LAS VEGAS, Nov. 12, 2001 — Today at COMDEX Fall 2001, Microsoft Corp. announced the first Microsoft .NET service for the financial industry. The subscription-based finance service, code-named MSN®
Money Professional, is designed to help financial industry professionals better serve their customers through the flexibility and power of the Internet.
Demonstrating initial industry adoption of “MSN Money Professional,” Advent Software Inc. has signed on as the first company to implement the service. Advent Software plans to make “MSN Money Professional” available to its more than 6,500 clients, which range from small regional investment firms to large Wall Street investment banks including Salomon Smith Barney Inc., Bank of New York Company Inc., Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Morgan Stanley and Paine Webber Prime Brokerage Group.
Scheduled to launch in early 2002, the beta version of “MSN Money Professional” will combine select .NET My Services with secure document publishing, portfolio reporting and financial content from the award-winning MSN Money Web site to deliver the customer communication tools advisors need most. “MSN Money Professional” provides personal finance Web sites as well as publishing and notification tools to improve collaboration between financial advisors and clients, enabling advisors to easily and securely provide clients with portfolio updates, relevant reports, and real-time news and quotes.
“With this service, we’re extending the benefits of the .NET platform to the financial services industry, connecting advisors and clients in a more personalized and unified way,” said Bob Muglia, group vice president of the .NET Services Group at Microsoft. “‘MSN Money Professional’ exemplifies our commitment to provide technologies that embrace the accessibility and flexibility of the Web to help businesses meet the needs of their customers.”
Advent Software (Nasdaq “ADVS”), the leading provider of enterprise investment management solutions, announced it will use “MSN Money Professional” to build WealthLine, a new wealth management service that will provide financial institutions with an easy, secure, Web-based vehicle for advisor-client collaboration. WealthLine integrates investment data and financial reports that advisors generate through Advent’s Axys portfolio accounting software and Advent TrustedNetwork data service with “MSN Money Professional.”
“Microsoft and Advent both identified the need to deliver easy-to-use yet robust Web tools to our financial industry clients,” said Peter Caswell, president and CEO of Advent Software. “By combining Advent’s document publishing and portfolio reporting with Microsoft’s leading personal finance Web site and unparalleled notification services, we’re providing financial professionals with the best Web-based service available.”
“MSN Money Professional”: Customizable to Meet the Needs of Individual Firms
With “MSN Money Professional,” Microsoft has built a highly flexible and scalable Web service, allowing for firm-specific customization including site layout, branding and design along with personalized news and portfolios. In addition, financial institutions can integrate their own applications with “MSN Money Professional,” offering the benefits of improved client collaboration along with existing tools. Specific features of “MSN Money Professional” include the following:
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Private portal. Financial advisors can provide clients with a personal, secure, private-labeled financial portal. This portal features a current look at the client’s personal investment portfolio alongside up-to-the-minute news, research, quotes and other compelling content from MSN Money.
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Portfolio management. Advisors can offer clients a complete look at their portfolios without manual entry, saving investors valuable time. Because “MSN Money Professional” features a direct, secure connection to the advisor’s system of record, it automatically feeds a client’s account data into the Web-based portfolio manager.
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Report publishing. Advisors can efficiently interact with one or many of their clients by securely publishing reports. Whether it’s an individually prepared asset allocation report or a proprietary company research report, an advisor can quickly and easily specify which clients should receive it and then post it to each private portal. High-impact graphics, multiple report functionality and easy-to-use customization features communicate details quickly and effectively, providing clients with an integrated, personalized communication solution.
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software — any time, any place and on any device.
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