The Performance slider is a simulation tool that allows investment returns to be increased or decreased with the move of a button up or down a slider.
The slider can be activated on the Let's See charts by clicking the Performance button, lower-right.
The Performance slider will pop into view on the right side of the screen.
Slide the performance up from the simulation's midpoint and the growth rate on the investments in the plan (including market facing retirement plans/pensions) will increase. Move the slider down and returns are lowered.
The adjacent charts - the Cash Flow, Assets and Net Worth charts in particular - will show the effect of these growth adjustments as you make them using the slider.
The Performance slider will adjust growth rates for accounts differently depending on how they are set to be grown.
Fixed growth accounts
For accounts grown using a fixed growth rate, the Performance slider can be used to adjust capital growth upwards or downwards in .5% increments from their starting position. For example, if you have an account that is set to grow at a growth rate of 2% (net of any account fees) and you move the performance slider up a notch from midpoint, the growth rate would be 2.5%. Move the slider a notch down from midpoint and the growth rate would be 1.5%.
Note: This assumes the Growth settings for the investment or savings account does not have the "Growth is Fixed" option ticked. When ticked, the account growth rate will not be altered by the Performance slider. Cash accounts (accounts entered on the Savings screen) are defaulted to have the Growth is Fixed option ticked, effectively omitting them from this simulation, at least by default.
Accounts using asset allocations (market assumptions) to derive growth
Accounts that are set to be grown using asset allocation, are handled differently. When you view the Growth (or Growth & Yield) panel for an Investment, Money Purchase or Drawdown Pension, you will see the option to Use Asset Allocation. A similar option is on the Growth panel of the Savings screen, only it is the "Use 100% Cash Allocation".
When this option is ticked, rather than using a fixed growth rate, the account's growth will be derived from market assumptions the account's asset allocation or, in the case of cash accounts, the market assumptions for a 100% cash allocation.
Preferences - The "Use Fixed Market Slider" preference
As mentioned previously, for accounts grown using a fixed growth rate, the Performance slider can be used to adjust capital growth upwards or downwards in .5% increments from their starting position. For example, if you have an account that is set to grow at a growth rate of 2% (net of any account fees) and you move the performance slider up a notch from midpoint, the growth rate would be 2.5%. Move the slider a notch down from midpoint and the growth rate would be 1.5%.
This is the software's default setting for the Performance slider simulation.
The Performance slider can be set to work differently, however. Rather than adjust the capital growth upwards or downwards in .5% increments from their various starting positions, all accounts grown using a fixed growth rate (omitting those grown using asset allocations) can be set to use the same growth rate during the simulation. The Performance slider will move this shared growth rate on investments and pensions up or down in a range from 0% to 12% as opposed to plus or minus up to 6% from each account's original specified growth rate.
Again, this setting only affects investments and pensions that are set to be grown using a fixed growth rate rather than asset allocations.
To switch the Performance slider to use a fixed market slider:
1. Open the software and select and open any client.
2. Click the Preferences button (the cog top-left). This will take you to the Preferences screen.
To change the sound settings in Voyant Adviser:
1. Open the software and select and open any client.
2. Click the Preferences button (the cog top-left). This will take you to the Preferences screen.
3. On the left side of the Preferences screen, under System Preferences, expand the Application Preferences panel.
4. Tick "Use fixed market slider" to switch on the fixed market slider for the Performance simulation or untick this checkbox to turn it off.
5. To save this change, scroll down and click the Apply button, bottom-right, or click OK when prompted to confirm and save your updated preferences.
Note: This preference will be saved for your user account on the computer on which you are currently working. You may need to set it again if you use Voyant on a different computer.
When the fixed market slider is switched off (as shown below), the Performance slider will show the capital growth on accounts being adjusted upwards or downwards in .5% increments from their starting position. This is the software's default setting for the simulation. For example, if you have an account that is set to grow at a growth rate of 2% (net of any account fees) and you move the performance slider up a notch from midpoint, the growth rate would be 2.5%. Move the slider a notch down from midpoint and the growth rate would be 1.5%.
If you were to switch on the fixed market slider preference, the Performance slider will show the shared growth rate applied to all fixed growth investments and pensions. The capital growth on these accounts is being moved within a range from 0% to 12%. All fixed growth accounts will share the same growth rate, shown by the slider, for the duration of the simulation.
Note: This setting only affects fixed growth accounts. Accounts grown using asset allocations will be always be adjust up or down from a starting point of 50th percentile returns, which is what the software normally uses for growth projections derived from asset allocations.
Switch off the Performance simulation
To switch off the Performance simulation and return to the standard view of the chart, click the Performance button again to toggle it off.