Tomorrowscope contains two modules: Asset Projection and Proforma Proposal.
Asset Projection answers a basic question asked by many investors: “If this is the value of my assets today, and I add this amount each year, and the growth rate is a certain annual percentage, what will my assets be worth when it is time to retire, and how much can I withdraw each year for the rest of my life?”
Asset Projection allows entry of a few basic assumptions to generate a visual display of results over time.
Custom Asset Projections can be created on screen without a login. However, by establishing a login and password, the user can name and store any number of completed projections, password-protected.
Proforma Proposal is a basic tool for understanding an early-stage business. Simply put: “What if we make this many widgets, and each widget costs us so much to make and we sell them for a certain price at a certain time -- will we succeed or fail?” This question is typically explored using Excel spreadsheets, which can be complicated to construct and may become overly detailed.
Proforma Proposal's simple, fill-in-the-blank format lays out assumptions and instantly displays the results visually. At a venture’s earliest stages, simplicity and the ability to quickly generate a variety of what-if alternatives are critical, like making a series of quick sketches before the time-consuming detail work of producing an oil painting.
Proforma Proposal requires a login and password to go beyond the sample and create custom proposals. Once again, password-protected storage for completed proposals is provided.
Over a 30-year career as a Financial Advisor, J. Michael Newlight explored a variety of methods to answer basic questions asked by many investors.
From the scratch pad to the Excel spreadsheet, with detours through complicated financial planning software, he never found an ideal simple visual tool for answering the universal question, “Will I outlive my money?” Upon retirement, he decided to create such a tool. The result is the Asset Projection module of Tomorrowscope.
And what about the Proforma Proposal? In his professional practice, he dealt exclusively with publicly traded securities, studying individual companies and constructing portfolios. He developed advanced Excel tools for quantifying, analyzing and comparing historical returns, volatility and other technical factors, yet was always aware of the caveat, “past performance is no indication of future results.” Because it isn't really the past that matters to an investor, but rather what will happen in the future.
Becoming interested in start-up and early-stage companies, he joined an Angel Investment group, and quickly confirmed the obvious: quantitative historical analysis is of little use in dealing with start-ups, because they have no history. Different analytical methods are needed. Thus, the question: how does one quantify the future?
