User interface for a financial advisory system
First Claim
1. In a financial analysis system, a method of allowing a user to interactively explore how changes in one or more input decisions affect one or more output values, the method comprising the steps of:
- concurrently displayinga first visual indication depicting input mechanism for receiving one or more input decisions, anda second visual indication depicting a set of output values, the set of output values based upon the one or more input decisions and a recommended set of financial products;
receiving updated values for the one or more input decisions via one or more depicted input mechanisms;
determining a new recommended set of financial products and a new set of output values based upon the updated values;
updating the second visual indication to reflect the new set of output values; and
displaying a third visual indication depicting the recommended set of financial products, the recommended set of financial products conditional on the one or more input decisions.
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Abstract
A user interface for a financial advisory system is provided. According to one aspect of the present invention, a user may interactively explore how changes in one or more input decisions such as a risk tolerance, a savings level, and a retirement age affect one or more output values such as a probability of achieving a financial goal or an indication of short-term risk. A first and second visual indication are concurrently displayed. The first visual indication includes input mechanisms, such as slider bars, for receiving the input decisions. The second visual indication includes a set of output values that are based upon the input decisions and a recommended set of financial products. After updated values for the input decisions are received via the input mechanisms, a new recommended set of financial products and a new set of output values may be determined based upon the updated values. The second visual indication may then be updated to reflect the new set of output values. According to another aspect of the present invention, a graphical input mechanism for receiving a desired level of investment risk may be calibrated. A set of available financial products, such as a set of mutual funds, and a predefined volatility, such as the volatility of the Market Portfolio are received. The settings associated with the graphical input mechanism are constrained based upon the set of available financial products. Additionally, the calibration of the units of the graphical input mechanism may be expressed as a relationship between the volatility associated with a setting of the graphical input mechanism and the predefined volatility.
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Citations
44 Claims
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1. In a financial analysis system, a method of allowing a user to interactively explore how changes in one or more input decisions affect one or more output values, the method comprising the steps of:
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concurrently displaying a first visual indication depicting input mechanism for receiving one or more input decisions, and a second visual indication depicting a set of output values, the set of output values based upon the one or more input decisions and a recommended set of financial products; receiving updated values for the one or more input decisions via one or more depicted input mechanisms; determining a new recommended set of financial products and a new set of output values based upon the updated values; updating the second visual indication to reflect the new set of output values; and displaying a third visual indication depicting the recommended set of financial products, the recommended set of financial products conditional on the one or more input decisions. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. In a financial analysis system, a method of allowing a user to interactively explore how changes in one or more input decisions affect one or more output values, the method comprising the steps of:
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concurrently displaying a first visual indication depicting input mechanisms for receiving one or more input decisions, and a second visual indication depicting a set of output values, the set of output values based upon the one or more input decisions and a recommended set of financial products; receiving updated values for the one or more input decisions via one or more depicted input mechanisms; determining a new recommended set of financial products and a new set of output values based upon the updated values; updating the second visual indication to reflect the new set of output values; and wherein the set of output values include a probability of achieving a financial goal.
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15. In a financial analysis system, a method of allowing a user to interactively explore how changes in one or more input decisions affect one or more output values, the method comprising the steps of:
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concurrently displaying a first visual indication depicting input mechanism for receiving one or more input decisions, and a second visual indication depicting a set of output values, the set of output values based upon the one or more input decisions and a recommended set of financial products; receiving updated values for the one or more input decisions via one or more depicted input mechanisms; determining a new recommended set of financial products and a new set of output values based upon the updated values; updating the second visual indication to reflect the new set of output values; and wherein the one or more input decisions include a level of risk and a level of saving.
