DALLAS, Texas–(EON: Enhanced Online News)–StatPro Inc. (AIM: SOG), a leading global provider of portfolio
analytics and data valuation solutions, has seen increased demand for
StatPro Revolution from private wealth managers and RIAs. The company
reported that the two market segments together account for over 60% of
StatPro Revolution’s client base in North America.

“With StatPro Revolution, our
prospective clients have an easy to digest visual ‘test-drive’ of our
investment solutions and strategies. The reports include vital
information about distributions, re-investments and accurately calculate
several metrics over a custom timeframe”

StatPro Revolution is a cloud based portfolio analytics and reporting
platform that enables money managers always-on access to the granular
drivers affecting their clients’ portfolio performance. In addition to
incorporating institutional grade portfolio analytics, the platform also
provides money managers with the means to distribute reports internally
and externally, making communication with clients, prospects and
employees easier than ever. Private wealth managers and RIAs have
benefitted from the wealth of functionality, specifically access to risk
metrics like portfolio stress-testing and Value at Risk calculations
that the platform provides.

StatPro Revolution client, PlanStrong Investments, recently cited 15%
growth in AUM over a 3 month period as a result of using StatPro
Revolution to help sell their service. “With StatPro Revolution, our
prospective clients have an easy to digest visual ‘test-drive’ of our
investment solutions and strategies. The reports include vital
information about distributions, re-investments and accurately calculate
several metrics over a custom timeframe,” quotes Sr. Investment Analyst,
Alex Bender.

“Using StatPro Revolution has profoundly changed the way that I’m able
to run my business,” says Robert Regan, Jr. Managing Principal of Regan
Investments, a Minnesota based RIA. “I think the convenience of having
all of the data at our fingertips from anywhere in the world is a huge
reassurance for us. I can be anywhere and have the ability to look at
our clients’ portfolio performance and provide updates based on their
request. I no longer have to spend hours computing Sharpe and Sortino
ratios. The operational savings is an enormous bonus of the technology.”

The heightened market volatility since 2008 has had a tremendous impact
on the investor/money manager relationship. Not only are money managers
looking for investment vehicles that will generate positive returns for
their clients but also access to the analytic tools that will provide
them with the ability to assess the probability of future losses.

“Analytical and reporting tools play a vital role in the success of
private wealth managers and RIAs,” says Andrew Peddar, CEO of StatPro
North America. “StatPro Revolution fills a huge hole in the market for
the type of analytics (like risk, attribution,
contribution and stress testing) that were once prohibitively expensive.
Our clients have learned quickly how to leverage the information that
our product provides and distribute it to their advantage. We look
forward to serving these markets with continuous innovation and at an
affordable price.”

In order to fuel continued growth in the RIA market, StatPro will
announce a new pricing structure for RIAs in the next few weeks. The
product is currently available for $100 per portfolio/month.

StatPro is a Platinum Sponsor of the T3 conference in Dallas on February
16 – 18th at the Hilton Anatole Hotel. Here the company will provide
attendees live demonstrations of StatPro Revolution at booth 405/407.
Visitors can sign up for a free trial at the booth or online at www.statpro.com/revolution

About StatPro:

StatPro is a global provider of portfolio analysis, asset valuation and
reporting solutions. StatPro offers a SaaS-based analytics and data
platform to investment management companies and those who serve them
providing sophisticated portfolio
performance analysis, attribution, risk and GIPS® compliance. The
company has leveraged 15 years of experience to develop and launch
StatPro Revolution – a cloud based portfolio analytics solution that
performs sophisticated analysis, reporting and distribution. Available
anywhere, StatPro Revolution combines best of breed analysis with
leading technology to create a powerful, cost-effective web based
platform. StatPro has operations in Europe, North America, South Africa
and Australia and now has more than 250 clients in 25 countries around
the world. For more information on StatPro, please visit our website at http://www.statpro.com/.

