User interface for a financial advisory system

• US 6,012,044 A
• Filed: 05/25/1999
• Issued: 01/04/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 12/10/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Financial Engines, LLC.
• Original Assignee: Financial Engines Incorporated (Edelman Financial Engines LLC)
• Inventors: Jones, Christopher L., Sharpe, William F., Maggioncalda, Jeff N., Tauber, Ellen, Fine, Ken
• Primary Examiner(s): Peeso, Thomas R.
• Application Number:
  US09/318,047
• Time in Patent Office: 224 Days
• Field of Search: 705/26, 705/27, 705/30, 705/35, 705/36
• US Class Current: 705/36.00R
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/03 Credit; Loans; Processing thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/06 Asset management; Financial planning or analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/08 Insurance
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/12 Accounting

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.

Claims

1. A method comprising the steps of:

concurrently displaying

input objects in a first portion of a screen, the input objects configured to receive one or more input decisions, and

a set of output values in a second portion of the screen, the set of output values including a probability of achieving a financial goal based upon the one or more input decisions and a recommended set of financial products;

receiving an updated input decision via one of the depicted input objects;

determining a new recommended set of financial products and a new set of output values based upon the updated input decision; and

updating the second portion of the screen to reflect the new set of output values.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of displaying the recommended set of financial products in a third portion of the screen, the recommended set of financial products conditional on the one or more input decisions.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the first, second, and third visual indications are displayed concurrently.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more input decisions include a level of risk and a level of savings.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the financial products comprise one or more stocks, bonds, stock mutual funds, or bond mutual funds.

6. A method of calibrating a graphical input object which is configured to indicate a desired level of investment risk, the method comprising the steps of:

constraining settings associated with the graphical input object based upon a set of available financial products; and

forming a relationship between a setting of the graphical input object and a predefined volatility.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein each financial product in the set of available financial products is associated with a volatility, the step of constraining settings associated with the graphical input object further includes the step of constraining settings to lie between a lowest volatility setting and a highest volatility setting, the lowest volatility setting being associated with the volatility of a lowest-volatility financial product in the set of available financial products and the highest volatility setting being associated with the volatility of a highest-volatility financial product in the set of available financial products.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein each setting of the graphical input object is associated with a volatility, and wherein each volatility is associated with a subset of the available set of financial products.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the graphical input object comprises a risk slider.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the risk slider has a midpoint setting, and the volatility associated with the midpoint setting is defined relative to the predefined volatility.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the predefined volatility is defined relative to the volatility associated with the Market Portfolio.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein each setting of the graphical input object is associated with a unit, and wherein the unit is expressed in terms of the relationship between the volatility associated with the setting and the predefined volatility.

13. The method of claim 6, wherein the graphical input object comprises a risk slider.

14. The method of claim 6, wherein the financial products in the set of available financial products comprise one or more stocks, bonds, stock mutual funds, or bond mutual funds.

15. A method of providing an indication to a user of a probability of achieving a financial goal, the method comprising the steps of:

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; and

d. displaying the probability of achieving the financial goal to the user.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein each of a plurality of probability values is associated with a corresponding icon, and wherein the step of displaying the probability of achieving the financial goal to the user further includes the step of displaying the icon corresponding to the probability of achieving the financial goal.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the plurality of icons comprises weather forecast icons incorporating various combinations of clouds, sun, and sky.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein the financial goal is expressed as of a particular time horizon.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein the financial goal comprises a retirement standard of living goal.

20. The method of claim 15, wherein the one or more inputs include one or more of a level of risk and a level of savings.

21. The method of claim 15, wherein the probability of achieving the financial goal is updated in real-time responsive to the determining step, and wherein the method further including the steps of:

detecting the activation of an input device; and

while the input device is activated, repeating steps b, c, and d.

22. A method of presenting various aspects of financial risk to a user, the method comprising the steps of:

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;

in a first portion of a screen, displaying an indication of short-term financial risk associated with the one or more decision variables; and

in a second portion of the screen, displaying an indication of risk of not achieving the financial goal based upon the probability distribution.

23. The method of claim 22, further including the step of in a third portion of the screen, displaying an indication of long-term financial risk associated with the one or more decision variables.

24. The method of claim 22, wherein the financial goal includes a time horizon, and wherein the short-term financial risk represents an amount of wealth that may be lost within a predetermined confidence level over a short amount of time relative to the time horizon.

