No matter what else may happen in 2005, the markets for personal financial planning are set to explode. It's not just the Bush administration's announced plans to overhaul both Social Security and the income tax systems. Nor is it just that an economic upswing and low interest rates are pushing the stock markets back up to pre-2000 levels. There are certain fundamental changes taking place in the software industry, and in the markets for financial planning software in particular. Three trends are notable at the beginning of this year: * The software is going online. In addition to traditional application software provider eMoneyAdvisor, MoneyTree and EISI have both moved strongly into Web-based services. Other software vendors must carefully weave between the obvious advantages of an online service and the wishes of subscribers, who may not want to move so quickly onto the Internet. But the trend has an air of inevitability about it.
* Consolidation is taking place, particularly at the economy end of the business. Some software programs have been retired, others have disappeared, and some - like FPlan - have been acquired.
* The software itself is getting overhauled. Most of the packages reviewed here have been enhanced or tweaked just in the last few weeks, and other changes are in the works for many packages. This means that the software companies are secure in their customers, and that they are committed to their products.
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It will be interesting to see how these trends play out against the backdrop of major national policy changes, and how the publishers of financial planning software fare in their efforts to move to better, faster and more effective planning systems.
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VENDOR INFO * AdvisorPlatform 4.0 eMoney Advisor 1001 E. Hector St., Ste. 401 Conshohocken, Pa. 19428-2395 Phone: (888) 362-8482 www.emoneyadvisor.com Pricing: Annual pricing option -- $1,300 to $1,500 per advisor seat license; $300 to $350 per client seat. Monthly pricing option -- $299.00 per month (one advisor seat license, five client seats). * NaviPlan * PFP Notebook 2005 * PFP Relief 6.0 Search Accounting TodayAdvertisementAdvertisement 
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