Explore Covisum: Advanced Retirement Planning Software

Covisum: The Future of Retirement Planning Software

Retirement planning is a complex process that requires the right tools to make informed financial decisions. Covisum is a leading software provider that empowers financial advisors with innovative solutions for income optimization, tax efficiency, Social Security strategies, and portfolio risk management. Designed to streamline and enhance retirement planning, Covisum's suite of tools offers financial professionals a way to improve client outcomes while optimizing their practices. This review provides an in-depth look at Covisum’s products, features, pricing, and its ideal users.

Company Overview

Covisum has established itself as a trusted partner for financial advisors seeking to enhance their retirement planning services. By offering advanced digital tools, Covisum enables advisors to build personalized and comprehensive retirement strategies. Their software solutions are designed to work seamlessly together, providing a holistic approach to income planning, tax efficiency, and investment risk management. With a commitment to innovation and client success, Covisum continues to support financial professionals in delivering more accurate, timely, and impactful retirement advice.

Product Offerings

Covisum offers a range of retirement planning tools that simplify financial decision-making. Each product is designed to integrate with others, ensuring a cohesive and efficient experience for financial advisors and their clients.

Income InSight ($119.99 per month)

Income InSight is a powerful retirement income planning tool that gives financial advisors a complete picture of a client’s financial future. With this tool, advisors can:

• Model Multiple Income Sources: Seamlessly incorporate income streams such as Social Security, pensions, and investments, allowing for a comprehensive analysis of overall retirement income.
• Conduct Detailed Scenario Planning: Evaluate various withdrawal strategies under different market conditions, assess the impact of market downturns, and adjust for varying life expectancies, ensuring that the financial plan remains robust under multiple scenarios.
• Analyze Tax Efficiency: Integrate detailed tax analysis into the planning process to optimize client tax liabilities and develop long-term tax strategies. This includes assessing the benefits of tax-efficient withdrawals.
• Model Roth Conversions: Determine how converting traditional retirement funds to Roth accounts can enhance retirement income while minimizing future tax burdens.
• Utilize Stress Testing: Apply stress tests to gauge financial security against adverse conditions, giving both advisors and clients confidence in the resilience of the retirement plan.
• Generate Personalized Reports: Produce detailed financial reports that clearly illustrate clients’ income outlooks and potential strategies, enabling clear communication and informed decision-making.
• Forecast Cash Flow: Provide accurate cash flow forecasting to help retirees plan their withdrawals efficiently, ensuring that funds last throughout retirement.

Tax Clarity ($79.99 per month)

Tax Clarity is designed to help financial advisors minimize client tax liabilities through advanced visualization and analysis of tax scenarios. This tool offers:

• Comprehensive Tax Landscape Visualization: Simplify complex tax scenarios by providing a clear breakdown of taxable income sources, making it easier to see where adjustments can lead to savings.
• Accurate Marginal Tax Rate Calculation: Determine clients’ effective marginal tax rates to better understand their true tax exposure, which is crucial for optimizing withdrawal strategies.
• Roth Conversion Modeling: Explore different Roth conversion strategies and analyze their potential to reduce future tax liabilities, offering clients a proactive approach to managing taxes in retirement.
• Scenario Planning Capabilities: Compare multiple withdrawal strategies side by side, ensuring that each plan is crafted to minimize taxes while maximizing overall retirement income.
• Client-Friendly Reporting: Generate easy-to-understand reports that simplify the complexities of tax planning, enabling advisors to communicate strategies clearly.
• Marketing Materials Access: Benefit from additional resources such as email templates and presentation decks, which help advisors effectively share tax strategies with their clients.

Social Security Timing ($49.99 per month)

Social Security Timing is a specialized tool focused on maximizing Social Security benefits by helping advisors and clients make informed claiming decisions. This product includes:

• Optimal Claiming Age Identification: Analyze individual circumstances to determine the most advantageous age for claiming Social Security benefits, ensuring clients receive the maximum possible benefit.
• Earnings Test Analysis: Evaluate how continued employment or changes in earnings may impact Social Security benefits, enabling advisors to provide nuanced advice.
• Break-Even Analysis: Compare different claiming strategies through detailed break-even analysis to show how various decisions affect overall benefits over time.
• Optimization of Spousal Benefits: Analyze and compare different filing strategies for married couples, helping to optimize spousal benefits and improve total household retirement income.
• “What’s at Stake” Visual Tool: Utilize interactive visuals that demonstrate the financial impact of different claiming decisions, making the trade-offs clear for clients.
• Customized Reporting: Create tailored reports that outline the financial implications of various Social Security strategies, ensuring that clients fully understand their options.

