Voyant Adviser
Our comprehensive software for financial professionals, Voyant Adviser provides the tools for complex financial planning. This Java-based application can be installed to your desktop for use both online and off.
Voyant Adviser videos and documents
Getting Started
- Differences between Voyant Adviser and AdviserGo
- Your first client case - Four options for creating new client plans in Voyant
- Register - Start your no obligation 30-day trial of Voyant Adviser and AdviserGo
- Adding or restoring a desktop shortcut to Voyant Adviser
- How to adjust the size of text and other items onscreen in Voyant Adviser
- Browser settings - Are any special browser settings required to run Voyant Adviser?
System Requirements
- Browser Plug-ins - Are there any browser add-ons or plug-ins required to run Voyant?
- Browsers - Internet browser requirements
- Voyant Adviser and Microsoft Office - Do the two interact?
- Windows Security Alert - "Windows Firewall has blocked some features of this app"
- Proxy Settings - Does your browser use special proxy settings and if so, where would you find them?
- Java Settings - Manually configure Java to allow Voyant to be cached, allow desktop shortcuts, and to work through proxy servers
Basics - Starting a new client case, entering the essentials
- How to delete an item from a plan
- Net worth does not show non legal spouse assets
- Editing a client name
- Entering client information - About the data entry screens
- Templates - Create a new client case from a template in six easy steps
- Step Up / Step Down - Making future increases, decreases, or adjustments to items in plan
Release Announcements and Other Updates
Time - Events, stages and the planning timeline
- One client has retired: How to delete their Retirement Event without removing the Pre-Retirement stage.
- Unable to change the events or stages that time an expense, income or debt
- Show years instead of ages along the axis of the timeline
- Mortality events - Change life expectancy assumptions by moving mortality events
- Reports - How to output the timeline into a printable report
- Change the Timing of an Event - Moving an event changes the timing of everything it schedules
Windfalls
Voyant Adviser - Ireland
- December 2018 Ireland Release - Tax updates from Budget 2019
- Default Inflation/Growth Rates - Default Tax Table Assumption (Ireland)
- Q: How do I model tax exempt clients (Ireland)
- Income Tax Calculations
- ARF / AMRF - Rules for ring-fencing a minimum balance in an AMRF
- Buy Out Bond - How to enter a buy out bond
Voyant Adviser - United Kingdom
- December 2018 UK Release - Savings, pensions and tax updates from the Budget, 29 October 2018
- Do I need to purchase a Java license?
- Withdrawal Limits (UK) - Limit withdrawals from drawdown pensions to a percentage of GAD in Voyant Adviser
- State Pension age discrepancy
- How do I model tax exempt clients (United Kingdom)
- State Pension Age increase to 68 for those born between 6 April 1970 and 5 April 1978
Offline - Using Voyant Adviser in offline mode
- Tip - Haven't used the software offline in some time? Test offline mode before going offline.
- Remember your passcode. There is no password reminder mechanism for offline passcodes.
- How to set or reset an offline passcode (offline password)
- Offline mode can only be enabled initially online
- Offline Access is Limited to 7 Consecutive Days - Message, "You have # days until your offline licence must be re-validated"
- Tip for Offline Usage - Always follow the online-offline-online rule
Usage - Authorisation limits and concurrent usage checks
- Authorised Computers - View a user's authorized computers and possibly deauthorize a computer that is no longer in use
- Authorised Computers - View your authorized computers and possibly deauthorize a computer that is no longer in use
- Authorised Computers - Once a computer is authorized for an active Voyant user, any Voyant user could run the software on that authorised computer
- "Computer Not Authorised for User" message appears after installing and opening Voyant
- Authorisation Limit - Computer has been authorised but is not recognised as such
- Considering disabling a computer? How to find your computer's MAC address.
