COMPARING THE CONTENDERS HERE’S HOW THE FOUR DIFFERENT MUTUAL FUND RESEARCH APPLICATIONS STACK UP TO EACH OTHER AREA MORNINGSTAR PRINCIPIA STEELE SYSTEMS fi360 KLEIN Customer Service Good Good Good Good Price (annual unless otherwise stated) MF Basic $550 MF Advanced $770 Stock Basic $550 Stocks Advanced $770 Personal $22 (monthly) Professional $52 (monthly) Pro Plus $62 (monthly) Silver $675 Gold $975 Platinum $1,375 (can be paid monthly) Single Site License $1,495 Corp License $8,000 Data Source Morningstar Basic data provided by Morningstar, plus inhouse calculations Morningstar Fi360 Morningstar Klein Data Update Frequency Monthly or Quarterly Monthly or Quarterly Quarterly MS & Klein monthly Fi360 quarterly 49,303 “Several thousand” 1,250-1,500 100 licenses Comprehensive research data on over 24,000 mutual funds including ETFs and Indexes with analysis and investment detail reports Ability to customize reports and graphs. Can combine chosen graphs into report. Easy to compare and track portfolios Historical data back to 1962 Excellent tools supporting fiduciary practices Ability to create a weighted factor model instead of a screening tool. About 200 factors to select Weaknesses Limited trailing years No stock database (planned for Q1 2008) No integration with CRM software. Does not allow for automatic input of client data No ability to create portfolios of mutual funds (by design) Fund Search Capability Uses a screening process Uses a screening process Searchable by ticker for up to 100 funds at a time. Uses a screening process No. of Data Points in Search 255+ 700+ 21; As of 01/08, 31 200+/- Portfolio Creation Capabilities Yes Yes Yes No Mutual fund module’s advanced mode provides in-depth historical research data and more than 1,500 analyst reports, plus fundto-fund comparison reports Can choose information from over 30 template reports and create customized, personalized reports Fiduciary tools: 90% of fi360’s clients work as or with a fiduciary. Fiduciary scorecard Allows user to create a weighted factor model Good Good Good Good Very Good Very Good Very Good Very Good Good Good Good Basic Yes—limited to Excel Yes—Unlimited to Excel Yes—to Excel, with limitations Yes—to Excel, with limitations Mutual funds, stocks, ETFs, VAs, closed-end funds, separate accounts Mutual funds, VAs Mutual funds, ETFs separate accounts, VAs (01/08) Mutual funds, ETFs Desktop Desktop Web Web 800-735-0700 310-281-5533 866-390-5080 919-233-6767 Chicago Los Angeles Pittsburgh Raleigh 1,680 NP 13 7 Number of Users Strengths Uniqueness Intuitive Input Clarity of Output Help Menu Exporting Data Investment Vehicles Covered Platform Phone Number Location Employees