25. The method of claim 22, wherein the indication of risk of not achieving the financial goal comprises an icon indicating a probability of achieving the financial goal at a particular time horizon.

26. The method of claim 22, wherein each of the indication of short-term financial risk, indication of risk of not achieving the financial goal, and indication of long-term financial risk are displayed concurrently.

27. A method of presenting a recommended allocation of wealth among an available set of financial products, the method comprising the steps of:

ordering a set of available financial products by volatility; and

determining a recommended allocation of wealth among one or more financial products of the set of available financial products based upon one or more decision inputs, including a level of risk and a savings rate; and

graphically depicting the recommended allocation of wealth among the one or more financial products of the set of available financial products.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the one or more input decisions include a level of risk and a level of savings.

29. A method of updating a recommended allocation of wealth among one or more financial products of an available set of financial products based on a user specified constraint, the method comprising the steps of:

displaying a graphical indication of a current recommended allocation of wealth among the one or more financial products of the available set of financial products, the graphical indication including one or more graphical objects each having a magnitude corresponding to the current recommended allocation for the associated financial product;

resizing a selected graphical object to correspond in magnitude to a user desired allocation;

determining a new recommended allocation while keeping the allocation of the financial product corresponding to the selected graphical object fixed at the user desired allocation; and

refreshing the graphical indication to represent the new recommended allocation.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein the step of determining a new recommended allocation further includes reoptimizing a remaining set of financial products.

31. The method of claim 29, wherein the step of resizing a selected graphical object is responsive to activation of an input device, and wherein the step of determining a new recommended allocation occurs after deactivation of the input device.

32. The method of claim 29, wherein the step of determining a new recommended allocation occurs in real-time.

33. A method comprising the steps of:

displaying one or more input objects in a first portion of a screen, the input objects configured to receive one or more input decisions from which a recommendation is determined, the recommendation including a recommended allocation of wealth among a set of available financial products;

displaying a set of output values in a second portion of the screen, the set of output values including a probability of achieving a financial goal based upon the recommendation; and

graphically depicting the recommended allocation of wealth among the set of available financial products.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein the financial products in the set of available financial products comprise one or more stocks, bonds, stock mutual funds, or bond mutual funds.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein the one or more input decisions include a level of risk and a level of savings.

36. The method of claim 35, wherein the set of output values includes an indication of short-term financial risk associated with the one or more input decisions.

37. The method of claim 36, wherein the set of output values includes an indication of long-term financial risk associated with the one or more input decisions.

38. A machine-readable medium having stored thereon data representing sequences of instructions, said sequences of instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause said processor to perform the steps of:

concurrently displaying

input objects in a first portion of a screen, the input objects configured to receive one or more input decisions, and

a set of output values in a second portion of the screen, the set of output values including a probability of achieving a financial goal based upon the one or more input decisions and a recommended set of financial products;

receiving an updated input decision via one of the depicted input objects;

determining a new recommended set of financial products and a new set of output values based upon the updated input decision; and

updating the second portion of the screen to reflect the new set of output values.

39. A machine-readable medium having stored thereon data representing sequences of instructions, said sequences of instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause said processor to perform the steps of:

receiving a financial goal from the user;

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;

determining the probability of achieving the financial goal; and

displaying the probability of achieving the financial goal to the user.

40. A machine-readable medium having stored thereon data representing sequences of instructions, said sequences of instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause said processor to perform the steps of:

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;

in a first portion of a screen, displaying an indication of short-term financial risk associated with the one or more decision variables; and

in a second portion of the screen, displaying an indication of risk of not achieving the financial goal based upon the probability distribution.

41. A machine-readable medium having stored thereon data representing sequences of instructions, said sequences of instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause said processor to perform the steps of:

ordering a set of available financial products by volatility; and

determining a recommended allocation of wealth among one or more financial products of the set of available financial products based upon the one or more decision inputs, including a level of risk and a savings rate; and

graphically depicting the recommended allocation of wealth among the one or more financial products of the set of available financial products.

42. A machine-readable medium having stored thereon data representing sequences of instructions, said sequences of instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause said processor to perform the steps of:

display one or more input objects in a first portion of a screen, the input objects configured to receive one or more input decisions from which a recommendation is determined, the recommendation including a recommended allocation of wealth among a set of available financial products;

displaying a set of output values in a second portion of the screen, the set of output values including a probability of achieving a financial goal based upon the recommendation; and

graphically depicting the recommended allocation of wealth among the set of available financial products.