In a new, indispensable guide for financial institutions selecting portfolio management systems, Celent Communications compares twelve applications offered by the leading software vendors in the US and Europe.

In a new report entitledRanking the Vendors of Portfolio Management SystemsCelent provides an in-depth analysis of each vendor; the solutions are evaluated and graded based on a variety of factors, including the vendor's track record for speedy implementations, scalability, flexibility, cost, as well as a number of other criteria.

These systems once performed only standard accounting and tracking. Today’s new breed of portfolio management system capitalizes on being part of every aspect of the investment management business.

"The potential to improve operations across the enterprise represents a real opportunity. When selecting a provider, the financial institution should take a holistic approach that includes understanding how this system will support new business, the investment process and customer retention," said Denise Valentine, a Celent securities and investments analyst and author of the report.

"There are many vendors of portfolio management systems and the universe only continues to expand as veteran firms reinvent themselves, others increase cross-border activity, and global IT powerhouses leverage their know-how and infrastructure in the financial services industry." saidValentine.

Results were derived from interviews with the vendors, as well as discussions with users and other market participants. The rankings are given in Tables 1 and 2, below.

The following vendors were included in the study: Advent Software, CGI, DST International, Eagle Investment Systems Corp., EFFRON Enterprises, Financial Models Company, INDATA, Integrated Decision Systems, Odyssey Asset Management Systems, Pulse Software Systems, QED Information Systems, SimCorp A/S, and SunGard Investment Management Systems.