS retirement income
Monte Carlo simulation includes additional features -- compares two What If Plans, supports expense adjustments, and allows elimination of lower priority goals
Historical Back-test and Historical Rolling Periods Stress Tests show Plan Results if returns going forward were like historical returns
Bad Timing Stress Test shows Plan Results with "low returns" in one or two years
Class Sensitivity Stress Test shows Plan Results if one or more asset classes get lower than expected returns
Goal Funding Strategies allow you to show the impact of:
- converting investment assets to an immediate annuity
- establishing a 72(t) distribution
- utilizing NUA strategies

Insurance Needs Analysis

Illustrates life insurance, disability, and long-term care insurance needs
Defaults initial values for ease of use
Uses Goal Plan goals and assets (e.g., fully integrated with Goal Planning)
Can illustrate multiple scenarios for each type of insurance
LTC analysis includes city and state cost estimates for Nursing Homes, Assisted Living, and Home Health Care
Shows how purchasing an LTC policy would affect the Goal Plan (i.e. can client afford to purchase an LTC policy)

Net Worth

Supports entry of all liabilities
Supports entry of personal and business assets. Any of these may be sold and used to fund goals or held.
Provides summary Net Worth Statement
Detailed balance sheet with asset ownership

Estate Planning

Determines clients' needs for estate planning
Shows how By-Pass Trusts, Life Insurance Trusts, and Gifting increase liquidity, save taxes, and provide larger estates to heirs
Fully integrated with Goal Planning, illustrating how funding trusts and gifting strategies will affect the Goal Plan

Asset Allocation

Uses same asset entry as Goal Planning
Provides for Lump Sum or Full Allocation
Includes standard Risk Tolerance Questionnaire and nine Model Portfolios
Allows advisor to create a Alternative Portfolio for a specific client
Allows advisor to by-pass Risk Tolerance Questionnaire
Uniquely shows trade-off between Risk and Return
Shows changes needed to match Target Portfolio

Lifetime Income

Uses same asset entry as Goal Planning and Asset Allocation
Provides Monte Carlo simulation for single income stream
Shows range of possible results using the historical returns of the selected portfolio in random sequences

Client Reports

Prints clear, useful reports that clients can use to make decisions
Standard Reports are included in the system
Advisor can create customized Report templates
Reports can be saved in "Report History"
Allows advisor to control whether clients can print Reports

Advisor Options

Allows Advisors to configure their version of MGP
Advisors can create their own asset classes and model portfolios
Advisors can use Historical Returns (by selecting indices and a historical period), Projected Returns (by entering returns for each asset class), or both
Advisors can enter disclosure information that will print on Client Reports

Sharing

Unique Sharing Feature allows collaborative planning
All Plans can be shared on the Internet between Advisor and Client, or between Advisor and Advisor
Two Sharing Modes (View Only, Update All) so that Advisor controls what information can be changed

Technology

ASP-based. Advisors need only IE 6+, Firefox 2+, or Safari 3+ on their computer.
Adobe Acrobat Reader needed for display and printing of Client Reports

What methodology was used to create the Model Portfolios currently in the system?

Wealth Management

I use different asset classes than the ones included in MGP, and I have developed my own Model Portfolios. How do I include them in MGP?

Monte Carlo Card Game

Is the Monte Carlo Card Game part of MoneyGuidePro?

Tools and Templates for Your Practice

In her introduction to the Card Game, Deena says, "It is not easy to explain many of the investment concepts so important to the well being of our clients in a way that's meaningful. While we can explain the issues, and our clients may intellectually understand concepts such as market volatility and real cash flow, getting idea across at an emotional level is really tough. Over the years, I've learned that as much as we would like a client to know how he will react in volatile times, he does not. No matter how you pose the question, he is only guessing at how he will feel when his investment drops.

"Our friends from PIEtech worked with us to write the Monte Carlo Card Game, a program to demonstrate returns, risk, and volatility in a manner that allows our clients to experience how these attributes might feel in the future. The Monte Carlo Card Game comes closer than anything I have seen to giving the client a sense of virtual volatility." (page 131)

You may read more information about Deena Katz's Tools and Templates for Your Practice on the publisher's site, http://www.bloomberg.com/books.

The Company - Who Is PIEtech

What kind of a company is PIEtech?

We've built our business the old-fashioned way: with our own money. In recent years, while most tech companies were focusing on raising tons of money and spending it faster, we were concentrating our energy and income on product development. At the height of the dot.com frenzy in the late 1990s, our classic business model may have seemed out-of-date. In the 2000s, it has proven wise.

In the end, we are doing what most of you are doing: providing a better product and service, while seeking a reasonable return on our investment.

We're techies so you don't have to be. We obsess over the details of calculations. We extensively debate the relative merits of alternative ways of presenting information. We continually review our user interfaces, looking for ways to keep the inputs and results streamlined and straight-forward while not compromising accuracy and sophistication. We test everything intensively to verify both mainstream and off-the-wall scenarios.

We live, eat and breathe this stuff! And have since 1985! We're not rookies. MoneyGuidePro is our fifth generation of software. You benefit from that evolution, team continuity and obsession with accuracy.

