In the second of a four-part series on wealth management technology, Celent Communications ranks the top financial planning & advice software vendors in the mass affluent, high net worth, and European market segments.

The financial planning software market is a highly competitive and crowded space. Financial institutions face a difficult challenge when evaluating the various solutions; there are a number of basic similarities among the contenders, yet shades of difference are evident in each offering. To help clarify the points of differentiation, Celent has split the vendors into two categories: pure-play vendors—those who focus on financial planning as an end product, and front-office workstation vendors—those who use financial planning as the foundation for a robust front-office advisor workstation offering.

Who are the leaders in the financial planning & advice vendor market? In the new 60-page report, Ranking the Vendors of Wealth Management Technology 2002: Financial Planning & Advice, Celent Communications analyzes the solutions of 12 vendors and ranks them (Table 1). The rankings are based on eight criteria: core planning functionality, market segment reach, proven solution, usability, administrative capabilities, client communication capabilities, advisor productivity functions, and portfolio monitoring.

Top Financial Planning/Advice Vendors

"Features and functionality aside, we cannot stress enough the importance of product usability. No matter what a financial planning program’s capabilities, if the advisors don’t use it, then it’s worthless. As such, we strongly recommend that advisors be brought into the evaluation process when judging different vendor solutions," states Celent analyst Pamela Brewster, the lead-author of the report.

The vendors covered in this report include: AssetPlanner (which was acquired by Accenture), BANQIT, Brainpower, EISI (Naviplan), DirectAdvice, eMoneyAdvisor, Financeware, Financial Engines, Financial Profiles, netDecide, PIE Technologies, RiskMetrics.