at Financial Technnology Year
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Features in Product Performance Analytics
for Product Development & Management
Applications that track and analyze product performance relative to benchmarks, peer groups, and objectives to support product management decisions and marketing positioning.
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.
Benchmark & Peer Group Management
Tools and processes supporting creation, selection, and maintenance of benchmarks and peer groups.
- Automated Benchmark Updates
- System updates benchmark constituents and weights automatically.
- Benchmark Data Granularity
- Frequency of available benchmark data (e.g. daily, monthly, quarterly).
- Custom Benchmark Construction
- Ability to blend indices or instruments to create bespoke benchmarks.
- Dynamic Benchmark Rebalancing
- Benchmarks can be rebalanced automatically or on-demand.
- Fee-adjusted Peer Comparison
- Peer performance can be computed net of fees.
- Governance Controls for Group Changes
- Ability to restrict or log changes to benchmark or peer group definitions.
- Multi-benchmark Analysis
- System supports comparing products against multiple benchmarks in parallel.
- Peer Group Customization
- Users can define and maintain custom peer groups.
- Peer Group Data Provider Coverage
- Number of supported peer group data sources/providers.
- Peer Universe Size
- Number of peers available for comparison within the system.
Compliance & Audit
Features supporting adherence to regulatory requirements, as well as internal audit and oversight.
- Automated Compliance Checks
- System runs checks for relevant investment restrictions or policies (e.g., GIPS).
- Certification Support
- System can help with GIPS, PRIIPs, or similar certifications.
- Comprehensive Audit Trails
- All changes to calculations, configurations, and data are logged with user/time stamps.
- Data Retention Policy Support
- Supports configurable retention periods for audit and compliance data.
- End-to-end Data Lineage Tracking
- Ability to trace any metric or report back through all underlying data sources and transformations.
- Integrated Compliance Workflow
- Workflows guide users through compliance-related analytic processes.
- Regulator-ready Exports
- Produces outputs suitable for submission to regulatory bodies.
- Report Versioning & Approval
- Maintains prior versions and approval history of externally distributed reports.
- Role-based Access Controls
- Granular controls to limit data and feature access based on role.
- Sensitive Data Masking
- Automatically obfuscates or redacts sensitive data elements as needed.
Customizability & Extensibility
Capabilities to tailor analytics, workflows, or visualizations to your organization’s unique requirements.
- Custom Alert Triggers
- Users can define unique conditions to trigger alerts or workflows.
- Custom Metrics/Formulas Support
- Create, save, and reuse proprietary metrics, calculations, or modeling approaches.
- Custom Report Builder
- Advanced interface for designing custom reports, layouts, and analytics dashboards.
- Custom Workflow Automation
- Ability to automate unique product approval, review, or marketing flows.
- Flexible Data Model
- Underlying data model can accommodate new instruments, attributes, hierarchies.
- Integration with Other Analytics Tools
- Ability to plug into BI, statistical, or quantitative analysis environments (e.g. Tableau, Python, R).
- Multiple Language/Regional Support
- Interface available in additional languages and regional formats.
- Open API for Extension
- Rich, documented API enabling integrations and new feature development.
- Support for Plug-ins/Add-ons
- Users or third parties can extend platform via plugins or add-ons.
- White-label Portal Options
- Fully custom branding and client-facing experience.
Data Integration & Coverage
Capabilities related to sourcing, integrating, and managing relevant datasets for comprehensive product performance analytics.
- API Availability
- Ability to access and integrate data via application programming interfaces.
- Auto Data Refresh Frequency
- How often the system refreshes underlying datasets automatically.
- Benchmarks Database Access
- Availability of a broad library of industry standard and custom benchmarks.
- Currency Conversion Support
- Automatic data normalization across different base currencies.
- Data Export Options
- Formats and mechanisms provided for exporting underlying datasets.
- Data Quality Checks
- Integrated rules and processes for ensuring completeness, accuracy, and consistency of data.
- Historical Data Depth
- The maximum lookback period for analysis.
- Multi-source Data Integration
- Ability to pull data from diverse sources (internal systems, third-party vendors, market feeds, etc.).
- Peer Group Data Availability
- Access to robust peer group datasets for comparative analytics.
- Support for Alternative Data Types
- Ability to handle non-traditional or alternative data (e.g., ESG, sentiment).
- Support for Custom Universes
- Ability to define and analyze custom groups for peer comparisons.
Performance Attribution Analysis
Support for advanced decomposition of product performance to uncover root causes, supporting product enhancement and marketing narratives.
- Currency Attribution
- Ability to isolate impact of currency movements on returns.
- Drill-through to Holding Level
- Trace attribution results from top-level to individual securities.
- Excess Return Decomposition
- Breakdown of out(under)performance by sources.
- Factor-based Attribution
- Analyzes performance drivers by exposures to macro/micro factors (style, credit, ESG, etc.).
- Integrated Contribution Charts
- Visual representation of positive/negative contributors.
- Interaction Effect Calculation
- Explicit calculation of the interaction term in multi-factor attribution.
- Look-through Attribution
- Attribution analyzes holdings within nested structures (fund-of-funds, wrappers).
- Maturity/Sector Attribution for FI
- Attribution modules tailored for fixed income portfolio analytics.
- Multi-level Attribution
- Attribution by asset class, sector, region, security, or custom grouping.
- Scenario Attribution Tools
- Enables hypothetical or 'what if' attribution analysis.
Performance Calculation Engine
Core analytics and computational tools supporting calculation of quantitative product performance metrics.
- Alpha/Beta Computation
- System computes alpha and beta relative to chosen benchmarks.