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16. In a financial analysis system, a method of calibrating a graphical input mechanism, the graphical input mechanism allowing a user to specify a desired level of investment risk, the method comprising the steps of:
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receiving a set of available financial products; constraining settings associated with the graphical input mechanism based upon the set of available financial products; receiving a predefined volatility; and forming a relationship between a setting of the graphical input mechanism and the predefined volatility. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A method of providing an indication to a user of a probability of achieving a financial goal, the method comprising the steps of:
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a. receiving a financial goal from the user; b. receiving one or more inputs upon which a probability distribution is dependent, the probability distribution representing a set of possible future portfolio values based upon the one or more inputs; c. determining the probability of achieving the financial goal by evaluating the cumulative probability distribution that meets or exceeds the financial goal; d. responsive to the determining step, providing a visual indication to the user of the probability of achieving the financial goal; and e. wherein each of a plurality of probability values is associated with a corresponding icon, and wherein the step of providing a visual indication to the user of the probability of achieving the financial goal further includes the step of displaying the icon corresponding to the probability of achieving the financial goal. - View Dependent Claims (25)
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26. A method of providing an indication to a user of a probability of achieving a financial goal, the method comprising the steps of:
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a. receiving a financial goal from the user; b. receiving one or more inputs upon which a probability distribution is dependent, the probability distribution representing a set of possible future portfolio values based on the one or more inputs; c. determining the probability of achieving the financial goal by evaluating the cumulative probability distribution that meets or exceeds the financial goal; d. responsive to the determining step, providing a visual indication to the user of the probability of achieving the financial goal; and e. wherein the financial goal is associated with a particular time horizon. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29)
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30. A method of providing an indication to a user of a probability of achieving a financial goal, the method comprising the steps of:
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a. receiving a financial goal from the user; b. receiving one or more inputs upon which a probability distribution is dependent, the probability distribution representing a set of possible future portfolio values based upon the one or more inputs; c. determining the probability of achieving the financial goal by evaluating the cumulative probability distribution that meets or exceeds the financial goal; d. responsive to the determining step, providing a visual indication to the user of the probability of achieving the financial goal; and e. wherein the probability distribution is generated by a simulator.
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31. A method of providing an indication to a user of a probability of achieving a financial goal, the method comprising the steps of:
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a. receiving a financial goal from the user; b. receiving one or more inputs upon which a probability distribution is dependent, the probability distribution representing a set of possible future portfolio values based upon the one or more inputs; c. determining the probability of achieving the financial goal by evaluating the cumulative probability distribution that meets or exceeds the financial goal; d. responsive to the determining step, providing a visual indication to the user of the probability of achieving the financial goal; and e. wherein the probability distribution is obtained by retrieving values from a lookup table.
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32. A method of providing an indication to a user of a probability of achieving a financial goal, the method comprising the steps of:
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a. receiving a financial goal from the user; b. receiving one or more inputs upon which a probability distribution is dependent, the probability distribution representing a set of possible future portfolio values based upon the one or more inputs; c. determining the probability of achieving the financial goal by evaluating the cumulative probability distribution that meets or exceeds the financial goal; d. responsive to the determining step, providing a visual indication to the user of the probability of achieving the financial goal; and e. wherein the probability distribution is generated by an analytic approximation of a distribution of simulated values.
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33. A method of providing an indication to a user of a probability of achieving a financial goal, the method comprising the steps of:
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a. receiving a financial goal from the user; b. receiving one or more inputs upon which a probability distribution is dependent, the probability distribution representing a set of possible future portfolio values based upon the one or more inputs; c. determining the probability of achieving the financial goal by evaluating the cumulative probability distribution that meets or exceeds the financial goal; d. responsive to the determining step, providing a visual indication to the user of the probability of achieving the financial goal; and e. wherein the financial goal comprises a retirement standard of living goal.
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34. A method of providing an indication to a user of a probability of achieving a financial goal, the method comprising the steps of:
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a. receiving a financial goal from the user; b. receiving one or more inputs upon which a probability distribution is dependent, the probability distribution representing a set of possible future portfolio values based upon the one or more inputs; c. determining the probability of achieving the financial goal by evaluating the cumulative probability distribution that meets or exceeds the financial goal; d. responsive to the determining step, providing a visual indication to the user of the probability of achieving the financial goal; and e. wherein the one or more inputs include one or more of a level of risk and a level of savings.