# # #

Article source: http://eon.businesswire.com/news/eon/20120216005084/en/portfolio-analysis/portfolio-analytics/cloud-based-portfolio-analytics

The William J. Clinton Foundation and UBS Wealth Management Americas
(UBS WMA) celebrated the conclusion of the New York City
metropolitan
area pilot of their CEO-UBS Small Business Advisory Program with a
dinner recognizing the achievements of the participating small business
owners. The successful six month program represents the fulfillment of a
philanthropic partnership between the Foundation’s Clinton Economic
Opportunity Initiative (CEO) and UBS WMA, announced at the Clinton
Global Initiative (CGI) America conference in June 2011.

“The CEO-UBS Small Business Advisory Program is the perfect example of
how we can revitalize small business in America,” said President Bill
Clinton. “Together, my Foundation and UBS worked with ten small
businesses in New York to promote entrepreneurship and offer
business-to-business mentoring. It is through successful programs like
this that the Clinton Foundation has provided more than 75,000 hours of
pro-bono consulting hours to small business owners.”

As part of
UBS
WMA’s Revitalizing America initiative, the six month Small Business
Advisory Program brought leading UBS WMA financial advisors and their
clients together to provide ten small businesses from communities
including Harlem, Long Island City, Newark and Brooklyn, with:

• One-on-one pro-bono strategic financial and business counseling
• Access to the entire suite of UBS’s resources, including senior
  leaders within the firm’s marketing, human resources, operations and
  Investment Banking divisions
• Opportunities to network with industry influencers and major decision
  makers in both the private and public sectors.

“The Small Business Advisory Program represents UBS’s commitment to
helping entrepreneurs who display the best of the American spirit, and
who will play an integral role in revitalizing our economy. I am
particularly proud of the pilot program’s success as it highlighted our
firm’s dedication to small businesses, and underscores the passion our
financial advisors bring to their jobs and their community each and
every day,” said Robert J. McCann, Chief Executive Officer, UBS Group
Americas.

Article source: http://www.thestreet.com/story/11414689/1/clinton-foundation-and-ubs-wealth-management-americas-celebrate-successful-conclusion-of-small-business-advisory-program-pilot-in-new-york-city-metro-area.html

Article source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/santorum-reports-millions-in-income-as-washington-consultant/2012/02/16/gIQAVGknIR_story.html

DETROIT General Motors earned its largest profit ever in 2011, two years after it nearly collapsed.

Strong sales in the United States and China helped the automaker turn a profit of $7.6 billion, beating its old record of $6.7 billion in 1997 during the pickup and SUV boom.

GM is a vastly different company than it was back then. It’s smaller and has less debt, and its contract with the United Auto Workers is less costly. But it took a $49.5 billion government bailout and bankruptcy protection in 2009 to cut its bloated costs. The company posted a huge profit even though U.S. sales of cars and trucks were near a historic low of 12.8 million.

In 2012, GM expects to increase its revenue as global sales grow and it charges more for models.

Its effort to cut costs and take advantage of its global presence also are paying off. In the fourth quarter, costs fell by $500 million. It saved $100 million by cutting some of the dozens of advertising agencies and media managers it uses. It also saved $100 million by centralizing engineering.

“We will build on these results as we bring more new cars, crossovers and trucks to market,” CEO Daniel Akerson said Thursday.

GM’s stock price rose $2.24, or 9 percent, to $27.17 in Thursday trading.

That’s good news for the U.S. government, which still owns 26.5 percent of the company and needs the stock price to rise significantly before it can recoup all of the bailout money. The bailout and GM’s performance already are contentious issues in this year’s presidential campaign.

Still, problems emerged for GM late last year. Its fourth-quarter profit fell 8 percent and missed Wall Street expectations. Europe and South America reported losses. And sales growth in the United States slowed even as more Americans bought cars and trucks.

This year, GM expects to make less money per vehicle as the mix of sales shifts to cars from trucks, which have higher sticker prices.

