Robeco Opts for Fund Solutions - Joint Development of S&P and IS.Teledata AG

FRANKFURT (IST) - Robeco, the largest investment company in the Netherlands, inaugurates a new solution to support its partners in Germany in the sales of funds. Funds advisors of the partners use the Robeco-EXTRANET for exclusive online access to Fund Solutions, the joint eFinance solution of Standard & Poor's Investment Services and IS.Teledata.

At its core, Fund Solutions offers users a wealth of funds information and analysis instruments. The offer comprises search functions, performance charts, yield tables, top/flop lists, quartile analyses, a PDF generator and an online glossary. Equipped with this solution, funds advisors are able to focus on the investment requirements of their customers and to design individual investment strategies quickly and efficiently.

High quality data from an independent source are delivered by the funds experts of Standard & Poor's Investment Services. IS.Teledata has implemented the solution and supplies the technology for its operations in the Robeco-EXTRANET.

Frank de Boer, CEO of Robeco Germany, explains: "We aim to supply our business partners not only with first-rate products, but also with practical services. With S&P Fund Solutions, we offer an additional service which helps advisors to reduce time and efforts in gathering information and thus enables them to advise their customers even better. The web-based information service comprises analysis tools and data for about 8,000 investment funds registered in Germany."

Stephan Wolf, speaker of the board of IS.Teledata AG, adds: "To underscore the expertise of sales partners, Robeco wanted to deploy a high-quality solution quickly. Using standardised components, we were able to meet the customer's tight dead-line. Still, the site reflects Robeco's custom requirements in colours, displayed logos and data contained."

The solution's home page lists the ten top yielding funds and market sectors, with S&P Fund Stars and S&P Fund Ratings drawing attention to recommendable products. Sophisticated search functions allow quick and reliable access to funds with preferred features and per-formance key figures. Retrieved funds can be examined in detail using comprehensive, but clear fact sheets.

With a single click, any displayed screen can be converted into Portable Document Format (PDF). This feature enables users to save and print funds information in high resolution. An online glossary explains the 50 most important concepts of funds investments.

Performance charts and yield tables display the development of each fund in comparison to sector averages, top and bottom performers. The quartile analysis also maps the relative historical development of funds. This evaluation ranks funds in comparison to their sector companions to show which ones rank consistently best in class, regardless of general market conditions. Pie charts, where available, show composition of individual funds by countries and sectors, including the ten largest assets.