The fall 2006 list price is $6950 (for 1 user) and with an annual maintenace fee of $1850 plus $700 for each non-Schwab interface.

Check with Schwab Performance Technologies for current pricing as all prices are subject to change.

• Database Management: Download, post and reconcile interfaces each day. Includes coding new securities; creating new client accounts and groups; researching and resolving problem transactions; inputting partial or non-postable transactions; resolving pricing and security problems; handling stock splits, mergers and spin-offs; creating sets, models, targets, etc.

• Quarterly Client Reporting: Generating quarterly client reports for your clients. Includes running monthly portfolio and asset intervals for quarterly performance reports; updating report settings; preparing batch print jobs containing your customized client reports; annual un/realized gainloss reports; and monthly global summaries reports. You can retrieve these reports from the web for in-house printing: as a single PDF, a zip file of individual report PDFs, or a zip file of PDF by client. There is an extra charge for shipping paper copies. You may elect to include a logo, table of contents page and/or commentary page. Additionally, if you need something extra for a client meeting, with advance notice I can generate the extra reports.

• Quarterly Client Billing: Includes running client invoices, setting up quarterly billing parameters for each client; assigning billing specs, forms and billing start dates, setting up prorated parameters for new clients as needed and generating files for uploading quarterly management fees to SchwabLink.

• You have better things to do than sit at the computer.
• You would rather spend your time managing money and talking to clients than learning the latest changes in the software.
• You don't have time to customize reports and play with fonts.
• You don't like spending time holding the phone waiting for technical support.
• You don't have time to train yet another employee.
• You don't want to risk corrupting your data with mistakes while you (or your employee) is in the "learning" phase.
• You would rather not deal with error-checking and back-up.
• You want accurate data without any hassle.

Firms with investment assets under management that adhere to all the required elements of the GIPS can claim compliance with the standards when presenting their performance record. On the other hand, software vendors such as Performance Technologies (the producer of PortfolioCenter), and third-party consulants, such as Krisan's BackOffice, Inc. (KBO) cannot make a claim of compliance unless they actually manage the assets for which they are making the claim of compliance.

In other words, PortfolioCenter software and KBO make available the tools to adhere to the GIPS and to make a claim of compliance. However, the program cannot be said to be GIPS compliant because it is only software, and KBO cannot be said to be GIPS compliant because it is a third-party consultant.