Still, last year was a big success for the company.

Revenue rose 11 percent to $150 billion. Its per-share profit was $4.58. GM made the bulk of its income in North America, where its pretax profit totaled $7.2 billion. International Operations, which includes Asia, made $1.9 billion before taxes, but that was down.

GM sold 9.03 million cars and trucks around the world in 2011, up 7.6 percent from the year before. That helped it reclaim the title of world’s largest automaker from Toyota.

GM said 47,500 blue-collar workers in the United States will get $7,000 profit-sharing checks in March. The checks are based on the company’s North American performance and are a record for the company.

The government still owns 500 million shares of GM, which it got in exchange for the $49.5 billion bailout. Through earlier stock sales and loan repayments, the government has recouped about $22.3 billion. The remaining shares would have to sell for about $53 each for the government to recoup the rest.

Article source: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/02/17/3019569/76-billion-profit-is-highest-ever.html

WILTON, Conn., Feb. 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ – Private Client Resources, LLC (PCR), the premier provider of private wealth aggregation and data-driven solutions for wealth managers, advisory firms and family offices, was named “Most Innovative Private Bank Provider” in Private Asset Management (PAM) magazine’s 2012 awards, which identified leading investment professionals, wealth advisors and service providers operating within the private asset management industry.

(Logo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120215/NY54173LOGO )

PCR was selected by an independent panel of industry experts, based on key criteria and performance indicators, including financial progress and stability, growth in clients and internal hires, client satisfaction and industry innovation.

“This award reflects our never-ending pursuit of being best-in-class, helping private banks and other wealth management firms remove the obstacles of managing and operating client reporting, technology, data aggregation and integrated systems,” said Robert Fiore, President and CEO of PCR. “We are honored to be recognized as an innovator.”

PCR increased assets on their system by more than 220 percent in 2011, fueled by new client acquisitions and the continued success of its existing clients.

“Over 70% of wealth management businesses are running in-house aggregation and client reporting using software, spreadsheets and people. This is neither efficient nor scalable, and it’s a distraction to growing an advisory business. Private banks, family offices and advisors seek to spend most, if not all, of their effort growing assets. PCR provides the services and continual innovation that is allowing private wealth managers to exit secondary businesses like aggregation and client reporting and instead focus on their core business.”

PCR’s Palette Platform™ delivers robust capabilities, including high-quality aggregated data, premium reporting, CRM, billing and more, while allowing users to access only those capabilities they want and need to support their business. The result is a completely pre-integrated and customizable platform that is used throughout the wealth management industry.

The 2012 PAM Awards were hosted by Private Asset Management (www.pammagazine.com) with winners selected from leading firms in the wealth management and advisory community based on their work with the high-net-worth community. The winners of this year’s PAM Awards were announced on February 7, 2012.

For more information about PCR, please contact Jami Schlicher at 973-850-7309 or jschilcher@jcprinc.com.

About Private Client Resources

Private Client Resources (PCR) is a leading solutions provider to Private Banks, Family Offices and RIA firms. The firm’s private wealth aggregation and integrated reporting and systems, along with its custom solutions and services, deliver robust capabilities tailored to the needs of its clients. Wealth management professionals can enhance and grow client relationships through PCR’s innovative Palette Platform™, a proprietary, next-generation solution that includes high-quality aggregated data, premium reporting, intelligent dashboards, CRM and billing.

Headquartered in Wilton, Conn., PCR is a value-driven service partner committed to positioning clients for sustained growth. For more information, visit www.pcrinsight.com.

