at Financial Technnology Year
Please contact them if you have any questions.
Features in Competitive Intelligence Platforms
for Product Development & Management
Research and analytics tools that monitor competitor products, flows, performance, and marketing strategies to identify opportunities and threats in the marketplace.
We ask vendors to mark their product against our feature list. It is not available for all products and in some cases we have derived data from publicly available sources. The list of features follows. Vendors can add a further 10 key features of their own.
Analytics & Benchmarking
Features supporting analysis, comparison, and benchmarking of competitor fund performance, flows, and attributes.
- Attribution Analysis
- Provides detailed attribution of performance and flows for competitor funds.
- Custom Benchmarking
- Create user-defined benchmarks for product comparison.
- Fee Structure Comparison
- Granular comparison of competitor fee structures and expense ratios.
- Flow Decomposition
- Breakdown of net flows by channel, client segment or region.
- Fund Attribute Drill-down
- Ability to drill into characteristics, holdings, and exposures of competitor funds.
- Granular Timeframes
- Supports analysis over customizable and rolling time periods.
- Peer Ranking
- Ability to rank competitor products by various metrics such as AUM, performance, fees, and flows.
- Performance Metrics Variety
- Range of performance metrics available (e.g., alpha, beta, Sharpe ratio, drawdown).
- Portfolio Overlap Analysis
- Identifies portfolio similarities and overlaps with competitor products.
- Product Launch & Closure Tracking
- Tracks launches and closures of competitor products.
- Scenario/Stress Testing
- Ability to test performance and flows under hypothetical market conditions.
- Style & Factor Analysis
- Analysis of investment style, factor exposures, or risk premia among competitors.
Collaboration & Sharing
The ability to work together with teammates within the platform and share insights externally.
- API for Data Sharing
- Ability to send data out of the platform via an API.
- Collaborative Workspace
- Supports project management and group collaboration within the platform.
- Export Capabilities
- Can export data into various formats (CSV, Excel, PDF).
- In-Platform Comments
- Users can leave comments, tag colleagues, or flag data for review.
- Integration with MS Teams/Slack
- Allows notifications and data snippets in chat/workflow tools.
- Permission-Based Sharing
- Set access level for internal/external recipients.
- Scheduled Report Distribution
- Automated scheduling and delivery of recurring reports.
- Sharing of Reports
- Allows download or sharing of interactive or static reports.
- Track Recipient Engagement
- See who opened or engaged with shared insights.
- Version History on Reports
- Maintains change logs on collaborative documents.
Customization & Extensibility
Options for tailoring the platform to fit atypical needs, workflows, or branding requirements.
- Access to Underlying Code (Open API)
- Documentation and developer support for integrating at code level.
- Brandable Client Portal
- Create personalized portals for clients or internal teams.
- Configurable Workflows
- Support for client-specific workflow automation.
- Custom Field Definitions
- Ability to define and use custom data fields/attributes.
- Customizable Alerts and Reports
- Advanced tailoring of output, schedule, and recipients.
- Flexible Data Models
- Ability to extend or schema-customize the underlying data model.
- Marketplace for Extensions
- Ability to choose from a store of add-ons and integrations.
- Plug-in API
- API for developing custom plug-ins or modules.
- User-defined Calculations
- Users can add their own formulae, ratios, or derived metrics.
- White Labelling
- Ability to rebrand the platform with client colors, logos, and identity.
Data Coverage & Sources
Extent, variety, and reliability of data the platform covers including competitor products, market flows, and third-party data integrations.
- Alternative Data Integration
- Ability to include non-traditional data sources (web scraping, social sentiment, etc.) in intelligence.
- Coverage of Private Products
- Inclusion of non-public or private fund data where available.
- Data Source Integration
- Ability to aggregate and harmonize data from multiple external and internal sources.
- Definable Peer Groups
- Customization of peer groups for focused comparison.
- ESG Data Inclusion
- Whether Environmental, Social, and Governance data is included for competitive analysis.
- Frequency of Updates
- How often new data is ingested and made available for analysis.
- Historical Data Depth
- Length of historical data available for analysis.
- Market Breadth
- Number of geographies or markets monitored by the platform.
- News Feed Aggregation
- Integration of news and press releases relevant to competitor activity and market trends.
- Product Universe Coverage
- Range of competitor products (e.g., mutual funds, ETFs, alternatives) included in the platform.
- Real-Time Data Support
- Whether the platform provides real-time or near real-time data capabilities.
- Regulatory Data Coverage
- Inclusion of regulatory filings and updates in the competitor landscape.
Market Intelligence & Alerts
Automated monitoring, customizable alerts, and competitive event detection capabilities.
- Brand Sentiment Monitoring
- Captures changes in sentiment towards competitors from news and media.
- Competitive Position Change Tracking
- Monitors and alerts on changes in relative competitive positioning.
- Custom Alert Channels
- Supports delivery of alerts via multiple channels (email, SMS, Slack, etc.).
- Customizable Alert Criteria
- Users can define thresholds or triggers for alerts (e.g., flow spikes, performance drops).
- Event Detection
- Automatic detection of notable competitor or market events (launches, closures, rebrandings).
- Integration with Workflow Tools
- Ability to connect alerts with task or workflow management platforms.
- Marketing Campaign Detection
- Identifies and tracks active marketing campaigns by competitors.
- Real-Time Alerts
- Immediate notification of significant competitor activity or market changes.
