Method and apparatus for enabling individual or smaller investors or others to create and manage a portfolio of securities or other assets or liabilities on a cost effective basis

• US 7,110,971 B2
• Filed: 05/12/2003
• Issued: 09/19/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 03/11/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Folio Financial Incorporated (Goldman Sachs Group Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: FOLIOfn Incorporated (Goldman Sachs Group Incorporated)
• Inventors: Wallman, Steven M. H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Bashore, Alain L.
• Application Number:
  US10/435,591
• Publication Number:
  US 20030208432A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,226 Days
• Field of Search: 705/35, 705/36, 705/37
• US Class Current: 705/36.00R
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/06 Asset management; Financial planning or analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/10 Tax strategies
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/12 Accounting

Abstract

Smaller investors can create and manage on a cost-effective basis a complex portfolio of securities using a mechanism that enables the investor to provide to the system the investor'"'"'s preferences regarding his portfolio, to generate a portfolio, including fractional shares, that reflects the investor'"'"'s preferences. The system then permits aggregation of the orders, and netting of orders, generated by multiple investors at various times during the day for execution. In addition, the structure of the computer-based system of the present invention allows its cost to be based on access to or usage of the system (such as a monthly fee) as opposed to by securities orders entered into the system as per common brokerage. The result is that the investor can create a portfolio of directly owned securities with attributes, such as diversification, similar to a mutual fund. As compared with the problems with existing systems, the computer-based system of the present invention provides complete control for the investor over what securities can be selected, and in what weights and amounts, as well as control over the tax effects of purchases or sales of the securities comprising the portfolio, preventing the investor from being presented with unwanted taxable effects due to discretionary sales transactions of fund managers. In addition, the computer-based system of the present invention provides all the information necessary to monitor and manage tax effects and capability to sell or buy the individual securities in his portfolio to obtain desired tax benefits, all shareholder rights with respect to each security in the portfolio to the investor and full ownership and control over all investment, voting and other decisions regarding such securities. The computer-based system of the present invention also allows for parameters to be set with respect to a portfolio to ensure that it stays within certain diversification or risk limits. Furthermore, the computer-based system of the present invention provides direct control over the charges and expenses that will be incurred, and the possibility of making multiple intra-day investment decisions by the investor, if he wishes. Moreover, the computer-based system of the present invention provides control over all factors in the portfolio and modification of them as the investor sees fit.

Claims

1. A system for enabling at least a plurality of individual or smaller investors or other investors to create, manage and trade a plurality of market tradable assets or liabilities as a single, customizable investment portfolio directly owned by the investors via a first plurality of communication links, one to each of the plurality of individual or smaller investors, over which each of the plurality of individual or smaller investors transmits to the system trading data regarding trades of a plurality of market tradable assets or liabilities that each of the plurality of individual or smaller investors desires to make in order to create, modify or sell a single, customizable investment portfolio of such plurality of market tradable assets or liabilities directly owned by the investor, including one or more fractional shares, one or more odd lots, or one or more small amounts of shares of one or more distinct market tradable assets or liabilities, said system comprising:

a) a processor;

(i) communicating with a plurality of individual or smaller investor personal computers (PC'"'"'s) via the first plurality of communication links;

(ii) receiving investor identification information, investor preferences and trading data from each of the plurality of individual or smaller investor PC'"'"'s, said trading data including an order to trade the single, customizable investment portfolio of market tradable assets or liabilities, said order including at least one of one or more fractional shares, one or more odd lots, and one or more small amounts of shares of one or more distinct market tradable assets or liabilities;

(iii) creating a single, customizable investment portfolio of distinct market tradable assets or liabilities directly owned by and for each of the plurality of individual or smaller investors from said trading data;

(iv) executing trading of the distinct market tradable assets or liabilities in each of the single, customizable investment portfolios to create the single, customizable investment portfolio or to modify the single, customizable investment portfolio of each of the plurality of individual or smaller investors, wherein each of the single customizable, investment portfolios is owned directly by each of the plurality of individual or smaller investors after said trading; and

(v) aggregating buy orders and sell orders of one or more fractional shares, one or more odd lots, or one or more small amounts of shares of one or more distinct market tradable assets or liabilities from each of the plurality of individual or smaller investors in the trading data into one or more buy orders or one or more sell orders for each distinct market tradable asset or liability of the plurality of distinct market tradable assets or liabilities represented in the trading data received from the plurality of individual or smaller investor PC'"'"'s; and

b) a storage coupled to the processor and storing the trading data from each of the plurality of individual or smaller investor PC'"'"'s.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein said processor comprises an aggregation routine aggregating the buy orders and sell orders for assets or liabilities in the trading data into a single buy order and a single sell order for each asset or liability of the plurality of assets or liabilities represented in the trading data received from the plurality of individual or smaller investor PC'"'"'s, and said processor further comprising a routine transmitting the single buy order and the single sell order to a third party for execution.