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35. A method of providing an indication to a user of a probability of achieving a financial goal, the method comprising the steps of:
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a. receiving a financial goal from the user; b. receiving one or more inputs upon which a probability distribution is dependent, the probability distribution representing a set of possible future portfolio values based upon the one or more inputs; c. determining the probability of achieving the financial goal by evaluating the cumulative probability distribution that meets or exceeds the financial goal; d. responsive to the determining step, providing a visual indication to the user of the probability of achieving the financial goal, wherein the visual indication of the probability of achieving the financial goal is updated in real-time; e. detecting the engagement of an input device; and f. while the input device is engaged, repeating steps b, c, and d.
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36. In a financial analysis system, a method of presenting various aspects of financial risk to a user in order to help the user deal with and control the financial risk, the method comprising the steps of:
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receiving a financial goal from the user; receiving one or more inputs including decision variables upon which a probability distribution is dependent, the probability distribution representing probabilities over time of the user having a certain amount of wealth; displaying a first visual representation which illustrates a short-term financial risk associated with the one or more decision variables; displaying a second visual representation which illustrates a risk of not achieving the financial goal based upon the probability distribution; and displaying a third visual representation which illustrates a long-term financial risk associated with the one or more decision variables.
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37. In a financial analysis system, a method of presenting various aspects of financial risk to a user in order to help the user deal with and control the financial risk, the method comprising the steps of:
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receiving a financial goal from the user; receiving one or more inputs including decision variables upon which a probability distribution is dependent, the probability distribution representing probabilities over time of the user having a certain amount of wealth; displaying a first visual representation which illustrates a short-term financial risk associated with the one or more decision variables; displaying a second visual representation which illustrates a risk of not achieving the financial goal based upon the probability distribution; and wherein the financial goal includes a time horizon, and wherein the short-term financial risk represents a largest amount of wealth that may be lost within a predetermined confidence level over a short amount of time relative to the time horizon.
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38. In a financial analysis system, a method of presenting various aspects of financial risk to a user in order to help the user deal with and control the financial risk, the method comprising the steps of:
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receiving a financial goal from the user; receiving one or more inputs including decision variables upon which a probability distribution is dependent, the probability distribution representing probabilities over time of the user having a certain amount of wealth; displaying a first visual representation which illustrates a short-term financial risk associated with the one or more decision variables; displaying a second visual representation which illustrates a risk of not achieving the financial goal based upon the probability distribution; and wherein the second visual representation comprises an icon indicating a probability of achieving the financial goal at a particular time horizon.
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39. In a financial analysis system, a method of presenting various aspects of financial risk to a user in order to help the user deal with and control the financial risk, the method comprising the steps of:
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receiving a financial goal from the user; receiving one or more inputs including decision variables upon which a probability distribution is dependent, the probability distribution representing probabilities over time of the user having a certain amount of wealth; displaying a first visual representation which illustrates a short-term financial risk associated with the one or more decision variables; displaying a second visual representation which illustrates a risk of not achieving the financial goal based upon the probability distribution; and wherein the first and second visual representations are displayed concurrently.
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40. A method of illustrating a recommended allocation of wealth among an available set of financial products, the method comprising the steps of:
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receiving one or more decision inputs; receiving a set of available financial products, each financial product having an associated volatility; ordering the set of available financial products by volatility; and for each financial product in the set of available financial products determining a recommended allocation of wealth based upon the one or more decision inputs, and displaying a graphical indication of the recommended allocation of wealth, the graphical indication including a graphical segment having a length corresponding to the recommended allocation.
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41. In a financial advisory system, a method of updating a recommendation based on a user specified constraint, the method comprising the steps of:
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providing a graphical indication of a current recommended allocation of wealth among an available set of financial products, the graphical indication including graphical segments each having a size corresponding to the current recommended allocation for the associated financial product; responsive to activation of an input device, resizing a selected graphical segment to correspond in size to a user desired allocation; determining a new recommended allocation while keeping the allocation of the financial product corresponding to the selected segment fixed at the user desired allocation; and updating the graphical indication to represent the new recommended allocation. - View Dependent Claims (42, 43, 44)
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Specification