Investment and funds manager Parker Asset Management has reduced reporting administration time by implementing an integrated GUI-based asset management solution.
Parker Asset management’s managing director Phillip Parker said the company was previously using manual accounting systems such as Excel for client reports.
“We looked at a number of different packages over a period of six months but they were not good enough for our expanding client base,” Parker said. “With Powerlan [now Garradin] we have an integrated platform that is more productive as the previous system was too inefficient.”
Parker Asset Management chose Powerlan Portfolio Manager trust and asset management suite, which has been rebranded as Garradin Portfolio.
Garradin’s customers include Macquarie Bank Wrap, Perpetual Trustees and Tower Insurance.
“Powerlan was pro-active in helping us and no other firm was prepared to do this,” Parker said. “During the implementation phase Powerlan bent over backwards to help us migrate.”
According to Parker, his company needed to add value to its client’s reports in a user-friendly way.
“People want to know how they went,” Parker said. “We can now get that data to the accountants on time and tax returns are completed in August.”
Although a precise ROI for the implementation was not revealed, Parker said the portfolio manager has “saved us thousands of dollars”.
“We still have the same staff numbers, however, people can now concentrate on other things.”
Ajay Reddy, an accountant with Parker Asset Management, said the portfolio manager does require training to use.
“As it is investment software and not an accounting package, it’s not that user friendly,” Reddy said. “However, being Windows-based and not DOS-based like other investment software makes it very helpful as less typing is required.”
Reddy, who previously had no experience with the portfolio manager, said the system is functional and extensible.
“It is easy to get dividend reports and trading history information,” he said. “There are add-ins, such as modules for capital gains and trusts, but we have been provided with Parker specific reports.”
The system runs on a PC but can also be networked, according to Reddy.
“Powerlan is very efficient as they assign two consultants to you,” Reddy said.