Method of processing investment data and making compensation determinations and associated system

• US 8,103,564 B2
• Filed: 12/30/2004
• Issued: 01/24/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/30/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Access Data Corp. (Broadridge Financial Solutions Incorporated), KOP-COAT INCORPORATED (RPM International Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Access Data Corp. (Broadridge Financial Solutions Incorporated)
• Inventors: Foote, Brian Edward
• Primary Examiner(s): Maguire, Lindsay M
• Assistant Examiner(s): Vezeris, James
• Application Number:
  US11/027,084
• Publication Number:
  US 20060149646A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,581 Days
• Field of Search: 705/37, 705/35
• US Class Current: 705/35
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/102 Bill distribution or payments
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/06 Asset management; Financial planning or analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/12 Accounting

Abstract

A computerized method for processing investment data includes providing a server supporting a database for receiving, processing and storing investment data which includes compensation data; providing a compensation rules engine for processing compensation data employing rules relating to compensation; introducing into the server investment data from a plurality of external sources, processing the compensation data by the compensation rules engine and permitting user access to the processed and stored investment data. Information regarding sales units, customer investments, client information and investment transaction information is provided in the server. A corresponding system is disclosed.

Claims

1. A computerized method of processing investment data, comprising:

providing at least one server comprising at least one computer having a computer readable tangible medium having stored thereon program instructions executable by a processor of a computer and supporting a database for receiving, processing and storing the investment data, having information about at least one financial transaction involving at least one investment held or acquired by at least one mutual fund;

providing, to the at least one server, at least one rules set, comprising at least one compensation rule and at least one breakpoint rules,

wherein the at least one rules set is employed for compensation determination to obtain a compensation owed by the at least one mutual fund to at least one sales unit, wherein the compensation determination comprising at least;

i) identifying the at least one sales unit, wherein the at least one sales unit is either an individual, partnership, corporation, or other organization, or legal entity, or a combination of any of the foregoing which is entitled to receive a compensation from the at least one mutual fund based at least in part on the at least one sales unit'"'"'s contribution to the at least one financial transaction involving the at least one investment held or acquired by the at least one mutual fund, and

ii) determining the compensation, owed by the at least one mutual fund to the at least one identified sales unit, based at least in part on;

1) the at least one financial transaction;

2) the at least one sales unit'"'"'s contribution to the at least one financial transaction, and

3) the at least one compensation rule;

wherein the at least one breakpoint rule is a pre-determined standard measured in dollars or percentage of a pre-determined target value and is employed to initiate a transition in the compensation determination from at least one first compensation rule to at least one second compensation rule, and

wherein the at least one compensation rules is capable of being applied in a hierarchical sequence, such that the application of the at least one compensation rule will avoid the need to apply at least one third compensation rule being a lower priority in the at least one rules set;

introducing the investment data into the server; and

employing a rules engine by the server to apply the at least one rules set to the investment data for performing the compensation determination to obtain the compensation owed by the at least one mutual fund to the at least one identified sales unit.

2. The computerized method of processing investment data of claim 1 including providing the investment data from a plurality of sources to the server by at least one data interface objects.

3. The computerized method of processing investment data of claim 2 including receiving the investment data from a plurality of external sources through a plurality of data interface objects simultaneously.

4. The computerized method of processing investment data claim 1 including storing in the server the investment data, comprising information relating to trade information.

5. The computerized method of processing investment data claim 1 including storing in the server the investment data, comprising information regarding investment asset positions.

6. The computerized method of processing investment data of claim 1 including the server stored the investment data including data selected from the group consisting of sales unit customer transactions of the at least one identified and sales unit customer asset holdings of the at least one identified sales unit.

7. The computerized method of processing investment data of claim 1 including periodically effecting at least one changes in the at least one rules set.

8. The computerized method of processing investment data of claim 7 including the rules engine being structured to permit review, prototyping and simulation of at least one results of the at least one change in the at least one rules set.

9. The computerized method of processing investment data of claim 1 including effecting determination of the compensation employing at least one parameter selected from the group consisting of:

gross sales, net sales, asset growth, and average assets.

