Updated Articles

  1. How is the performance vs. volatility graph calculated?

    The performance vs. volatility graph shows a plot of a fund’s annualised performance (on the X axis) versus its volatility over the same period (on the Y axis). The graph is most useful when comparing multiple funds rather than a single fund, as i...
  2. How is the portfolio composition graph calculated?

    The portfolio composition graph shows how the split of investments in a portfolio changes over time as a result of each fund performing differently. It is particularly useful in helping clients to understand that asset allocations need t...
  3. Can I produce a Portfolio report?

    You can generate a report about a portfolio by viewing the portfolio settings and then clicking on the Report button at the bottom of the pop-up screen. The report about a portfolio consists of the following parts: The name of t...
  4. How is the portfolio value graph calculated?

    The portfolio value graph can be used for a projection of two things: either the performance of a hypothetical portfolio starting n years ago, or the historical performance of a current portfolio given its current holdings. You specify the am...
  5. How do I create a Portfolio?

    A portfolio is simply a manual fund list for which you have defined holdings – e.g. that 20% of the client’s money is invested in fund A, 30% in fund B, and 50% in fund C. You set these values using the Portfolio link on the menu bar. This...
  6. How do I setup Preset Criteria?

    Preset criteria allow compliance officers to apply (orenforce, if required) standards across their organisation. For example: Contract features which must be recommended to a client (e.g. PPI on personal pensions). Other conditions w...
  7. How is Synaptic Research beneficial to Product providers?

    Synaptic Research gives product providers access to competitor-analysis and product-shaping information in a system which is fully functional, fast, and easy to use. No need to shunt data out into Excel for manual analysis or reporting – though an...
  8. Is there a difference between Product Research and Fund Research?

    Fund research works in almost exactly the same way as research into products such as term assurance, investment bonds, annuities etc. Mutual funds are treated as just another type of product, and have an entry (“Fund data”) on the Investments tab o...
  9. How are the contracts categorised?

    Synaptic categorises types of products using a three-tier hierarchy:   Group e.g. Pension Income, Investments Type e.g. Annuity, ISA Sub-type(or “basis”) e.g. Cash ISA, Stocks & Shares ISA, Purcha...
  10. How is the quartile ranking graph calculated?

    The quartile ranking graph shows a plot of a fund’s quartile rankings within each discrete 12-month period. In the first example screenshot below, the fund has been a top-quartile performer in 7 out of the 10 periods. A similar plot...