Major private equity firm Hg has announced a “significant investment” in FE, a data, analytics and software vendor focused on the UK and Australian retail investment funds and advisory markets.

Investment ratings and research provider FE has launched FE Analytics+ Investment Planner - an investment tool designed to help advisers assess clients’ attitude to risk, select suitable investment options and summarise the investment advice process in ‘client-friendly’ reports.

Financial Express is to implement FinaMetrica’s risk tolerance score technology, it was announced this morning.

FinaMetrica’s methodology for mapping risk tolerance scores has been introduced as part of FE’s asset allocation tools.

According to FinaMetrica, this allows advisers to make an ‘apples-to-apples’ comparison between a client’s own risk tolerance and the inherent risk in the investment strategy required to achieve their goals.

The FE FinaMetrica module is available for no extra costs, the company said, adding that advisers just need to contact FE to activate the new feature.

FinaMetrica said in a statement: “The FE FinaMetrica classification automatically breaks down a broad range of equity and fixed income asset classes to enable a quick overview of a client’s current allocations.

“Advisers can view the overall growth versus defensive assets split within client portfolios, enabling them to identify if a particular portfolio fits with the client’s risk tolerance comfort zone.”

Paul Resnik, co-founder and director of FinaMetrica, said: “There is a growing body of evidence to suggest that investors with unframed risk and investment expectations run underperforming portfolios, as they will be more prone to make more emotional responses that can lead to value diminishing market timing.

“At FinaMetrica we believe there should be no investment surprises in a client-focused world and we are confident that our work with FE will help ensure that investors are able to give truly informed consent before making any investment decisions.

“It is our belief that this latest development from FE marks an important step in the right direction for adviser firms of all shapes and sizes, from one-man operations through to larger scale enterprises.”

More than a million FinaMetrica risk tolerance profiles have been completed to date, he said.

Matt Surfleet, commercial director at Financial Express, said: “We are excited to be working with FinaMetrica as part of our drive to constantly look for ways to improve our service for both advisers and their end clients.

“Risk profiling certainly looks set to become a key addition to our existing toolkit for advisers given the continued focus that is being placed on client suitability throughout the financial services market, making this a really positive
development for our business.”

Data and financial analysis provider FE has launched its first pure passive fund awards to coincide with the first anniversary of its FE Passive Crown ratings.