10. The computerized method of processing investment data of claim 1 including creating an audit trail to resist at least one unauthorized changes to the at least one rules set and facilitate tracking the at least one unauthorized change by user identity.

11. The computerized method of processing investment data of claim 1 including reflecting the compensation determination based upon a specific time period.

12. The computerized method of processing investment data to determine compensation for a sales unit of claim 1 including establishing the at least one breakpoint rule as performance-related item.

13. The computerized method of processing investment data of claim 12 including the at least one breakpoint rule being established by consideration of at least one of the following factors:

absolute dollar amounts, percentage achievement of goals and age of assets.

14. The computerized method of processing investment data of claim 13 including the at least one breakpoints rule having information regarding minimum compensation guarantees and maximum compensation.

15. The computerized method of processing investment data of claim 1, wherein the compensation determination comprising any guarantee to which the identified at least one sales unit is entitled to in effecting the compensation determination.

16. The computerized method of processing investment data of claim 1 including periodically revising the at least one breakpoint rule for the at least one sales unit.

17. The computerized method of processing investment data of claim 1 including in obtaining the compensation determination, separating the compensation based upon trades from the compensation based upon asset positions.

18. The computerized method of processing investment data of claim 1 including permitting a user to retrieve information on the basis of at least one field selected from the group of types consisting of:

sales unit, compensation rule, rules set, rules hierarchy, breakpoint rule, time period, payment made to sales unit, geographic location of sales unit, guarantee, asset value transaction and specific investment.

19. The computerized method of processing investment data of claim 1 including in effecting the compensation determination, limiting the compensation determination to a specific predetermined compensation period.

20. The computerized method of processing investment data of claim 17 including employing at least one hierarchical rules set to determine the trade or asset positions to which the at least one identified sales unit has been assigned for compensation purposes.

21. The computerized method of processing investment data of claim 1 including employing multiple rule breakpoints in the at least one rules set rule.

22. The computerized method of processing investment data of claim 1 including employing in the compensation determination at least one item from the group consisting of gross sales, total net sales, asset growth measured by average assets, simple average assets and time-weighted average assets.

23. The computerized method of processing investment data of claim 21 including employing at least one breakpoint rule having at least one measure selected from the group consisting of:

monetary volume of sales, percentage of sales unit goal achieved and time frame.

24. A computer system for processing investment data, comprising:

at least one server comprising at least one computer having a computer readable tangible medium having stored thereon program instructions executable by a processor of a computer and supporting a database for receiving, processing and storing the investment data, having information about at least one financial transaction involving at least one investment held or acquired by at least one mutual fund;

wherein the program instructions comprising;

code to receive the investment data;

code to employ a rules engine by the at least one server to apply at least one rules set to the received investment data to perform compensation determination to obtain a compensation owed by the at least one mutual fund to at least one sales unit,

wherein the at least one rules set comprising at least one compensation rule and at least one breakpoint rule,

wherein the compensation determination comprising at least;

i) identifying the at least one sales unit, wherein the at least one sales unit is either an individual, partnership, corporation, or other organization, or legal entity, or a combination of any of the foregoing which is entitled to receive a compensation from the at least one mutual fund based at least in part on the at least one sales unit'"'"'s contribution to the at least one financial transaction involving the at least one investment held or acquired by the at least one mutual fund, and

ii) determining the compensation, owed by the at least one mutual fund to the at least one identified sales unit, based at least in part on;

1) the at least one financial transaction;

2) the at least one sales unit'"'"'s contribution to the at least one financial transaction, and

3) the at least one compensation rule,

wherein the at least one breakpoint rule is a standard measured in dollars or percentage of a pre-determined target value and is employed to initiate a transition in the compensation determination from at least one first compensation rule to at least one second compensation rule, and

wherein the at least one compensation rule is capable of being applied in a hierarchical sequence, such that the application of the at least one compensation rule will avoid the need to apply at least one third compensation rule being a lower priority in the at least one rules set.