Software Donated by Financial Profiles Gives UW Oshkosh Students a Competitive Edge

Students graduating from UW OshKosh now can gain experience with the same financial planning software used by professionals due to a donation from Financial Profiles, a provider of financial planning solutions.

Barry Mulholland, the course instructor with over 7 years of experience as a financial planner, began using the software in his class three years ago. After success using a demonstration version, he decided it would be beneficial to create a laboratory for each student to learn how to use the software. He approached Financial Profiles to obtain licensed software for his students, and the organization agreed to donate software for Mulholland's courses with a renewable yearly contract as well as a teacher's learning guide edition, training tutorial CDs and sample case studies. "I wanted my students to have the opportunity to see how needs-based financial planning is done. In my opinion, there is no better way than to use the industry leading software," stated Mulholland, in a press release. Bank, brokerage and insurance firms throughout the U.S. utilize Financial Profiles' industry-standard solutions to enhance their competitive advantage in providing action-oriented advice for increased sales, productivity and customer satisfaction, according to the release. Financial Profiles' support for UW Oshkosh College of Business is part of the company's larger initiative to develop similar programs at other universities. "Encouraging and assisting future financial planning and advice professionals is critical to our industry," said Charlie Davidson, vice president of strategy and business development for Financial Profiles. "Being the industry standard for financial advice solutions also requires us to participate in recruiting, training and assisting the best and brightest. UW Oshkosh is a forward-thinking partner in this mission and we value their perspective and shared commitment."

PFPC Makes Key Addition to its Global Business Development Group

PFPC, a member of The PNC Financial Services Group, announced yesterday that Edward "E.J." Mills has joined global business development as a vice president and senior director, managing the sales of advanced output solutions -- which provides printing, direct mail and electronic present solutions -- and investor processing services -- which provides insurance companies an outsourcing solution for variable annuity and deferred compensation payments requiring processing to comply with SEC and USA PATRIOT Act regulations. Mills reports to Bill Salus, executive vice president and head of global business development.

Prior to joining PFPC, Mills led the Insurance Strategy Practice of DST Output, managing marketing and strategy management for the P&C (property and casualty), annuity and life insurance market verticals. He also directed product management for numerous Internet investor products.

Mills has 15 years of financial service management experience with Prudential Financial and MetLife Insurance Company. He earned his master's of business administration degree from Duke University's Fuqua School of Business and his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Michigan's College of Literature, Science and Arts. In addition, Mills served as a U.S. Navy pilot.

Advisor Software, Inc. Enhances Client Acquisition Solution With 3.1 Updates Advisor Software, Inc. (ASI) has introduced update 3.1 for its flagship product introduced last May, Client Acquisition Solution, a portfolio construction and investment proposal application designed for independent Registered Investment Advisors(RIAs), Certified Financial Planners (CFPs), CPAs and smaller broker-dealer firms to gather new investment assets as well as service existing clients. The 3.1 updates provide enhanced fixed-income capabilities and variable annuity sub-accounts.

The Client Acquisition Solution utilizes ASI's software and Web-based technology platform to provide investment advisers with powerful asset allocation, diagnostic, investment selection and portfolio construction capabilities previously available only through larger financial institutions.

With the 3.1 updates, the ASI application now can fully analyze each client's existing holdings and construct portfolios that take advantage of a broad range of product alternatives, including SMAs, ETFs, mutual funds, and individual stocks and bonds. Advisers also can now include fixed-income analysis, such as reports on credit quality, duration and maturity, as well as the cash flows generated by the client's fixed-income holdings, according to a company spokesperson.