Lipper, Barra Partner On Fund Risk Software

Lipper and Barra have partnered to create new software that helps mutual funds assess the risk involved with investing in certain securities.

The software, called Lipper-Barra Mutual Fund Risk Factor, allows advisers and financial institutions to evaluate a mutual fund's risk compared to its category as well as broader fund categories. Lipper said that the product forecasts a fund's expected performance range over the course of a year, then produces a graph that can be used to assess whether a fund will best serve a specific client. Funds are then compared to their peers within Lipper's classification system, as well as their asset classes.