How do I get started?

Go to www.financeware.com and register for your free secure account. Once you choose the type of account you'd like to create and accept the User Agreement, any of the plans you create using our tools will be stored in that account. Complete the Registration screen (this is where you will create your user name and password). You will be returned to the same screen if all of the information is not filled in or if the user name you chose is not available (your user name must be unique to our system). If your information is accepted, you will see a screen informing you that you have been successfully registered.

When I enter my user name and password and click the "Secure Server" button, I get a message saying that something has expired. What is happening?

Either you have exceeded your free 7-day trial period or payment on your account has lapsed. Call our Sales Department toll-free at 877-883-7526 to bring your plan payment up to date and regain access to the information

How can an Investor and Advisor use the site collaboratively?

While logged on simultaneously, both advisor and client can use the "save my changes" and "view partners changes" links at the top right-hand side of the plan input and results pages to work together. You must click "save my changes" before the individual with which you are collaborating can click "view partners changes" to see your changes.

What does "probability analysis" mean?

Probability analysis is the process of determining the odds that a plan will achieve certain goals instead of just calculating one, overly simplistic, ending value. Instead of giving one possible scenario with one result, it generates many possible scenarios from which the probability of achieving a given result is determined. Since the future is unknown, this is a much better method for estimating the likelihood of success.

I am very interested in using your site but I am a little concerned about revealing account numbers and other personal information. Can I still use your site without revealing account numbers?

Absolutely. We understand your privacy concerns. As stated in our Privacy Policy, we will not disclose any of your personal information. Additionally, when you are on the investment "Holdings" screen, account name, account number, account type, and firm are completely optional. They are provided for your convenience or for automatic updates of account values (if available). In addition, be assured that we use a secure server and appropriate security precautions for all of our information-sensitive pages. Your personal information is stored in a secure and encrypted location.

Back to the Menu 

Is there a printable copy of the Client Profile and the Investment Objectives Questionnaire?

Yes. These documents can be found in your News and Updates section, found on the right-hand side of your account (client list) page.

How does financeware help me find Investors who may need my help?

By registering in our Advisor Directory, Investors will be able to contact you directly from your information page, or they can anonymously e-mail/submit plans to you for review. If they like what they see, they can request to become your client.

How do my clients get a user name and password?

When you add a new client to the site, you create a user name and password for them. Once you input their e-mail address, they will receive an e-mail that gives them their user name and password and invites them to visit the site as your client. After they log in, they can change their password, but not their user name. (You, of course, will continue to access your client accounts from your own account screens.)

Why can't I find my listing in the Advisor Directory?

You may want to double-check whether you entered your information correctly. You can access your directory listing from the right-hand side of the "Clients" page through the "Activate Free Directory Listing" or "Edit Directory Information" links (On the "Edit Directory Links" screen, be sure to mark "Yes" at the top and click "Save" at the bottom of the screen).

I got an email about "hits". What does it mean?

A "hit" means someone has looked at your Advisor Directory listing. From the top of the "Clients" page, you can click on "View Client/Prospects Visits" to view the information, clear new hits, or change the number of hits it takes to generate an email. If you receive an abundance of emails from us due to the number of hits on your Advisor Directory listing, you can change the email notification threshold to a higher number or input 99 to suppress all notifications. If you make this change, please make sure you click the "Save Entries" button to update our notification system.

Back to the Menu 

Will your software help me choose specific investments?

No. Our site does not provide financial planning or investment advice. The services we provide are designed for use with an appropriately registered professional Financial Advisor. We encourage you to search for an Advisor in our Advisor Directory. If you already have a Financial Advisor, encourage him or her to register on our site so you can work together online.

I am an individual Investor in need of an Advisor. Where do I look for one?

From our homepage, click on "Search Advisor Directory" and enter your selection criteria. Checking the box marked "Choice Advisors?" will limit your search only to those people who have Choice Advisor status. Click on the name of any Advisor to view more detailed information. From this screen, you can anonymously e-mail or submit plans to an advisor to see if they are able to help you reach your goals.

Back to the Menu 

How do I use the Asset Allocation pages?

There are two input pages for determining the make-up of a plan portfolio. On the Standard Allocation Mode, you may choose a pre-determined asset mix with a limited number of asset types, or create your own combination of assets for a custom portfolio by clicking on the Add button under the portfolio name.

The Risk and Return Allocation Mode page allows you to create a portfolio from a larger menu of specific asset classes. The asset classes are found by clicking the Calculate button. You may use any combination, and choose from historical periods for risk and return for the portfolio. You can click SELECT on the desired period and it will be entered into the risk/return boxes on the screen. This page only uses Monte Carlo simulation to calculate results. As an alternative, you may manually enter the Return and Risk factors you want to use for the calculation.

In what order are withdrawals assumed to occur? Are minimum distributions considered?

First, minimum distributions (if any are required) are transferred from the tax-deferred category to the taxable category (and the associated taxes withdrawn). Second, income needs are satisfied with taxable money, then tax deferred, then tax-exempt (Roth). In short, withdrawals are taken in what would generally be considered the most tax-efficient manner.

How does the data I input in the retirement income section relate to the distribution information under withdrawals?

The retirement distribution figure is the total need during retirement. This will be reduced automatically by any other sources of income (such as Social Security or pensions) you enter on the retirement income screen.