SmartRisk ($49.99 per month)

SmartRisk is a portfolio risk assessment tool designed to help advisors analyze and communicate investment risks with clarity. Its features include:

• Downside Risk Measurement: Use a proprietary heavy-tail risk model to evaluate worst-case financial outcomes, providing a more realistic view of potential portfolio losses.
• Portfolio Comparison Tools: Compare various investment strategies and risk levels, enabling advisors to adjust asset allocations and manage overall portfolio risk effectively.
• Single Name Concentration Alerts: Identify and alert advisors to overexposure in individual assets, ensuring that portfolios are diversified and risks are minimized.
• Comprehensive Household Views: Consolidate multiple accounts into a single, unified dashboard, offering a complete view of a client’s financial exposure.
• Client-Friendly Reports and Visuals: Present complex risk assessments in a clear, accessible format, making it easier for clients to understand their investment risks.
• 99.5% Expected Tail Loss Model: Provide more precise downside risk analysis compared to traditional risk measures, enhancing the advisor’s ability to prepare for extreme market conditions.
• Market Volatility Simulations: Simulate various economic scenarios to help clients visualize how their portfolios might perform under different conditions, further supporting proactive risk management.

Other Pricing Options

To offer even greater value, Covisum provides bundled pricing options that combine multiple tools for a more comprehensive solution.

• Essentials Add-On ($130 per month):
• Includes Tax Clarity and Social Security Timing, offering essential tools for tax and Social Security benefit optimization.
• Retirement Income Planning Stack ($249 per month):
• Combines Income InSight, Tax Clarity, and Social Security Timing to deliver a robust suite for comprehensive retirement income planning.
• Roth Conversions & Income Withdrawal Strategies ($200 per month):
• Integrates Income InSight and Tax Clarity to focus specifically on strategies that enhance retirement income through effective tax and conversion planning.
• Covisum Suite ($300 per month):
• Offers the complete package—Income InSight, Tax Clarity, Social Security Timing, and SmartRisk—providing a full spectrum of tools to optimize every aspect of retirement planning.
• Enterprise Solutions:
• Tailored solutions for large organizations, including API integrations and custom development options. Interested parties should contact Covisum directly for further details.

Who is It For?

Covisum’s software is designed for financial professionals who specialize in retirement planning. It is ideal for:

• Financial Advisors: Those seeking advanced tools to improve client retirement outcomes and deliver more personalized, comprehensive planning.
• Tax Professionals: Advisors who want to integrate detailed tax efficiency analysis into retirement planning to minimize liabilities.
• Investment Managers: Professionals in need of robust risk assessment tools that provide deep insights into portfolio exposures and potential market downturns.
• Specialized Firms: Practices that focus on Social Security planning and require precise tools to optimize benefits and develop effective claiming strategies.

Conclusion

Covisum is a cutting-edge provider of retirement planning software, offering powerful solutions that help financial advisors optimize income, minimize taxes, and manage investment risk. With a suite of tools that seamlessly integrate, Covisum simplifies the complexities of retirement planning, making it easier for professionals to deliver superior financial advice and achieve better client outcomes. Clear pricing options and flexible subscription plans make Covisum an excellent choice for advisors looking to enhance their retirement planning strategies.

FAQs

What is Covisum’s most popular product?

Income InSight is widely regarded as Covisum’s flagship product, providing comprehensive retirement income modeling and scenario planning that many advisors rely on.

Does Covisum offer a free trial?

Yes, Covisum provides a 10-day free trial for all its software tools, allowing advisors to test the platform and evaluate its benefits before committing to a subscription.

Can Covisum help optimize Social Security benefits?

Absolutely. The Social Security Timing tool is specifically designed to help advisors determine the best claiming strategy to maximize benefits for their clients.

How does Tax Clarity improve retirement tax planning?

Tax Clarity offers a visual tax landscape that enables advisors to model different withdrawal strategies and identify tax-saving opportunities, making complex tax scenarios more manageable.

Is Covisum’s software suitable for small financial advisory firms?

Yes, Covisum’s tools are designed to be scalable and benefit both small advisory firms and larger financial practices, providing flexible solutions for advisors at all levels.