About the PAM Awards

The PAM Awards are awarded annually by Private Asset Management, a financial services industry trade publication. The PAM Awards invites firms to compete for awards in several categories by providing answers regarding their business model, services offered, growth in client count and assets managed, countries of operation, service innovation, and performance. In addition, The PAM Awards permits firms to provide additional information of their choosing in support of their candidacy. A panel of independent industry experts selects the nominees and winners based on a number of qualitative and quantitative performance indicators. The PAM Awards do not release statistics on the number of firms competing. Nomination or receipt of a PAM Award is not necessarily indicative of any particular client’s experience or a guarantee that the firm will perform in the future as it did during the period evaluated by The PAM Awards.

SOURCE Private Client Resources

Article source: http://www.execdigital.com/press_releases/private-client-resources-named-most-innovative-provider-serving-private-banks

Enlarge Image

In this image provided by Zone Athletic Performance, LLC, Garrett Shinoskie, left, director of athletic performance, works with Philadelphia Eagles guard Evan Mathis at Zone Athletic Performance on Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2012 in Scottsdale, Ariz. (AP Photo/ Zone Athletic Performance, LLC)

Matt Kemp was runner-up for NL MVP and signed one of the richest contracts in baseball history a year after he posted a career-worst batting average and was called out by his general manager.

What changed?

Not his batting stance. Not his swing.

The biggest difference for Kemp was off-season preparation. The Los Angeles Dodgers’ All-Star centre fielder spent last winter training at Zone Athletic Performance in Scottsdale, Ariz., a gym owned by Philadelphia Eagles guard Evan Mathis.

The results were quite impressive.

Kemp came close to winning the first Triple Crown since Boston’s Carl Yastrzemski in 1967. He led the league with 39 homers and 126 RBIs, while finishing third in batting average at .324 and stealing 40 bases. Kemp was second to Milwaukee’s Ryan Braun in MVP voting, even though he had better numbers. The Brewers won the NL Central while the Dodgers were out of contention much of the season, giving Braun the nod.

Kemp credits the trainers at Zone for his dramatic turnaround after a tumultuous season in 2010. He batted just .249, drew the ire of Dodgers GM Ned Colletti and made more headlines for dating Rihanna than for his performance. At Zone, Kemp learned a new exercise routine and diet regimen that he now follows religiously.

“Working out here definitely got me in the best shape of my life,” Kemp said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. “I was lighter than I’ve ever been, stronger, faster. They teach you how to eat right and they definitely know what they are talking about when it comes to weight training.”

The bankrupt Dodgers are banking on the 27-year-old superstar to build on his success. In mid-November, Kemp signed a $160 million, eight-year contract that matched the seventh-highest deal in the majors. He was right back in the gym, working hard to ensure he’s in excellent shape when the Dodgers open spring training next week.

“A guy like Matt Kemp is the epitome of hard work, dedication, and commitment,” Mathis said. “He always shows up to his workouts ready to improve and is constantly making sure he’s on top of his diet. The most important part of all is that he remembers his formula for success. Even after signing a massive contract, he still shows the same drive that he did when he was trying to prove himself.

“He’s the definition of a winner.”

Kemp stays on top of his training during the season, helping him endure the rigours of a grueling 162-game schedule. He’s missed only 11 games in four seasons since becoming a full-time starter.

“The two years I’ve been working out here at the Zone have been great,” Kemp said. “These guys really know what they’re doing. It’s a great place. I recommend it to anybody who wants to get their body in great shape.”

That kind of endorsement would make any gym owner happy. But the man in charge at Zone isn’t your average business executive. Mathis opened the club in December 2010 after six so-so seasons in the NFL. He wasn’t looking to start a new career, though this gave him options in case things didn’t work out on the gridiron.

“I’ve always been a gym-rat type, always had a passion for the fitness and the performance industries,” Mathis said. “Tying that into understanding the importance of off-season training for a professional athlete, I thought there was nothing I could do better with my spare time in the off-season.”

Turned out to be a wise investment — for both of his careers.

Before he opened Zone, Mathis was a journeyman player who made just 22 starts in six seasons with three different teams. He joined the Eagles last July amid a flurry of high-profile moves that reduced his acquisition to a simple line in the transaction column.