3. The system according to claim 1, wherein said processor further comprises a risk allocation routine creating a percentage allocation of investment classes for each individual or smaller investor based on allocation model input from said each individual or smaller investor and transmitting a resulting percentage allocation of investment classes to said each individual or smaller investor.

4. The system according to claim 3, wherein said processor further comprises an investor interface routine interacting with each individual or smaller investor to determine an individual or smaller investor portfolio that corresponds to the percentage allocation of investment classes for the individual or smaller investor determined by the risk allocation routine.

5. The system according to claim 1, further comprising an electronic payment mechanism being coupled to the processor and coupling to a third party electronic payment system, transmitting a request for an electronic payment for each of the plurality of individual or smaller investors to the third party payment system, and receiving, in response to said request, electronic payment data for each of the plurality of individual or smaller investors electronically from the third party payment system.

6. The system according to claim 2, further comprising a second communication link to a third party trading system via which the processor transmits the single viable buy order and the single sell order for each of the plurality of assets or liabilities represented in the trading data from each of the plurality of individual or smaller investors.

7. The system according to claim 3, further comprising an investor program executing on the plurality of individual or smaller investor PC'"'"'s, said investor program prompting the individual or smaller investor for investor identification information and investor preferences, transmitting said investor identification and investor preferences to the processor, and enabling the individual or smaller investor to interact with the processor to select a plurality of assets or liabilities to create an individual or smaller investor portfolio commensurate with the percentage allocation of investment assets, and to have parameters and limitations established as to portfolio characteristics that will be permitted for such investor.

8. The system according to claim 7, wherein said investor program further comprises a graphical user interface displaying a risk and a differential return of the entire individual or smaller investor portfolio relative to a standard industry measurement.

9. The system according to claim 8, wherein said investor program further comprises a communication process communicating said investor identification information along with any trades of assets or liabilities to be executed to create or modify an individual or smaller investor'"'"'s portfolio to ensure an individual or smaller investor'"'"'s actual portfolio matches an individual or smaller investor'"'"'s desired portfolio to the processor as said trading data via one of the first plurality of communication links.

10. The system according to claim 7, wherein the investor program further comprises a tax gain process maintaining a tax basis and date of acquisition for all of the assets or liabilities traded by the individual or smaller investor.

11. The system according to claim 7, wherein the investor program further comprises a voting rights process that provides information to the individual or smaller investor regarding voting rights of the assets or liabilities held by the individual or smaller investor.

12. The system according to claim 1, further comprising a graphical user interface displayed on a predetermined world wide web site via which a new individual or smaller investor can provide investor identification information to the system.

13. The system according to claim 1, further comprising a natural language interface in communication with the processor receiving voice input from the individual or smaller investor, wherein the natural language interface further comprises a converter process converting the voice input from the individual or smaller investor into trading data.

14. The system according to claim 1, further comprising an affinity group creation process creating an affinity group comprising individuals having similar characteristics, the characteristics being selectable by the investor, said affinity group creation process determining what assets or liabilities have been purchased by the affinity group, and executing a purchase of the assets or liabilities that have been purchased by the affinity group on behalf of the investor selecting the characteristics.

15. The system according to claim 14, further comprising a statistical sampling process soliciting demographic information from a plurality of investors comprising characteristics of the plurality of investors, said statistical sampling process:

(i) soliciting information relating to what assets or liabilities have been purchased by each of the plurality of investors, (ii) storing the demographic information in a searchable database of demographic information, (iii) storing the purchased assets or liabilities information in the searchable database; and

(iv) associating the stored assets or liabilities information with the demographic information.

16. The system according to claim 14, further comprising a historical performance process creating a historical performance output for the investor concerning the performance of the assets or liabilities of the affinity group.

17. The system according to claim 1, wherein said processor comprises an aggregation and netting routine aggregating and netting buy orders and sell orders for assets or liabilities in the trading data into either a single buy order or a single sell order for each asset or liability of the plurality of assets or liabilities represented in the trading data received from the plurality of individual or smaller investor PC'"'"'s, and said processor further comprising a routine transmitting either the single buy order or the single sell order to a third party for execution.

18. The system according to claim 1, wherein the trading data includes a specified dollar amount of assets/liabilities desired to be traded by at least one of the plurality of individual or smaller investors.

19. The system according to claim 18, wherein the at least one of the plurality of individual or smaller investors may establish a periodic dollar contribution to the portfolio.

20. The system according to claim 1, wherein the trading data includes a specified dollar amount of assets or liabilities desired to be traded by at least one of the plurality of individual or smaller investors and also includes a specified share amount of assets or liabilities desired to be traded by at least one of the plurality of individual or smaller investors of the plurality of individual or smaller investors.