Whether your business has just made its first foray into the investment sphere or investing is its sole purpose, managing those assets effectively is crucial for success.
If your company's sole mission is to manage portfolios for clients, as is often the case with registered investment advisors (RIAs), you’ll likely need to connect to one or more brokerage accounts. In this instance, dedicated investment management software is probably the best fit.
If your firm isn’t solely focused on investment management, accounting software with robust integrated investment management capabilities, such as Gravity Software, may offer more flexibility. It provides a wider variety of features, offering you greater visibility into your investments and a diverse range of investment types. Read on to determine if this solution is the right fit for your firm.
Are you currently using spreadsheets to manage investments?
If your business manages multiple investments, you may soon find that spreadsheets are no longer a practical solution. Keeping information accurate and up-to-date can be time-consuming, especially when there are multiple purchase prices and selling prices involved.
Compare that with Gravity Software's investment sub-ledger, which calculates a weighted average share price for each investment based on your buying and selling activity. This provides a standard measurement that lets you easily compare your investments.
Are you experiencing limitations or frustrations with an on-premise system?
Investing can be influenced by events that take place outside the typical 9-to-5 workday.
Do you risk missing a major opportunity because on-premise server updates prevented your team from accessing the necessary data? Do you want to lose out on prospective talent because they prefer working with companies offering flexible remote work? Gravity Software is cloud-based, so employees can access it anytime, from anywhere, with no downtime for updates.
Does the same person or team handle both accounting and investments?
When the same team manages both accounting and investments, their job becomes easier when they don’t have to switch between two separate solutions.
Employee morale and efficiency are likely to improve, and integrated investment management software, combined with accounting software, means it’s easier to get a complete picture of your company’s finances.
Are you managing multiple investments within a single holding company?
Consider a private equity firm that raises capital from various sources and invests in 60-80 assets, including 26 investment companies. When the firm exits a company, infuses funds into another, or adds to their position on a stock, these decisions require a complete view of all investments.
These decisions are best made with full transparency into all investments. A dedicated investment management software might not provide the same detailed insights into your portfolio companies—such as sales, revenues, and profit margins—as an accounting software would. The most effective way to achieve this level of visibility is through multi-entity accounting software with integrated investment management capabilities like Gravity.
Do you need to manage investments in multiple currencies?
Global investments come with the risks associated with foreign currency exposure, making multi-currency accounting software essential. Unlike traditional investment management software solutions, Gravity Software’s multi-currency capabilities come as a default feature. With Gravity, you can manually update exchange rates or use an integrated service to automatically track fluctuations. The software can automatically record realized and unrealized gains and losses due to exchange rate fluctuations, and you can complete deals in one currency while reporting in another.
Do you need consolidated financial reports?
If your enterprise has multiple investment accounts or portfolio companies, the answer is likely "yes." Consolidated reporting offers numerous benefits, including:
Granularity
With consolidated reports, you can view your enterprise’s complete financial picture in one place. You can zoom in or zoom out on specific data points, such as total gains from private investments for a given month, with just a few clicks.
Clarity
Consolidated reporting enables side-by-side tracking of investments, giving you the data you need to make informed decisions. For example, comparing revenues and expenses of similarly sized portfolio companies can help identify areas where profitability could be improved.
Gravity Software makes consolidated reporting a default feature using a shared chart of accounts. Financial information for all of a firm’s holdings is stored in a single database, eliminating the need to manually copy information from each entity’s database to generate reports. It also ensures real-time data—essential in the fast-paced world of investing.
Is it important to have reports personalized to different stakeholders?
This is a crucial question for most enterprises. Whether you're a private equity firm or another business, stakeholders—including principals, limited partners, employees, and more—require different levels and types of information.
Gravity Software’s integration with Microsoft Power BI allows for personalized dashboards, ensuring each stakeholder receives the data most relevant to their role in the enterprise.
Customer testimonial:
“Gravity has a bulk edit function that allows you to change multiple things at one time, which is a huge time-saver.”
— Amy Perkin, CFO at Brandon Capital
Gravity gives you more
While there are dedicated investment management software solutions, Gravity Software offers many of the same capabilities along with added benefits.
With Gravity, you have the flexibility to make the best investment decisions for your stakeholders, whether that means acquiring portfolio companies, investing in real estate, or sticking with traditional investment vehicles like stocks and bonds.
Gravity also makes it easy to manage investments in multiple currencies, view detailed insights into individual investments, and monitor your firm’s overall performance—all while providing stakeholders with personalized reports and data.
Ready to optimize your portfolio investment management? Request a demo of Gravity Software today to see how we can help streamline your investment management and accounting processes.
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