But this wasn’t the same guy who spent most of his Sundays watching from the sideline. The new-and-improved Mathis earned a starting job in training camp and moved into the lineup at left guard just days before the team’s first game. Mathis followed up with his best season and the 30-year-old blocker should cash in when he becomes a free agent next month.

“Why did I have such a good season? Numerous reasons,” Mathis said. “But the one I point out would be my nonstop training at Zone during the lockout.”

It’s difficult to measure an offensive lineman’s performance in numbers because most stats highlight skill positions. ProFootballFocus.com, a website that grades players on every snap, ranks Mathis No. 1 among guards. They base it on categories such as pass blocking, run blocking, penalties, sacks allowed (0), quarterback hits (3) and quarterback pressures (12).

Mathis also credits Eagles offensive line coach Howard Mudd for his success. Mudd prefers athletic, intelligent linemen over the bigger, bulky guys. Mathis certainly fit that mould, especially after hard-core training for 28 straight weeks at his gym last year.

“Howard was able to teach me a lot of things I didn’t know about the game,” Mathis said. “He completely changed the way I play. Going into my seventh year, I was still raw. I was always hungry to improve. The wealth of knowledge that Howard has to offer really helped me to step my game up. He gets the best out of his players.”

The same applies to Garrett Shinoskie, the director of athletic performance at Zone. Mathis weighed 308 pounds and had 21.8 per cent body fat when he began working out with Shinoskie. After just eight weeks, Mathis was down to 286 pounds and had cut his body fat nearly in half to 11.2 per cent.

The remarkable transformation is chronicled in a two-minute video on the home page of the gym’s website. The pictures featuring Mathis starting out with a flabby belly and finishing with six-pack abs are so astonishing that it would seem they are photoshopped.

“That saved my career,” Mathis said. “My trainers are great. The world will soon know.”

Several other professional athletes exercise at Zone, including Beanie Wells and Adrian Wilson of the Arizona Cardinals and Dee Gordon of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Wells also had a breakout season last year. He ran for 1,047 yards and 10 touchdowns despite having to play most of the season with a sore left knee. Wilson made his fourth straight trip to the Pro Bowl. Gordon batted .304 in 56 games as a rookie, earning the starting shortstop job.

“You have a short time as a professional athlete,” Mathis said. “You might as well make the most of it instead of taking a long vacation every off-season.”

___

Online:

http://www.zoneathleticperformance.com

Article source: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/baseball/offseason-training-in-arizona-plays-key-role-in-success-for-matt-kemp-other-pro-athletes-139471623.html

DETROIT, Feb 16, 2012 (GlobeNewswire via COMTEX) –
The Arab American Women’s Business Council (AAWBC) will hold its first quarterly networking event of the year on Thursday, March 8, 2012, at the Cedar Grill, 5377 Crooks Road, Troy, MI 48098, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m.

Gregory J. Zub, CLU, Wealth Management Advisor with Northwestern Mutual, will present “The Top 1% Planning Tools.” He will focus on the tips and tools used by the financial top 1% of our society to effectively plan for your financial future:

          --  Maintaining liquidity;
          --  Insight on how to add security to your financial planning (personal and
              business);
          --  Strategies to be successful in not outliving your savings;
          --  Protecting your assets (e.g., Long-Term Care Insurance).

Zub has been with Northwestern Mutual Financial Network since 1993. Born and raised in Troy, MI, he received a Bachelor of Science degree from Oakland University.

He says, “Long-term financial success doesn’t happen by chance. Each area of your financial life can have an impact–positive or negative–on your other goals. Understanding these interrelationships is important as you deal with ongoing economic issues. Financial planning is a life-long process that assists you and your family in taking control of your financial future. By setting financial goals, developing strategies, and monitoring the progress on a regular basis, the likelihood of achieving your results is greatly increased.”

AAWBC addresses the needs of Arab American women professionals and business owners as well as young Arab American women seeking professional or business careers in Michigan and across the country.