- Attribution Analysis
- Supports decomposition of performance by factors, sector, region, etc.
- Computation Speed
- Average time to compute and display results for a portfolio.
- Custom Formula Support
- Users can create and run custom calculation formulas.
- Daily Performance Computation
- System can calculate and update returns and other metrics daily.
- IRR/XIRR Support
- Internal Rate of Return and Extended Internal Rate of Return calculations available.
- Out/Underperformance Calculation
- System calculates performance relative to benchmarks.
- Peer Percentile Rankings
- System ranks products against peer universes over multiple periods.
- Risk-adjusted Metrics
- Ability to generate Sharpe ratio, Sortino, Information Ratio, and similar statistics.
- Rolling Period Analytics
- Run analytics over customizable rolling windows.
- Time-weighted vs. Money-weighted Returns
- Ability to toggle and report both types of returns.
Product Comparison & Positioning
Tools that facilitate relative comparisons to support competitive positioning, manager selection, and marketing.
- Comparative Style Mapping
- Maps products to style or strategy categories for peer relevance.
- ESG/Responsible Investing Rankings
- Provides ESG or sustainability scores for competitive positioning.
- Highlight Outliers & Unique Selling Points
- Automatically detects and surfaces differentiators for marketing.
- Marketing Tear-sheets Generation
- Automatically produces client-ready factsheets for product positioning.
- Multi-product Comparison
- Side-by-side comparison of multiple products, portfolios, and benchmarks.
- Peer Group Custom Filters
- Filter and compare products with custom peer screens (region, strategy, etc.).
- Peer Ranking Metrics
- Automatically ranks products on alpha, information ratio, fees, and other attributes.
- Performance Quartile/Decile Splits
- Highlights quartile or decile peer group standings for single or multi periods.
- Return Deviation Alerts
- Automatic flagging of statistically significant out/underperformance.
- Risk Statistic Comparison
- Compares stdev, tracking error, downside risk, etc. across products.
Scalability & System Performance
Infrastructure and technical features ensuring platform reliability, speed, and ability to handle future growth.
- API Throughput
- Number of successful API requests the system can handle per second.
- Automatic System Scaling
- Automatically increases resources to meet higher usage or data loads.
- Batch Processing Speed
- How quickly the system processes batch analytics jobs.
- Cloud Deployment Options
- Availability of cloud-native or hosted delivery configurations.
- Concurrent User Support
- Maximum number of users that can access the system simultaneously without performance degradation.
- Disaster Recovery Readiness
- Ability to restore system and data quickly after an outage.
- Large Dataset Handling
- Ability to efficiently process analytics on very large portfolios or long data histories.
- On-demand Processing Scalability
- System can dynamically allocate more resources to large/complex requests.
- Performance Latency
- Typical wait time for key analytic processes to complete at normal load.
- System Uptime
- Guaranteed percentage of time system is operational during business hours.
Security & Data Protection
Core cybersecurity features ensuring data protection, privacy, and secure access for users and clients.
- Data Backup Frequency
- Frequency at which all analytics and reports are securely backed up.
- Data Encryption at Rest
- All datasets encrypted on disk/storage.
- Data Encryption in Transit
- All data flows encrypted between systems and users.
- Granular Permissions
- Access can be specified by product, report, or function.
- Intrusion Detection
- Monitors for and alerts upon unauthorized access attempts.
- Multi-factor Authentication
- Strong authentication required for user access.
- Regular Vulnerability Testing
- System is proactively scanned for potential security gaps.
- Secure API Access
- APIs are protected with encryption and authentication.
- Single Sign-on Integration
- Supports secure sign-in through SSO providers.
- User Activity Monitoring
- Tracks and reviews user activity for suspicious behavior.
User Experience & Workflow
End user features that improve ease of use, workflow automation, and collaboration for product development and management teams.
- Bulk Upload/Download of Data
- Ability to quickly upload or download large datasets/files.
- Custom Workflows
- Ability to configure stepwise processes for analytics reviews, approvals, or marketing.
- In-app Notifications & Alerts
- The system can send event-based alerts within the application.
- Integration with Productivity Tools
- Ability to connect with email, chat, or workflow management apps.
- Intuitive User Interface
- Interface is easy to navigate and use for a variety of personas.
- Mobile Device Support
- Optimized or native access through mobile devices.
- Multi-user Collaboration
- Enables team collaboration (comments, shared access, approval workflows).
- Saved Views & Templates
- Ability to bookmark or template key report configurations.
- Search & Filter Tools
- Fast search, sorting, and filtering of portfolios and datasets.
- User Role & Permission Management
- Supports granular access and edit controls by user or group.
Visualization & Reporting
Presentation features supporting data visualization, interactive analytics, and output generation for internal and external audiences.
- Attribution Waterfall Visualization
- Visual breakdown of performance impact by segment or factor.
- Customizable Dashboards
- Users can design and configure dashboards to highlight relevant analytics.
- Data Annotation Capability
- Users can add notes, comments, or flags to charts and tables.
- Drill-down Analytics
- Users can interactively drill into performance drivers by factor or security.
- Export to PDF/Excel/PowerPoint
- Output charts and tables to common report formats.
- Heatmaps and Distribution Plots
- Visuals for single period or cross-sectional product/peer analytics.
- Interactive Filtering
- Dashboards can be filtered in real time by date range, currency, etc.
- Real-time Visualization Updates
- Charts and tables refresh live with new data inputs.
- Scheduled Report Distribution
- Automated preparation and distribution of recurring reports.
- Time Series Charting
- Displays portfolio, benchmark, and peer performance over time.
- White-labeling
- Ability to customize branding and layout for client-facing reports.