Product Manager
Overview
The Product Manager displays the information about financial products in our Compensation and Compliance modules. It accepts product data feeds from each custodian that a client works with. The Product Manager merges product data and matches them based on the CUSIP, which is the unique ID for each product.
To access the Product Manager, click the ADMIN tab (1), then click on Product Manager (2).
There are three tabs in the Product Manager module:
Product Monitor
Setup
Merger Tool
Product Monitor Tab
The Product Monitor tab shows financial products, using Clearing Brokers, direct data sources, and third-party data sources for product attributes (such as leveraged and inverse products).
Product Monitor window:
Ticker Symbol/Fund Code (1) - Product number
Product Name (2) - Name of the Product
Product Type (3) - Type of the Product, set by Providers
Group Provider (4) - Firm providing multiple groups of products
Status Flags (5) - Indicator of current status
CUSIP (6) - Identification number
Fund Name (7) - Name of the Fund
Product Category (8) - Category name of the grouped products
Provider (9) - Firm providing products
Share Class (10) - The type of security.
Explanations of Used Terms
Ticker Symbol/Fund Code and CUSIP (1)
There are two industry numbering standards:
Ticker Symbols are typically only used for equities and options. Usually, they are between two and five characters long.
The second is CUSIP. A CUSIP number is a unique identification number assigned to stocks and registered bonds in the United States and Canada. It comprises nine characters and includes letters and numbers.
Product Name (2) and Fund Name (7)
Each product has a name. If it is a Mutual Fund, in addition, it has a Fund Name.
Product Type (3) and Product Category (8)
Product Type and Product Category are ways of grouping products. The database can contain an unlimited number of different products from various distributors. Searching for them can be time-consuming. Therefore, the products are combined into related groups by type.
Providers set the Product Type field, but sometimes different providers use diverse names. In these cases, you can combine them into Product Categories. These fields are used in compliance and reporting work.
Provider (9) and Group Provider (4)
Providers are the firms that are the sponsors for packaged products such as Mutual Funds and Annuities. The provider for Equities, Fixed Income, and Options products will usually be the Clearing Broker.
It is common to have five or more different providers (manufacturers or sponsors) for the same overall holding company. For example, there are separate legal entities for NY business and Fixed Annuity vs. Variable Annuity business. To put these detailed providers back together, we have a Group Provider. For example, Allianz Life Insurance Company of New York, Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America/LI, and Allianz Life Insurance Company of NY-Fixed Business, can be the in provider group Allianz.
Status Flags (5)
Status flags are the ways of indicating characteristics of a particular product. You can create status flags as needed and immediately get the results. For reporting purposes, configure them with the Status Flags Filter. For example:
To open the filter, click the three dots (1) after the Status Flags field
To enable or disable the option, check Yes or No (2) for Inverse and/or Leverage option(s), as applicable or click Include All (3) to check both Yes options, or Deselect All (3) to uncheck all checkboxes.
Click OK (4).
Then, in Product Monitor window, click FILTER (5).
Share Class (10)
A share class is a specific type of security, such as a Mutual Fund. Companies with more than one class of common stock usually identify a class with alphabetic markers, such as Class A and Class B shares. The most common one is Class A. Mutual Funds also have share classes with various sales charges, expense ratios, and minimum initial investment requirements.
The Share Class dropdown is relevant for Mutual Funds. It contains a list of letters. Mutual Funds, when they are sold, are given the share class, and it indicates how they impact commissions.
Tip: The last letter in the Fund Name field is the Share Class.
How to Edit a Product
How to add a New Product and Provider to the Product Manager
Follow these steps to add a new Provider to the Product Manager dropdown menu.
How to Delete a Product
To delete a product, select it in the Product Monitor window and click DELETE.
Warning: If the selected product is associated with other objects in the database, such as Items or Accounts, it must first be removed from Items and Accounts.
How to Create a Custom Filter
Setup Tab
In the Setup window, Administrators can grant or revoke authority to end users to control the dropdown values and the parameters that govern the behavior of the software.
There are seven sub-tabs:
Product Type
Product Category
Product Status Flags
Product Attributes
Product Type Attributes
Product Provider
Provider Group
All of them have standard actions:
ADD
CANCEL
SAVE
DELETE
Product Type
In this window, the system allows maintenance of Product Types. Initially, Product Types come from the data feeds and are pre-populated here. The Product Types can be added, edited, or deleted. Each Provider defines Product Types differently, and the list may contain similar names.
Code [optional] - A two or three-digit code that is linked with a Product Type
Adds to total assets
For Accounts and Investors - check this box, if you want to add Product Type to the total assets.
For specific products, e.g., Life Insurance, it must be left unchecked because it doesn't increase the value of total assets.
Product Category
In the Product Category tab, Providers define their product categories (usually 10-20), for example, Fixed Annuities, Bonds, and Mutual Funds. These are manageable groupings. These categories are not updated by data feeds.
Code [optional] - A code that is linked with a Product Category
Adds to total assets -
For Accounts and Investors - check this box, if you want to add Product Category to the total assets.
For specific products, e.g., Life Insurance, it must be left unchecked because it doesn't increase the value of total assets.
How to Map a CUSIP or Symbol to a Product Category in Product Manager
Product Status Flags
Status flags are the ways of indicating characteristics of a particular product.
How to add Product Status Flag values
Product Attributes
Create required attributes useful for particular tasks in new fields and name them correspondingly. Attributes are stored as key-value pairs. The number of attributes is not limited.
Name - The name is the field name in the database. It is an internal variable (read-only) that we use to reference. For example, when creating SQL scripts
Display Name - The name of the attribute shown in the UI
Type - Date, text, integer, long integer, numeric, character, or logical (boolean)
Display Component - Allows you to define how the Product Attribute will display to users (text, integer, string, etc.)
Product Type Attributes
Create required attributes useful for particular tasks in new fields and name them correspondingly. Attributes are stored as key-value pairs. The number of attributes is not limited. Open the Product Types tab, select Product Type and enter the value for the created attribute.
Display Name - The name of the attribute shown in the UI
Type - Date, text, integer, long integer, numeric, character, or logical (boolean)
Display Component - Allows you to define how the Product Type Attribute will be rendered (text, integer, string, etc.)
Product Provider
Providers are the firms that are the sponsors for packaged products such as Mutual Funds and Annuities. Assign a Provider Group if a Product Provider is a part of the larger company.
Provider Group
The following window is intended for creating and deleting Provider Groups.
Merger Tool Tab
Sometimes, various data providers have entered different CUSIPs for the same product. The Merger Tool allows Administrators to merge duplicated products, accounts, and contacts.
Click SEARCH to get a list of all Product CUSIPs.
To get a list of products with the right CUSIP, select the CUSIP from the left-side dropdown. The system displays a list of products with that CUSIP.
Click DETAIL (1) (or double-click the product (2)) to open the Edit Product window.
To merge two products:
Select both products (1)
Check the box next to the one you want to keep (2).
Click MERGE (3).
Audience: System Administrators, Data Administrators, Compliance Tool Users.
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