Founded in 2007, the 501c3 nonprofit professional organization represents a cross-section of Arab American women in many professions and businesses, including nursing, marketing and public relations, public affairs, engineering, law, academia, sales and financial planning. The organization is recruiting members as well as sponsoring companies who see opportunities in the Arab American women’s market.

Registration is $5 for members, $10 for non-members. To register please go to the AAWBC web site,
www.aawbc.org .

For more information, e-mail info@aawbc.org or contact Jameleh Haidous at 313.359.5481 or jhaidous@aawbc.org.

This news release was distributed by GlobeNewswire,
www.globenewswire.com

SOURCE: Arab American Women’s Business Council

        CONTACT: Jameleh Haidous
        jhaidous@aawbc.org
        313.359.5481

(C) Copyright 2010 GlobeNewswire, Inc. All rights reserved.

Article source: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/aawbc-holds-first-quarterly-networking-event-march-8-financial-planning-like-the-top-1-2012-02-16

CHICAGO, Feb 16, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) –
Independent wealth management firm Gresham Partners is pleased to
announce that David Colton has been named a Principal of the firm.
Colton joined Gresham’s client service team in October 2009. “Gresham
believes in employing advisors with a broad knowledge base supported by
creativity, technical aptitude and a desire to serve others,” said
Chairman and Founder Ben Beavers. “David came to Gresham with excellent
qualifications and a commitment to furthering Gresham’s success. In
addition to adding depth and strength to our client service team, David
is a key player in Gresham’s business development efforts. He is an
excellent fit with our firm’s culture, and we are pleased to recognize
him as a leader in our organization.”

Gresham’s integrity and high standards for accountability initially
attracted Colton to the firm. Added Colton, “It is refreshing and
empowering to work in a conflict-free environment where our investment
and business decisions are completely aligned with our clients’
interests.”

As a former attorney with ShawPittman, and a CPA with
PricewaterhouseCoopers and Ernst Young’s National Tax Department,
Colton draws upon a broad and deep knowledge base to provide wealth
transfer planning advice. His varied professional experience includes
structuring the purchase of a professional NFL team and advising
Andersen Consulting partners based in the Americas, Europe and Asia on
incentive compensation, and income and estate tax issues in connection
with the company’s transition from a partnership to the publicly traded
corporation, Accenture. Prior to joining Gresham, Colton was a partner
and co-head of the Fiduciary Tax Practice of MFA, a New England CPA firm
with more than 100 professionals, and was also the chief investment
officer for the firm’s related family office. Most recently, he was a
vice president and lead advisor at Neuberger Berman’s Boston office
where he managed some of the firm’s largest relationships. In addition
to his client responsibilities, Colton supervises Gresham’s
relationships with CPA firms across the country.

About Gresham

Formed in 1997, Gresham Partners LLC is a nationally recognized,
independent wealth management firm serving select families with
investable assets of at least $25 million. Known for its commitment to
delivering superior investment performance and highly personalized
wealth planning, Gresham’s client focused solutions feature hard to
access managers without the conflicts typical of other firms. With
nearly $3 billion under management, Gresham’s Risk Conscious(R)
investment platform and holistic planning are focused on
preserving and growing clients’ assets. The firm’s team of highly
skilled professional advisors allows families greater freedom to pursue
career and personal interests.

SOURCE: Gresham Partners

        Prologue Branding Group
        Edna Perez-Vega, 210-326-2801
        Account Supervisor
        epv@prologuebranding.com

Copyright Business Wire 2012

Article source: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gresham-partners-names-advisor-david-colton-principal-of-the-firm-2012-02-16

NBA teams overlooked Jeremy Lin for the same reason so-called experts first ignore stocks, business pioneers and anything else that defies expectations.

“We are just not as smart as we think we are,” said Bill James, the statistician and author who inspired Billy Beane of “Moneyball” fame to choose baseball players by new standards.