Hosted Solutions (e.g. Citrix) - Issues, considerations
Troubleshooting issues with Voyant Adviser
- How to correct asset allocation errors when switching from one set of market assumptions to another
- Unexpected error: Java heap space
- How to correct asset allocation errors in plans following switch from SJP Voyant to standard Voyant
- Adjusting screen display when running Voyant on high resolution monitors
- "Application Blocked by Java Security" message when installing Voyant Adviser
- Simulation Error "Solution Error" - An error or outsized result displays when running a need analyser
Cash Flow Fundamentals
- Withdrawal Limits - Reserve a minimum balance on an account in Voyant Adviser
- Liquid Assets - How do cash inflows meet the exact need certain years of the plan?
- Why is a 'surplus' appearing in cash flow? (Contributions versus transfers)
- Liquidation Limits and Planned Withdrawals - Tools for controlling future asset liquidations
- Expense Fulfillment - In what order are expenses fulfilled and what funds are used to pay them?
- Surplus Income - Is surplus income spent or is it saved?
Debts
- How to show a switch in mortgage from interest only to repayment
- Increase or decrease debt payments, schedule overpayments on debts in Voyant Adviser
- Timing Debts - Using the Time panel to schedule debts
- Reduce Debt - How to model a partial repayment (pay down) on a debt
- Reduce Debt - How to model over payments on a mortgage
- How to model the repayment of a loan to a client
Debts - Home Equity Plans
Employment and Other Income
- Does Voyant model Scottish taxation?
- Rent a Room Scheme
- Benefits in kind
- Tax Free Income - Where to enter a tax free income source
- Bonuses - How to model variable income from bonuses
- Taxes Due - Truing multiple incomes with the personal allowance
Estate Plans
Expenses - Basics, Leisure, Luxury and Milestones
- How to model school fees
- Stamp Duty
- Mortality - How to reduce (step down) co-owned expenses after first mortality
- Retirement Expenses – How to increase or decrease future expenses in retirement (apart from inflation)
- Advanced Settings - The default inflation rate on expenses
- Timing - Scheduling future expenses using events or stages
Expenses, Legacy - Potentially exempt transfers and charitable gifting
Let's See - Charts
- Q: The Net Worth chart is not showing the full value of my clients' assets. Why?
- How to set an Expense Payment Source
- Let's See Chart Details - What are "unscheduled" contributions?
- Cash flow chart – What does the black “need line” represent?
- Let's See - Are the incomes shown in the cash flow gross or net amounts?
- Let's See - Annual "To Savings" total is higher than summed savings
Manage client cases and what-if planning scenarios
- What happens to a client file once it has been deleted from the software?
- How to rename or delete a what-if scenario
- Client files and plans (scenarios) - Voyant terminology
- Export button is disabled. How do I synchronise files between computers?
- Version comments vs. plan notes. What's the difference between them?
- Share a client record with a colleague
Overviews - General overviews
Overviews - Legacy overviews for IHT calculations and estate planning
Pensions - Annuities
Pensions - Drawdown Pensions
- Splitting pension income between spouses / partners (UK)
- Survivor's pension - how to set up a specific pot for inherited pensions
- Why have drawdown payments stopped after first death?
- Survivor's pension - Continue drawdowns or retain funds in a money purchase following the death of the owner
- Reports - How to output information on drawdown pensions in printable reports
- Step Up / Step Down - Scheduling future changes in drawdown pensions
Pensions - Final Salaries (Defined Benefit Schemes)
- Is Voyant geared towards meeting the new APTA requirements for Defined Benefit transfers?
- How do I model a Final Salary pension in payment, which is level now but escalates from a future date?
- Defined benefit schemes present or future value
- Step-by-Step - How to enter a final salary pension
- Lump Sum Options - Commutation of Pension Benefits
- Time - Scheduling the start of final salary payments
Planned Withdrawals (New)
- Planned Withdrawals and other highlights from our December 2018 release
- About the Planned Withdrawals screen and how to schedule withdrawals
- Surplus Withdrawals - What happens to the surplus if I withdraw more than my client needs?
