Short Takes: Allocation Software Marketed to Brokers

program it is promoting to bank-based brokers. Investment Advisory Network, Englewood, Colo., said the program, dubbed Compass, is designed to balance a customer's investments in mutual funds across a broad spectrum of objectives. The company is also promoting the software to brokerage firms and independent investment advisers. The asset allocation models were developed by Value Line Quantitative Group and Wells Fargo Nikko Investment Advisors. Available on Compass are the funds of 10 leading mutual fund families including Dreyfus Corp., Federated Investors, which already have a strong presence in banks. Other big-name fund families include Twentieth Century Mutual Funds, Invesco Funds, and Stein Roe Mutual Funds. Investment Advisory Network was founded in 1992, and provides software to help brokers track accounts at mutual funds.