Klein Decisions’ K⁴ Fund Selection and K⁴ Manager Selection both have a “copy scenario” function that is easy to use and saves considerable time in creating models, monitoring funds, and archiving results.

Copy is located on the Scenario Management page next to each completed scenario as shown.

It allows you to copy scenarios in their entirety. The copied scenario can then be renamed to distinguish it from the original. This is helpful in two ways. First, it gives you a quick way to apply the same factor model across differing categories. For example, if you have just completed a small cap value scenario, you might want to use the same factors and weights for small cap growth. Second, copying scenarios also allows you to save time when tracking and monitoring changes. For example, suppose you created that original small cap value scenario using March 31 data. If you update your scenarios on a quarterly basis, you’ll want to return to it when the June 30 data is available. The copy function makes this a very efficient process.

1. Copy your original small cap value scenario and rename it “small cap growth”.
2. Back on the Scenario Management page, click on “Edit” (located right above copy) for your new small cap growth scenario. 
3. Click on “Continue” on the next page. This will take you to Category Selection, where you should change “Value” to “Growth”.
4. When the page refreshes, click on “Save Selections” at the bottom of the page. 
5. Now, go directly to the Results tab to view the results of your small cap growth scenario. You don’t have to select the various factors or answer the importance and trade-off questions; you copied all that when you copied the original scenario.

You can apply the same factor model to all equity categories by repeating the process and changing the categories. Some users apply one model to all equity categories while others also include fixed income and hybrid categories, too. Regardless of how many times you choose to use the same factor model, you’ll save time each time you copy a scenario rather than recreate it from scratch.

If you click “Edit” in Scenario Management, you’ll see a page like the one illustrated here. You may choose “Continue As Is” to keep the scenario unchanged with March 31 data or on “Update Products” to automatically update the scenario with June 30 data. If you don’t need to save the March 31 version, select “Update Products” and proceed directly to the Results page for the current rankings.

On the other hand, you may want to create an archive of previous scenarios. Some users do this to keep track of their “recommended lists” while others want to see how specific funds’ rankings change over time. The steps for doing this are:

1. Include the date in the scenario names for identification. Some users use the date the scenario was created while others use the date of the data. If you haven’t already dated the scenario, go to Scenario Management and click on “Change Name” directly under the scenario’s name. In this example you could rename the original scenario “3/31/07 Small Cap Value”. 
2. Whenever you review it, be sure to click on “Continue As Is” to preserve the March 31 data.
3. To create the current scenario with June 30 data, copy the scenario you just renamed and this time rename it “6/30/07 Small Cap Value”. 
4. Click on “Edit” and then go directly to the Results page to see your updated results. 

By repeating this process each quarter, you can create a running history of your scenarios. If you do this for a number of categories, you should consider making folders based on dates or categories to hold the quarterly scenarios. For example, a “March 31, 2007” folder could contain all the scenarios with March 31, 2007 data or a “Small Cap Value” folder could hold all the quarterly small cap value scenarios. You can create and manage folders on the Scenario Management page.

Copying is a lot quicker and easier than creating new scenarios or records. That’s why we’ve included it in K⁴ and hope you’ll put it to good use.