WATS Features

The Ultimate Reference

WATS is the ultimate reference for historical investment performance. Using WATS you can analyze asset allocations and investment strategies in a multitude of ways. If you like money, and you like to crunch numbers, and you believe that past performance should be considered when choosing a plan for the future, you will love WATS.

WATS is intended for sophisticated users. It is very powerful. When it comes to historical analysis you won't find anything that provides more comprehensive, more meaningful feedback than WATS.

The Detailed Map

Imagine you are going on a trip from point A to point B. Point A represents where you are now, financially, physically and otherwise. Point B represents where you'd like to be. The time you allow  for the trip is what we call the horizon.

Before you start your trip, wouldn't it be nice to feel like your plan is sound? Isn't it reassuring to know that others have made the trip before, successfully, without too many delays and troubles?

Wouldn't it be great if Zunna could look into her crystal ball and tell us the future? That would make things so simple. You won't find any crystal balls in WATS.

WATS cannot tell you how to get to point B in the fastest way, nor can it tell you how to get there in the least painful way. To do that, WATS would have to be able to predict the future, which, to our knowledge, is not possible.

What WATS can do, though, is show you how others have made the trip before, and how successful their strategies have been. 

You wouldn't make a trip without having some idea how to get to your destination. For the same reason you shouldn't embark on a financial plan without consulting WATS.

WATS is a highly detailed map of the investment landscape. It shows paths between points of interest, and, using Black Box, can even show paths that have been optimal historically. Nothing helps make financial decisions better than WATS.

An Example

Consider an example: Joe is 45 years old, self-employed. Up to now he's saved $100,000 in his retirement account. He'd like to work another 20 years, then retire with $1 million. He plans to put $4,000 a year into his retirement account, with annual contribution increases of 3%.

Joe is not an investment guru. He's read a little about the subject and feels like a 50/50 mix of equity/fixed income makes the most sense for him. Now, let's use WATS to see what might be ahead for Joe by looking at historical success rates.

First, suppose Joe uses a portfolio composed of 50% Large Cap Stocks and 50% Corporate Bonds (data from Ibbotson Associates SBBI Yearbook, 1926-2000). Historically, this strategy would have reached his goal of $1 million 21% of the time. Click here for the summary.

Next, suppose Joe uses 50% Small Cap Stocks and 50% Intermediate-term Government Bonds. This strategy reaches his goal of $1 million 62% of the time. Click here for the summary.

Finally, suppose Joe feels comfortable with a little more risk. Suppose he uses 65% Small Cap Stocks and 35% Intermediate-term Government Bonds. This strategy reaches his goal of $1 million 89% of the time. Click here for the summary.

We all know that past results do not guarantee future success. Nevertheless, these results are eye opening. How many of would choose a strategy that, historically, has worked 21% of the time, when another option has been successful 89% of the time?

We picked the above example somewhat randomly. The whole purpose of WATS is to analyze specific investment needs and strategies. Until you let WATS analyze your specific situation you won't know how much it can help you. Call us to try WATS for yourself.

WATS Features

WATS does so many things it's hard to list all the features in one place. The following list is a summary of key features.

Copyright © 2000, 2004  Zunna, Inc.

Last updated on 02/12/2004