Lin’s rise from scrub to a Knicks savior has provided a lesson in valuation far beyond sports. He went undrafted after college and was cut twice before the season. Yet he scored more points in his first five starts than any player in NBA history while leading the Knicks to seven straight victories.

How could this have happened?

Those paid to secure the top talent missed the signs of Lin’s worth for years. But if Apple could fire Steve Jobs, then it makes sense that the metrics by which we measure a basketball player could fail as well, experts told The Huffington Post.

“The human tendency is to think in terms of a model,” said Andrew Lo, a professor of finance at the MIT Sloan School of Management. “We have a model for what a basketball player should look like, be like and act like. It’s the same for what a good firm model or stock might look like. Occasionally, our preconceived notions are shattered.”

Lo said that evaluators in any field develop a diagnostic short-hand to make many decisions quickly, and success that deviates from those standards should force evaluators to adopt a more sophisticated scale. In basketball terms, the short-sighted scouts who pored over statistics and video of Lin will have to eventually alter their paradigm to fit more players like him, Lo said. There was objective data that somewhat predicted Lin’s success years ago, the professor pointed out. For instance, Lin guided his high school team to the California state championship over one of the country’s strongest basketball programs. At Harvard, he scored 30 points against a 13th-ranked Connecticut team.

Lo equated Lin’s ascent to the index fund Vanguard in the 1970s. No one saw it coming. Back then, observers thought picking 500 companies based on market cap was absurd. “It’s become a multi-trillion dollar industry that has provided tremendous value for all investors,” Lo said.

There were a few obscure fans who spotted Lin, including a vegan FedEx delivery guy who Wall Street Journal sports columnist Jason Gay wrote about on Wednesday. Ed Weiland’s “eerily prescient” 2010 post on Lin is now making the rounds online.

Economist Jeremy Siegel, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, said Lin’s fairy tale debunks conventional wisdom in valuation. “Sometimes what we think are the best characteristics don’t prove to be,” he said. “In the stock market, most people think about growth, growth, growth, and don’t think about price. They often buy overpriced stocks that don’t do well.”

It’s the unseen that will ultimately determine true value, said Jeff Sica, the president of SICA Wealth Management. A company will often pick a new CEO who was the CEO of another successful company, or a prestigious investment firm will likely pluck its new talent from only the best schools, Sica said. Factors like a candidate’s enterprise or temperament often take a back seat. In Lin’s case, Sica said, “You can’t measure someone’s desire and intensity to succeed. The same holds for business leaders.”

Sica, a sports buff, points to the folly of the annual NFL Combine (starting Feb. 22) to assess talent before the league draft. Players sprint, bench press, jump and run agility drills before all 32 teams. None of the activities comes close to playing 11-on-11 tackle football. Yet a prospect’s 40-yard dash time can elevate or drop him several notches in the draft.

“Tom Brady didn’t look like a superstar,” he said, referring to the infamous dossier photo of a pasty, undefined Brady at the 2000 combine. Brady, eventually drafted by the New England Patriots in the sixth round, also ran a turtle-like 5.2 40-yard dash. But it didn’t get in the way of him reaching five Super Bowls and winning three of them.

“You’re turning the evaluation product into a computation mode, trying to oversimplify a complicated process,” Sica said.

Author Bill James, who gained fame for his “Baseball Abstract” books, has made a career of overhauling the statistics that baseball holds sacred in assessing talent. Basketball isn’t his game, but the lesson of Lin is the same. “We buy into simplifications of the universe which give us the illusion of understanding,” he wrote in an email. “Those simplifications — computer models, adages, homilies, religions, philosophies, experience, etc. — are very often just dead wrong.”

In Lin’s case, about as wrong as they can get.