What does PIE stand for?

Harold Evensky and Deena Katz, our advisors, both, talk about financial planning as a periodic - not daily - process. They encourage their clients to periodically review their plan and their investments, and then go on with enjoying their lives. We think that makes good personal and financial sense.

Who are the principals of PIEtech?

• Robert D. Curtis - Founder, President and CEO of PIEtech, Inc. - Designer of MoneyGuidePro
Bob has over 25 years experience as an innovator in the software industry. For the past 16 years, Bob has designed financial planning software for the financial services industry, and has been a leader in developing easy-to-use, interactive software for use by advisors, together with their clients.

In 1997, Bob founded PIEtech, Inc. As President and CEO of PIE, Bob oversees product development, business development and the day to day operations of the company. In addition, he serves as lead designer of the MoneyGuidePro financial planning system.

MoneyGuidePro was one of the first financial planning programs created for interactive web-based use. In May of 2005, MGP was selected by Forrester Research as one of the top three financial planning software programs. Today, MoneyGuidePro is used by over 21,000 financial service professionals.

Prior to forming PIETech, Bob served as President and CEO of 2 organizations; Compulife, Inc., an investment and insurance marketing firm, and Compulife Investor Services, a registered broker/dealer. Through its work with bank brokerage firms, Compulife became one of the top 10 marketing organizations in the industry, and was a consistent leader in its use of sales technology. It was while leading Compulife, that Bob and his development team began creating the first generation of MoneyGuidePro financial planning software.

Before joining Compulife, Bob owned and operated a software development company, providing accounting software for small businesses.

Bob has a B.S. in Finance from Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA and is also the author of "Monte Carlo Mania," published in Retirement Income Redesigned: Master Plans for Distribution, published by Bloomberg Press in 2006.

• Tony Leal - Vice President, Technology and Development
Tony has 15 years experience designing and implementing computer systems for client companies. Tony has technical and management responsibility for all software product development in PIE. In this role, Tony manages the development of the MoneyGuidePro systems, and is the system architect for all customized versions of our products.

Tony joined Compulife, Bob's prior company, in 1991, where he also had responsibility for product development. Tony began his current role at PIEtech in 1997.

Prior to joining Compulife, Tony was a System Engineer and Technical Project Manager for Unisys Corporation. His expertise included troubleshooting, resolving issues and gaining customer satisfaction with Unisys large systems accounts.

Tony has a B.S. in Computer Science and Information Systems from Appalachian State University in Boone, NC.

• Karla Curtis - Vice President, Operations
Karla has managed the development and deployment of computer systems in various business environments for over twenty years. As Vice President of Operations for PIEtech, Karla is responsible for product quality assurance, internal operations and staff support.

Karla joined PIEtech at its inception in 1997, after working as a Project Manager for Compulife for the previous two years. Prior to joining Compulife, Karla owned a successful training and consulting business, whose clients included IBM Corp., The Library of Congress, and the U.S. Marine Corps.

Karla was a Program Manager for IBM Corp. in the Washington, D.C. metro area from 1979-1990, responsible for overall development and customer satisfaction for a range of state-of-the-art computer systems.

Karla has a B.S. in Mathematics and Computer Science from the University of Missouri, and a M.S. in Organizational Development from American University in Washington, D.C.

What is the relationship between PIEtech and Harold Evensky and Deena Katz?

They are successful and nationally well-respected. Their knowledge, experience and philosophy are reflected throughout MoneyGuidePro.

Licensing

How many licenses (subscriptions) should I buy for my office?

If you have, for example, two advisors and three support staff in your office, you should buy two licenses, one for each advisor. When you need the support staff to enter client information into MoneyGuidePro, they should sign on as the advisor for whom they're entering data.

Security of Data and Privacy

How can I be sure that my clients' information is safe, secure, and private?

PIEtech will never disclose or share clients' personal information with any third party, unless required by law to do so (for example, to comply with a subpoena).

We use secure server software (SSL) encryption, which is the industry standard for secure data transfer software, to ensure data transmitted through the Internet is protected against unauthorized access. The secure server software (SSL) encrypts all information you and your client input before it is sent to us, and all data we collect is protected against unauthorized access. This technology helps ensure that clients' personal and financial information remains safe and private.

For a more detailed explanation, see the Privacy Policy and Security Information for MoneyGuidePro.

I've read your Privacy Policy and Security Information, and understand that you're using the same security technology that other financial sites on the web use. However, my client is still uncomfortable with having their personal and financial information "out there on some web site." Is there anything else you can tell me that might assuage their concerns?

If they're still uncomfortable, offer to enter them into MoneyGuidePro using an "assumed" last name. (If you do this, please remember that the "assumed" last name is the name that will print on the Client Reports.) You might even put their actual last name in the Notes field (also in the Client Profile), so you can remember who they really are.

Finally, there are probably some clients who just won't be comfortable with having their data "out there on some web site," and there may be nothing you can say that will make a difference.

Is there a way that I can make a copy of my clients' data that's on your server?