- Withdrawal Limits – Placing restrictions on the software’s ability to liquidate assets as needed
- Scheduling planned withdrawals from pensions
- Crystallisation Instructions for Money Purchases (UK)
Pensions - Money Purchases (Defined Contribution Schemes)
- Can the software take 'as needed' withdrawals from pensions as tax free cash only?
- Increasing the tax free cash limit
- Why aren't employer pension contributions to a money purchase screen showing in the cash flow chart?
- How to model a lump sum pension contribution
- Pension spike age 75 / Lifetime Allowance tax charge
- Pension transfers
Pensions - State Pensions
People
Preferences - Default assumptions
- About Preferences - are the software's default assumptions updated?
- Default Inflation / Growth Rates - CPP / QPP COLA
- About Preferences - A master list of the software's default assumptions and settings
- Application Preferences - Set Text Size
- Preferences - Enable risk profile settings
- Preferences - Major Loss Event Defaults
Property and Assets
- Downsizing a home
- How to enter a tax deductible expense for a rental property
- How do I gift a property (e.g. to children)?
- My client has inherited a property, how do I model this?
- Can jointly owned property or assets be shown with unequal ownership?
- Depreciation on an asset
Protection - Critical Illness
Protection - Income Protection
Protection - Long Term Care
Protection - Term Life, Endowments, Family Income Benefits
Protection - Whole Life
Reports and Notes
- How to generate a report in real money terms
- Which reports can be generated in Excel
- Action Items Report - What is considered an action item?
- Saving a Voyant Word report as a pdf creates multiple files
- How to change your name, address, email address, phone number etc
- How to generate a report
Risk profiling
Savings and Investments
- How to model a Property Authorised Investment Fund (PAIF)
- Using asset allocations to set account growth
- Liquidation Limits and Planned Withdrawals
- What are the benefits of using Asset Allocation to model investment growth?
- Why is entire Investment Bond being encashed / liquidated?
- Step-by-step - How to build an asset allocation (model portfolio)
Simulations
- What is the difference between arithmetic and geometric returns?
- Voyant Adviser: Using the Monte Carlo Simulation
- Need Analyser - Using the Need Analyser to run liquid assets down to zero by mortality
- What calculation is used in the real money simulation
- 'Growth is Fixed' - what does this mean?
- Understanding 'Loss Capacity' & 'Major Loss' functionality
- Voyant Adviser videos and documents
- Getting Started
- System Requirements
- Basics - Starting a new client case, entering the essentials
- Release Announcements and Other Updates
- Time - Events, stages and the planning timeline
- Windfalls
- Voyant Adviser - Ireland
- Voyant Adviser - United Kingdom
- Offline - Using Voyant Adviser in offline mode
- Usage - Authorisation limits and concurrent usage checks
- Hosted Solutions (e.g. Citrix) - Issues, considerations
- Troubleshooting issues with Voyant Adviser
- Cash Flow Fundamentals
- Debts
- Debts - Home Equity Plans
- Employment and Other Income
- Estate Plans
- Expenses - Basics, Leisure, Luxury and Milestones
- Expenses, Legacy - Potentially exempt transfers and charitable gifting
- Let's See - Charts
- Manage client cases and what-if planning scenarios
- Overviews - General overviews
- Overviews - Legacy overviews for IHT calculations and estate planning
- Pensions - Annuities
- Pensions - Drawdown Pensions
- Pensions - Final Salaries (Defined Benefit Schemes)
- Planned Withdrawals (New)
- Pensions - Money Purchases (Defined Contribution Schemes)
- Pensions - State Pensions
- People
- Preferences - Default assumptions
- Property and Assets
- Protection - Critical Illness
- Protection - Income Protection
- Protection - Long Term Care
- Protection - Term Life, Endowments, Family Income Benefits
- Protection - Whole Life
- Reports and Notes
- Risk profiling
- Savings and Investments
- Simulations