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Article source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/15/jeremy-lin-star-athlete-missed_n_1279108.html?ref=business

DALLAS, Texas, Feb 16, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) –
StatPro Inc. (aim:SOG), a leading global provider of portfolio
analytics and data valuation solutions, has seen increased demand for
StatPro Revolution from private wealth managers and RIAs. The company
reported that the two market segments together account for over 60% of
StatPro Revolution’s client base in North America.

StatPro Revolution is a cloud based portfolio analytics and reporting
platform that enables money managers always-on access to the granular
drivers affecting their clients’ portfolio performance. In addition to
incorporating institutional grade portfolio analytics, the platform also
provides money managers with the means to distribute reports internally
and externally, making communication with clients, prospects and
employees easier than ever. Private wealth managers and RIAs have
benefitted from the wealth of functionality, specifically access to risk
metrics like portfolio stress-testing and Value at Risk calculations
that the platform provides.

StatPro Revolution client, PlanStrong Investments, recently cited 15%
growth in AUM over a 3 month period as a result of using StatPro
Revolution to help sell their service. “With StatPro Revolution, our
prospective clients have an easy to digest visual ‘test-drive’ of our
investment solutions and strategies. The reports include vital
information about distributions, re-investments and accurately calculate
several metrics over a custom timeframe,” quotes Sr. Investment Analyst,
Alex Bender.

“Using StatPro Revolution has profoundly changed the way that I’m able
to run my business,” says Robert Regan, Jr. Managing Principal of Regan
Investments, a Minnesota based RIA. “I think the convenience of having
all of the data at our fingertips from anywhere in the world is a huge
reassurance for us. I can be anywhere and have the ability to look at
our clients’ portfolio performance and provide updates based on their
request. I no longer have to spend hours computing Sharpe and Sortino
ratios. The operational savings is an enormous bonus of the technology.”

The heightened market volatility since 2008 has had a tremendous impact
on the investor/money manager relationship. Not only are money managers
looking for investment vehicles that will generate positive returns for
their clients but also access to the analytic tools that will provide
them with the ability to assess the probability of future losses.

“Analytical and reporting tools play a vital role in the success of
private wealth managers and RIAs,” says Andrew Peddar, CEO of StatPro
North America. “StatPro Revolution fills a huge hole in the market for
the type of analytics (like risk, attribution,
contribution and stress testing) that were once prohibitively expensive.
Our clients have learned quickly how to leverage the information that
our product provides and distribute it to their advantage. We look
forward to serving these markets with continuous innovation and at an
affordable price.”

In order to fuel continued growth in the RIA market, StatPro will
announce a new pricing structure for RIAs in the next few weeks. The
product is currently available for $100 per portfolio/month.

StatPro is a Platinum Sponsor of the T3 conference in Dallas on February
16 — 18th at the Hilton Anatole Hotel. Here the company will provide
attendees live demonstrations of StatPro Revolution at booth 405/407.
Visitors can sign up for a free trial at the booth or online at
www.statpro.com/revolution

About StatPro:

StatPro is a global provider of portfolio analysis, asset valuation and
reporting solutions. StatPro offers a SaaS-based analytics and data
platform to investment management companies and those who serve them
providing sophisticated portfolio
performance analysis, attribution, risk and GIPS(R) compliance. The
company has leveraged 15 years of experience to develop and launch
StatPro Revolution – a cloud based portfolio analytics solution that
performs sophisticated analysis, reporting and distribution. Available
anywhere, StatPro Revolution combines best of breed analysis with
leading technology to create a powerful, cost-effective web based
platform. StatPro has operations in Europe, North America, South Africa
and Australia and now has more than 250 clients in 25 countries around
the world. For more information on StatPro, please visit our website at
http://www.statpro.com/ .

# # #

SOURCE: StatPro Inc.

        StatPro:
        Karleen Fallon
        617-692-1140
        marketing@statpro.com

Copyright Business Wire 2012

Article source: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/statpro-revolution-sees-growth-in-private-wealth-and-registered-investment-advisor-markets-2012-02-16