- Regulatory Event Alerts
- Alerts to competitor-related regulatory filings, launches, or actions.
- User-specific Alert Preferences
- Different users or teams can have their own alert definitions.
Marketing Activity & Digital Intelligence
Tracking of competitor marketing strategies, digital presence, and campaign effectiveness.
- Campaign Spend Estimation
- Estimates digital advertising spend by competitors.
- Competitor Share of Voice
- Estimates brand visibility versus competitors across digital channels.
- Content Analysis
- Analyzes the type, frequency, and engagement of published content.
- Email Marketing Intelligence
- Monitors frequency and themes of competitor email marketing campaigns.
- Engagement Metrics Capture
- Captures audience engagement data across digital touchpoints.
- Landing Page Analysis
- Reviews and catalogues competitor marketing landing pages.
- Marketing Message Tracking
- Logs changes in competitor messaging and positioning.
- Paid Media Monitoring
- Tracks display, search, and social ad placements by competitors.
- Social Media Scraping
- Monitors competitor activity and engagement on social media.
- Website & SEO Monitoring
- Tracks updates to competitor websites, SEO strategies, and keywords.
Pricing & Commercial Model
Clarity, flexibility, and competitiveness of the pricing and contract structure.
- Contract Flexibility
- Supports both short-term and annual contracts.
- Custom Quoting
- Can generate bespoke pricing for unusual needs.
- Free Trial Availability
- Prospective users can try the full product before purchasing.
- No Lock-in Period
- Easy exit or downgrade without excessive penalty.
- Nonprofit/Education Discounts
- Discounted pricing for eligible organizations.
- Pay-as-you-go Option
- Usage-based billing models are available.
- Price Transparency by Feature
- Costs for add-ons and premium features are explicit.
- Pricing Tiers
- Offers multiple pricing tiers for different user types or features.
- Transparent Pricing
- Pricing is clearly described, with no hidden fees.
- Volume Discounts
- Lower unit prices when buying for more users or enterprise.
Security & Compliance
The platform’s ability to safeguard data and comply with relevant regulations.
- Audit Logging
- Tracks every action or change for forensics and compliance.
- Data Residency Options
- Ability to select or guarantee geographic location of data storage.
- Data Retention Policies
- Customizable duration for retention and deletion of client data.
- Encryption Standards
- Level and standard of cryptographic protection (e.g., AES-256).
- GDPR/Data Privacy Compliance
- Supports European and other data privacy/sovereignty regimes.
- Secure API Access
- APIs require secure keys and/or OAuth for all operations.
- Third-party Security Certification
- Possession of certifications like SOC2, ISO 27001.
- User Authentication Controls
- Multi-factor authentication and granular access policies.
- User Role Management
- Flexible assignment of user rights and access by role.
- Vulnerability Management
- Regular scanning for security vulnerabilities and pen testing.
Support & Training
Availability and quality of onboarding, maintenance, and user enablement services.
- Community Forum
- Users can interact and share solutions and workflows.
- Comprehensive Knowledge Base
- Online portal with FAQs, manuals, and troubleshooting guides.
- Dedicated Account Manager
- Assigned point of contact for support and troubleshooting.
- Implementation Services
- Guided onboarding and setup assistance.
- In-Platform Tutorials
- Interactive walk-throughs and training built into the app.
- Live Customer Support
- Access to chat, phone, or email support in real-time.
- Multi-language Support
- Support team can provide help in multiple languages.
- Regular Feature Updates
- Platform provides new features and enhancements on a fixed cadence.
- Training Workshops
- Classroom, virtual, or recorded training sessions.
- User Feedback Mechanism
- A way to submit feature requests or improvements directly to the product team.
Technical Architecture & Integration
The underlying build quality, scalability, and integration points with other enterprise systems.
- API Connectivity
- Provides RESTful or other APIs for programmatic access.
- Batch Processing Support
- Allows scheduled overnight or periodic jobs.
- Cloud Deployment
- Available as SaaS or cloud-native deployment.
- Data Encryption
- Ensures all data in transit and at rest is encrypted.
- Data Ingestion Capacity
- Volume of external data the platform can ingest per day.
- Latency for API Data Retrieval
- Average time to return data from API calls.
- On-Premise Deployment Option
- Supports behind-firewall or on-premise deployment.
- Plug-in Framework
- Allows in-house or third-party plug-ins and extensions.
- Sandbox/Test Environment
- Supports testing and experimentation on non-production data.
- Scalability
- How well the platform scales with increasing users and data.
- Single Sign-On (SSO)
- Integrates with enterprise authentication services.
User Experience & Interface
The quality, flexibility, and customizability of the user interface and platform navigation.
- Accessibility Features
- Support for users with different accessibility needs.
- Contextual Drill-down
- Can move from summary to underlying data in one click.
- Custom Dashboards
- Users can build their own dashboards with selected KPIs and charts.
- Data Visualization Options
- Number of different chart or visualization types supported.
- Language Localization
- Supports multiple interface languages.
- Mobile Compatibility
- Usable on mobile devices and tablets.
- Personalized Views
- Users can save and share their own workspace setups.
- Report Builder
- Drag-and-drop or WYSIWYG reporting for tailor-made outputs.
- Speed of Interface
- Average time to load primary dashboard views.
- User Documentation & Help
- Comprehensive reference guides and ‘how-to’ resources.