How do I deal with varying income needs during retirement?

Many people have a higher income need during the first part of retirement for travel, etc. You can deal with this by putting the baseline amount they will need throughout retirement on the withdrawals screen under "Your Desired Annual Retirement Distribution" (the smaller number) and adding the additional need as a withdrawal for a fixed period of time.

How do I enter lump sum cash flows?

If you set the start and end age to the same value, the cash flow will be a lump sum.

Where do you get the Risk and Return Data for the Asset Classes?

The data comes from two sources, Ibbotson, a well-known market research firm, and The Center for Research in Security Prices (CRSP), a financial research center at the Graduate School of Business at The University of Chicago. CRSP maintains historical data files on the financial markets and creates tools that track, measure, and analyze market data.

What is the yield shown on the Risk and Return Allocation Mode page?

This is an informational number that refers to the amount of the return (this amount is included in the return figure) that will be treated as ordinary income for tax purposes.

What are the "Assumed", "Optimistic", and "Pessimistic" rates of return?

These are fixed rates of return that can be used to see how "traditional" linear projections compare to the more realistic probability analysis results. The assumed rate is the geometric average return, which equals the arithmetic average used to run the simulations. The arithmetic average is higher than the geometric average because of the way it is calculated. The average normally reported for investments and indexes is the geometric average.

What happens when I choose "Auto-Calculate Returns" for these values?

When you choose "auto- calculate returns" for theses fixed returns, the engine returns the geometric average for the values at the 5th percentile (optimistic), 50th percentile (assumed), and the 95th percentile (pessimistic).

How are "auto-calculated" tax rates determined?

The pre-retirement rate is based on current annual income. The post-retirement tax rate is based on the desired retirement income need. It is conservatively estimated at marginal rates for a number of reasons:

• There is tremendous uncertainty about future rates and marginal rates are more conservative.

• Additionally, in some cases (when plans are tremendously successful) the marginal rate may still be too low because they have moved to a higher bracket.

• Since the overwhelming majority of plans entered on the system are for high net-worth families that would itemize, the marginal federal rate is reduced to reflect the state tax deduction that would be received.

If you would like to override any of these assumptions, we provide the "manual" option so your estimates can be used if you prefer.

Back to the Menu 

How does the Historical Audit function work?

This approach illustrates how an investor's plan would have performed in history over particular sequences of periods, beginning with the year of 1926. This tool takes the investor's plan and tests it against each rolling historical period of market return data. Because the historical method is directly linked to the performance of asset classes in sequential historical periods, the number of simulations is limited to the number of sequential historical periods available for the proposed plan length. For example, a plan over a 39-year period would test 37 periods (1926-1964, 1927-1965, 1928-1966, etc.). In cases where the plan is too long to have an adequate number of historical periods (40 years or longer), the plan is split in half and run against the same market period for each half. In this case, the market period is listed twice.

How does the Wealth Simulator function work?

This approach simulates possible outcomes for an investor's plan by randomly applying historical data from the historical data period (1926-present) for all asset classes chosen for the plan. One thousand trials are used in each simulation. This tool's rationale is that markets produce returns similar to history, but in different patterns. This tool also assumes that, since 1926, the market has presented the extent and scope of variations in performance likely to be seen during any market period.

How does the Monte Carlo simulation function work?

This approach uses randomly generated returns based on the average return and standard deviation of the portfolio chosen (or the risk/return manually entered) to simulate the performance of a plan. One thousand trials are produced in each set of calculations. For every year of every trial, returns are randomly generated based on the risk and return.

What is Random Mortality?

Random mortality uses life expectancy tables and randomly introduces lifetimes into the Monte Carlo simulation. Each one of the 1,000 trials has a randomly generated lifespan that determines when the goals and end values occur.

What is Fixed Mortality?

Fixed mortality calculations run the simulations using the plan period identified on the Personal page of the plan. It does not vary with each trial. For Historical Audit, only Fixed Mortality is used. For Wealth Simulator and Monte Carlo simulation, you can choose from Fixed or Random Mortality.

How do I use the % Rankings page?

The % Rankings page allows you to view a selected set of the trials in a simulation. You can show as little as every 25th percentile to as much as every percentile. Beside each percentile trial is a checkbox. For the graphical illustration of the results, check the percentiles you want represented and click "save my changes." For example, you might select "Show every 5th percentile" from the "Percentile Rank Options" to get the list of 20 results (5%, 10%, 15%, etc.) You will see those percentiles listed (along with the assumed, optimistic, and pessimistic for comparison purposes). If you choose the 5th, 25th, 50th, 75th, and 95th percentiles, click "save my changes," and you will see the graph illustrate the results of those trials.

How do I decide what market periods or percentage rankings are shown on the printed report?

The selections you choose to graph on the "Detail" page control what supporting or illustrative data is included in the printed report.

What is the difference between Today's Dollars and Actual Dollars?

Today's Dollars are real dollars or purchasing power. Actual Dollars are nominal or inflated. We do calculations in actual dollars and adjust the results to arrive at today's dollars.

Why don't the values add up in the report (in Today's Dollars)?

This is caused by the adjustment for inflation to the actual dollars. The figures are correct but appear not to add up because they are from different years (and thus deflated by different amounts).

Back to the Menu