The First National Bank of Chicago is in the final stages of installing an investment portfolio management system developed by Advent Software.
First Chicago is using the system in its trust and investments department, which manages more than $7 billion in personal trust portfolios.
Based in San Francisco, Advent Software provides portfolio management systems to more than 2,500 clients worldwide.
According to Jeff Roberts, a vice president at First Chicago, the bank sought a portfolio management system that could be aligned with a local area network platform and integrated into its existing trust accounting system.
Mellon System Used
Mr. Roberts said the bank had previously been using Mellon's Infiserv Trust Accounting System on a mainframe and relying on a service bureau for portfolio accounting.
In order to Position the trust area for growth, First Chicago decided to move the infiserv system to a personal-computer-based network. Advent Software then provided First Chicago with a system that gave 40 users access their software, called Professional Portfolio.
First Chicago began rolling out the system in the spring. "We spent the summer fine-tuning it, and should have the installation completed by the end of the year," Mr. Roberts said.
With the Advent software, First Chicago users can easily download data into spreadsheet programs. "Under the old system, we'd have to retype data because the interfaces weren't there," said Mr. Roberts. "Now it is a lot easier to calculate our performance figures."
Wide Range of Calculations
The system can perform a wide range of calculations including time-weighted rate of returns. Performance can be displayed before or after fees and figures can be broken out by asset class and time period. Performance measures can also be compared with standard or synthetic indexes.
Mr. Roberts said these features make it easier for his department to comply with the standards established by the Association of Investment Management and Research.
In addition, Portfolio Manager offers more than 180 reporting features.
