Frequently Asked Questions
The Internet can be a funny thing
sometimes. To help our clients address some of the common problems with their client
reports, we have created this FAQ to give them the answers they need.
- Why can't I get my
username and password to work?
- How do I get the client
reports to fit on my screen without scrolling?
- Why does my report run
over the end of the page when I print it?
- What does the Time Weighted
Return (TWR) represent?
- What do each of the client
reports show?
- When are the reports
updated?
- How do I log off or allow
another user to look at their reports?
There are many reasons why a username and password
combination will not allow you to gain access to your client reports. The most
obvious reason would be that you are not entering the correct information.
Contact us if you do not think you have
the correct username or password. You should also note that passwords ARE case
sensitive, which means that the caps lock should most likely be off!
Other reasons that you cannot gain access to your
client reports could include the following:
- Your web browser is not setup correctly to support
SSL encryption
- You use a proxy connection or
firewall not setup properly
- You use an ISP (e.g. America Online, Compuserve,
etc.) providing its own web browser with customized settings and/or protocols which may
conflict with normal SSL traffic
If you suspect any of the these reasons to be the
cause of your problem, we suggest contacting your network administrator or Internet
service provider. Internet Explorer is the preferred web browser, but Netscape
Navigator will work.
The client reports use style sheets to create the
report format. This means that users of Internet Explorer 5.x or higher should be
able to view the reports with its enriched formatting. If you cannot use Internet
Explorer 5.x or higher, or you still need help, then please read on.
Most of the client web reports are formatted as
tables, kind of like spreadsheets. The database engine which creates these tables
defines the total width as a certain number of pixels in length, where each column gets a
certain allocation of pixels. Therefore, your ability to fit a client report on
your screen will depend on the number of pixels that the report requires, as well as some
of the personal settings that you use with your computer, like the display resolution or
the font size.
Although most older computers do not support a very
high resolution, if you can safely increase your display resolution to 1024x768 or higher,
then you should be able to view all the reports without having to scroll over. If
your computer does not support this high of a resolution, then you should try to increase
the resolution as high as you can or as high as your eye-sight will allow (increasing the
resolution will make everything displayed on your monitor smaller).
One of the more simpler ways of making use of your
full screen is to view each of the client reports in its own window. This can be
done by clicking the 
icon next to the desired report. This will open
the report content in its own window.
When using some older web browsers, some reports tend to be too wide to print in Portrait mode because
only a certain number of characters can fit on a printed page. Decreasing the font
and switching the printer orientation to Landscape will help, but may not solve the
problem for some reports. The best solution is to use Internet Explorer
5.x or
higher to view your reports. Some reports are designed using style sheets that
enhance the formatting of the web reports, but only newer versions of Internet Explorer
currently support this kind of formatting.
In the monthly web reports, the measurement of
performance is based on the Time Weighted Return or TWR. The TWR is different from
traditional performance internal rates of return calculations in that the TWR gives the
same weight to time periods, regardless of the amount of money invested. Because the
TWR minimizes the effect of cash flows on a portfolio, it is the only calculation that
fairly compares the performance of a portfolio to an index. Thus, the TWR answers
the question: "If your entire portfolio had been invested on the start date and then
left alone (no contributions or withdrawals), what would your performance be?"
The client web reports are designed to give you all
the information that you may need on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. Together,
the reports allow you to see what each of your accounts are valued, how your portfolio has
performed, how you are allocated, and how your account has performed in comparison to some
of the major indices.
Here are some more informative links:
The daily reports are updated every
business day by 10 a.m. with the previous day's closing values. The
Today's Gain/Loss report in particular uses yesterday's investment holdings
and updates your stocks with a twenty-minute delayed quote.
The monthly reports are updated
toward the beginning of each month after a complete reconciliation has been done with the
end of the previous month's closing values.
The Top Stock reports are updated
every Monday afternoon. We inform any client via e-mail who
wishes to know when the reports have been updated and whether or not there were any new
buys or sells that week.
The best way to truly "log off" from our
web site is to completely close down your web browser. If other people use your
computer, you should always close down the browser and turn off the computer before you
leave. However, we do allow you to change the user and/or log off without having to
close down everything. This feature can be used if you share your computer with
someone who has a separate username and password for the volkersgroup.com website.
Procedure: In the report
list, on the left side of the report console, click the "Change User/Log Off"
link. You can then choose to log in as the new user or completely log off by
clicking on one of the buttons shown. It will ask you to supply the other person's
username and password information, if you choose to log in as a different user.
After you successfully provide this information, the reports can be viewed.
There have been problems with changing
the user from Windows XP machines, there is currently no work around for this
except by closing your all of your web browser windows and reopening a
new window to log back in again.
Changing the user does NOT necessarily
erase your confidential information from the computer. To protect your
privacy, always close down the web
browser entirely and never leave your password available for others to see or use.
The Volkers Group, LLC. is not
responsible for any damage that may result from changing your computer settings. You
should always consult the appropriate operating manual before changing any computer
settings. Please review our general disclaimer.
Copyright © The Volkers Group, LLC. All rights reserved.
Revised: August 12, 2004.