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Products July 2, 2012
Wilshire Launches Compass Portal for 2Q Database Updates
Wilshire Associates Incorporated rolled out the Wilshire Compass Portal, an enhanced Web-based investment manager questionnaire that populates its PC-based fund management tool, Wilshire Compass.
Reported by Jill Cornfield
The evolution of investment strategies from public markets into new market segments, such as private equity, private real estate, target-date funds and risk-parity strategies, necessitates questionnaires designed specifically to each unique investment process, according to Julia Bonafede, president of Wilshire Consulting. The tool gives consultants and plan sponsors greater insight into their strategies, she said.
Charles Stunkard, managing director of Wilshire Associates, said the Wilshire Compass Portal is a revamped and rebranded version of Wilshire Odyssey. “We will be collecting new information online, including manager biographies, organizational charts, and other information that investment managers will be asked to upload,” Stunkard said. “We also will be integrating the manager research due-diligence questionnaires into the new website to provide managers with one point of contact in providing Wilshire Associates the information needed to evaluate and score the investment management firm and their products.”
Wilshire collects information on more than 33,000 investment products.
Recently, Wilshire added qualitative evaluations to Wilshire Compass Monitor, which will allow fund sponsors to further leverage off the work Wilshire is doing and combine it with in-house investment expertise.
Wilshire Compass combines Wilshire’s databases with investment technology developed at the firm over the past 40 years. The Wilshire Compass allows users to address numerous aspects of a disciplined investment process, including:
• Formulate investment policy and implement strategies;
• Monitor and evaluate asset class and total fund performance and risk;
• Develop asset-allocation and rebalancing recommendations;
• Select and evaluate investment managers; and
• Analyze and optimize manager teams.
Wilshire Compass analytics can be tailored to fit the user’s individual investment process. The product is supported by investment professionals who provide user training and consultative support.