It is that time again… Advent has released a newer version of Axys 3.8.x. Those of us that looked at the Advent Product Support Matrix distributed a couple years ago with a certain level of trepidation can take a deep breath since we now have a clear replacement to those versions that were once aggressively scheduled for various decreasing levels of support.
A couple of weeks ago, we installed Axys 3.8.7 at one of my client sites and had no problems whatsoever with the upgrade. My client was running Windows 7 (SP1) on their workstations and Windows Server 2012 R2 on their server hosting Axys. Though my experience to date with the latest version of Axys has been somewhat limited to reviewing the new features, installing the product, and confirming that the automation and integration we created for Axys 3.8.6 still worked, it seems to be a solid update.
A quick summary of new functionality
Axys 3.8.7 adds the following reports and capabilities:
- Expanded report functionality related to reconciliation
- The Reallocate Dividends Tool (which was previously a custom report)
- Currency Exposure with Market Value by Asset Class (412.rep)
- Country Exposure with Market Value by Asset Class (413.rep)
- Performance History by Region (653.rep)
- The ability to open aud and trn files from the Axys file open interface
- Mouse scroll capability in certain files
- Enhanced Generic Date Variables. In the past, these variables – like {edlm} or {last} – have been easy enough to remember or figure out. There are a number of new generic dates values, and you will need to refer to the documentation to figure them all out.
This update also introduces the following additional optional periods to the Performance History for Selected Periods Report:
- Day to Date
- Fiscal Quarter to Date
- Latest 3 Months
- Latest 6 Months
- Latest 9 Months
- Fiscal Year to Date
- Latest 2 Years
- Latest 7 Years
- Latest 10 Years
- Latest 15 Years
- Latest 20 Years
- Latest 25 Years
The Performance History for Selected Periods Report has never been difficult for me to modify so that it includes the reporting periods users desire, but these updates will make required customization to this report a less frequent request.
Advent also claims to have “improved the accuracy of multicurrency calculations when a transaction causes the balance of a cash account to cross zero.”
Some minor complications related to Windows 10
Oddly, older versions of Windows 10 (v1709 aka Fall Creators Update and v1607 aka Anniversary Update) are considered compatible with Axys 3.8.6 and certain newer versions of Windows 10 (v1809 aka October 2018 Update or v1804 aka April 2018 Update) are reportedly compatible with Axys 3.8.7. Yes. You read that correctly. Axys 3.8.7 actually seems to drop support for some of the previous versions of Windows 10.
This is a marked change from the usual support tendencies. Typically, more recent versions of an operating system would be supported and older operating systems might be dropped. In this instance, Axys 3.8.7 continues to support Windows 7 (SP1) and Windows 8.1, but drops support for certain older versions of Windows 10 that it originally supported in Axys 3.8.6. I can’t say whether Axys 3.8.7 literally won’t work with the older versions of Windows 10. Perhaps Advent has just decided to limit support to the newest versions of Windows 10 in order to reduce the complexity of supporting Axys 3.8.7 on Windows 10. It could also be that, due to the way most versions of Windows 10 eventually force their updates to occur, users are unlikely to be running these older versions any longer.
Summing it up
None of these improvements are earth-shaking in and of themselves, but altogether, the updates reflect an effort to make substantial overall changes. I, for one, appreciate these incremental improvements and hope the trend continues in future versions of Axys.
Advent’s documentation “strongly recommends that you install its products (and any upgrades and updates) with the assistance of a consultant from Advent’s professional services organization”, but if you have regularly installed Axys and its companion products in the past, you shouldn’t have a problem with this update either.
About the Author: Kevin Shea is the Founder and Principal 
Consultant of Quartare; Quartare provides a wide variety of technology solutions to investment advisors nationwide.
For details, please visit Quartare.com, contact Kevin Shea via phone at 617-720-3400 x202 or e-mail at kshea@quartare.com.