FAQ


Functional

Frequently asked questions about PackHedge™ functional solution.

How do the PackHedge™ licenses and optional modules work?

PackHedge™ handles both fixed and floating licenses. The fixed license is specific to a PC while the floating license can be used from several different PCs by several users but only one concurrent user at a time per floating licence.

Any mix of fixed and floating licenses can be deployed.

PackHedge™ is a modular solution and depending on the needs/role/activities of every user, you can choose which sets of modules to deploy. Each license configuration will contain a specific set of modules that will activate the proper functions and features in PackHedge™.

How does PackHedge™ handle data Import/Export?

PackHedge™ offers a number of different mechanisms to import/export data from/to Excel.

At a more technical level, PackHedge™ exposes a standard XML format that we call PAC file to import and export data. The PAC file is basically a structured text file and it is completely open to be used by anyone. Some of the Data Vendors that provide our data feeders are using this format.

Note: This format can also be used to exchange PackHedge™ data with 3rd parties or to perform an integration between applications.

What kind of support is provided?

PackHedge™ maintenance, support and upgrades (new versions) are provided as part of the annual license subscription fee.

Please contact our Client Support team by email: support@finlab.com or by phone.
Support and Customer training are usually delivered using Web-Ex.

Note: For custom development work or consulting such as building specific report(s) for a client, defining and implement workflow steps, etc., please consult with one of our Custom Support specialist to define the requirements and obtain an estimate for the costs.

Technical

Frequently asked questions about PackHedge™ technical solution.

Does PackHedge™ support Virtualization?

Yes. PackHedge™ can be setup in a virtualized environment. Most clients are using Citrix or Hyper-V.

PackHedge™ can be deployed as a cloud hosted application in order to provide access to users from anywhere they have access to the internet. FinLab does not provide hosting services, however clients can get hosting services from Microsoft Azure and FinLab can provide contacts to other Application Hosting Providers as appropriate.

What are PackHedge™ System Requirements?

PackHedge™ is a Microsoft Windows-based application.

Depending on your setup, technical constraints, sites, number of users, number of Portfolios, added services, etc… The PackHedge™ Solution can be deployed on a single Windows PC or on multiple machines.

A Windows Machine is required to run the Database Server and some optional Server services and a Windows Desktop is required to run the PackHedge Client Application.

PackHedge™ can also be setup to run everything on a single Windows PC.

Note: Some clients are using PackHedge™ on other kinds of devices such as Mac or iPad with virtualization technologies (Parallels, VMware, VirtualBox).

Please contact Customer Support for more details.

Recommended hardware

  • Intel i7
  • 8GB RAM
  • 40GB free disk space for the Database
Required software

  • Microsoft Windows 10 or above
  • Microsoft Office 2010 or above

Database Choice

  • PostgreSQL 10.1 or above (as of PackHedge™ v5.2)
  • Microsoft SQL Server 2012 or above
What are the PackHedge™ Reporting Tools?

PackHedge™ offers two reporting mechanisms: Excel and JasperReports.

Using Excel allows anyone with some Excel knowledge to customize a template and make use of Excel capabilities (Charting, VBA Scripting, etc.) to design and produce reports. Once the Excel report (PackHedge™ Data & Excel Template) is defined, the report is then fully integrated into PackHedge™ in order to show the Report as a view in a contextual environment on demand or to generate PDF, Excel or HTML reports with one Click or to be combined with other reports for batch production.

Using JasperReports, which is the world’s most popular open source reporting engines, offers the same integration of the reports in PackHedge™, accessing a dedicated Reporting Framework and the JasperReport IDE tools to define the report and its template. This is a more advanced reporting environment providing greater flexibility for complex reports.

We offer you a large choice of standard reports of each type as samples. Clients can use these samples to create their own custom reports or they can create a new reports from scratch.

Note: If you do not have the time or the skills to build your own custom reports, please contact our support team to discuss your needs.

Which data vendors (feeders) are supported by PackHedge™?

PackHedge™ can retrieve information/data from the following data providers:

    • Bloomberg,
    • Eurekahedge,
    • Hedge Fund Intelligence (HFI),
    • Hedge Fund Research (HFR),
    • Preqin,
    • Albourne,
    • Barclayhedge,
    • Credit Suisse Indices,
    • Yahoo,
    • Quandl,
    • Lipper TASS,
    • Other data providers.