Photo by Expressions! face painting
Want to make your PortfolioCenter reports more eye-catching? Here are 7 painless, easy steps everyone can take to improve the appearance of their quarterly client reports:
1. Go visual
It’s a Facebook/Pinterest world out there now. Everything is visual and so are the Presentation Studio reports.
Presentation Studio reports contain the same information as the traditional PortfolioCenter reports, but they are much more visual and colorful. Yes, using Presentation Studio requires an additional license, but reports are one of the main tools you present to clients. “Everything is marketing” as they say and more visual reports are probably worth it.
If you prefer not to invest in Presentation Studio, you can still improve your reports with these steps:
2. Add a good quality logo
The ability to add a logo to the traditional PortfolioCenter reports has improved since it was first introduced. While the image must be in .BMP format, it can be either black/white or color. You may need to play around with dpi and size until you get a nice logo on the reports. But it’s worth the time.
3. Drop sectors & subsectors
Sorting your reports by sectors and subsectors adds clutter, multiplies the number of pages and confuses clients. How many of your clients know the difference between large and small cap, really? You may still wish to use the categories internally, but use only your asset classes (or top level) for client reporting. It’s cleaner and easier to understand.
4. Use upper & lower case
There are still a few brokers who download information in ALL CAPS. Take the time to reformat it to upper & lower case. Not only does all caps feels like you are shouting at your clients, you’ll be amazed how much better your reports look in mixed case.
5. Adopt consistent naming conventions
Develop and use a consistent naming convention for your security positions. For instance, “Pimco” rather than “PIMCO”; remove the word “Fund” from all mutual funds and “Com” from all equities; use “Amer Fds” in place of “American Funds”, etc.
Whatever conventions you decide to use, consistency will make your reports alphabetize better and enable the reader’s eye to travel down the page in a more unbroken flow.
6. Drop the client’s address and middle name
In addition to reducing the amount of personal information that can be seen by prying eyes, removing the client’s address and middle name or initial reduces the clutter on your reports. You might also switch from formal name (e.g. “Randall”) to the name your client actually uses (e.g. “Randy”) if you wish to project a warmer, more personal image.
7. Drop the extended description for fixed income funds
If you use a lot of fixed income funds and position reports, consider dropping the extended description for fixed income positions. This change will greatly reduce the number of pages and clutter on the reports.
If you need the information contained in the extended description, edit the description to contain it. For example, change “US Treas Bond” to “US Treas Bond 8.75%2030”.
Think this is good advice?
Find out moreAbout the Photo: You can find Ginny of Expressions! face painting and body art at events and fairs in central Virginia. She has won numerous awards for her original designs.