Financial modeling and counseling system

• US 7,401,040 B2
• Filed: 08/10/2001
• Issued: 07/15/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 11/01/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Accenture Global Services Limited (Accenture PLC)
• Original Assignee: Accenture LLP (Accenture PLC)
• Inventors: Sloan, Ronald E., Slutsky, Stephen B.
• Primary Examiner(s): Kramer; James
• Assistant Examiner(s): GREIMEL, JOCELYN
• Application Number:
  US09/927,560
• Publication Number:
  US 20020111890A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,531 Days
• Field of Search: 705/35, 705/36
• 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 40/02 Banking, e.g. interest calculation or account maintenance credit or loans G06Q40/03
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/06 Asset management; Financial planning or analysis

Abstract

The present invention relates to a web-based financial management system for providing personalized financial coaching to a user. The system operates in a collaborative computing environment between the user and a financial advisor and comprises a service level subsystem and an advice generating subsystem. The service level subsystem allows the user to negotiate a service level agreement that defines the user'"'"'s desired level of support and limits access to user provided information. The advice generating subsystem is coupled to the service level subsystem and includes one or more coaching engines that dynamically analyze the financial needs of the user in accordance with the user'"'"'s service level agreement. Furthermore, the coaching engine provides customized financial advice tailored to the user'"'"'s life intentions. The present invention also provides for a financial portfolio management subsystem enabling the user to model the effects of adding or deleting various securities and helping the user to better conform his portfolio to his level of risk tolerance and his investment style.

Claims

1. A method for providing online, web-based financial counseling over the Internet comprising:

providing a plurality of unique service levels, each including a unique combination of available computer coaching and live coaching, the live coaching being performed by a financial advisor;

developing a service agreement with a user for a desired service level of financial counseling services, including;

prompting the user to input personal financial information;

receiving from the user a desired service level selected from the plurality of available unique service levels;

estimating profitability based on the financial information; and

negotiating fees to be charged to the user based upon estimating profitability and the desired level of service prior to providing services under the service agreement;

analyzing, with the services provided by the service level, the financial needs of the user based on the financial information of the user, including processing the user'"'"'s intended financial state, analyzing the user'"'"'s investment portfolio, calculating the user'"'"'s future income and expenses, assets, and liabilities, and factoring in risk events;

providing the financial advisor with the personal financial information and analysis of the financial needs of the user, detailing areas of the financial needs that require attention;

developing a financial model for the user to address the financial needs of the user by utilizing the computer coaching and the live coaching, including permitting the user to enter a dialogue with a computer-generated coach and the financial advisor over the Internet as determined by the service level agreement, and permitting the user to initiate communication with the financial advisor to obtain live coaching during the computer coaching dialogue; and

using the financial model utilizing said computer coaching and said live coaching as determined by said service level.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the service level agreement includes a determination of access to at least one account of a user.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the financial model includes developing a user'"'"'s equity investment portfolio.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein developing an equity investment portfolio comprises:

determining the financial goals of the user and the user'"'"'s risk tolerance;

determining the current equity positions of a user; and

suggesting new equity positions for the user.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein below a certain service level threshold, a user must use computer coaching prior to using live coaching.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein said automated coaching may dispense general financial advice based on the user'"'"'s financial model.

7. The method of claim 5 wherein said live coaching may dispense specific financial advice based on the user'"'"'s financial model.

8. An online, web-based financial advisor system accessible over the Internet comprising:

a user computer system coupled to a wide area network, including;

a user interface for prompting a user for an input of financial information;

a database for receiving from the user a desired service level selected from a plurality of available unique service levels;

an engine for estimating the user profitability based on the financial information; and

a user interface for negotiating fees to be charged to the user based upon estimating profitability and the desired level of service prior to providing services at the service level;

a coach computer system coupled to said wide area network;

a financial advisor service system, coupled to said wide area network, wherein the financial advisor service system offers to the user the plurality of unique service levels, each including a unique combination of available computer counseling and live counseling, the live counseling being performed by a financial advisor, and wherein the financial advisor service system develops a service level of financial counseling services for the user;

a financial needs generator which operates according to the financial information of the user and services provided by the service level, including processing the user'"'"'s intended financial state, analyzing the user'"'"'s investment portfolio, calculating the user'"'"'s future income and expenses, assets, and liabilities, and factoring in risk events;

a financial analysis generator which provides the financial advisor with the financial information and analysis of the financial needs of the user, detailing areas that require attention;

a financial model generator including a computer counselor subsystem and a live counselor subsystem that interacts with the coach computer system, where the computer counselor subsystem and the live counselor subsystem both permit a dialogue with the user over the Internet, where the amount of available usage of both the computer counselor subsystem and the live counselor system is determined by the user'"'"'s service level agreement, and the user can initiate communication with the financial advisor to obtain live counseling during the computer counseling.

9. A financial advisor system as in claim 8 wherein said wide area network is the internet.

10. The system of claim 8 wherein the service level agreement includes a determination of access to at least one account of a user.

11. The system of claim 8 wherein the financial model generator includes:

a subsystem for developing a user'"'"'s equity investment portfolio.

12. The financial model generator of claim 11 further comprising:

an engine for determining the user'"'"'s financial goals and the user'"'"'s risk tolerance;

an engine for determining the current equity position of the user;

a user interface for suggesting new equity positions for the user.

13. The user computer system of claim 8, including an algorithm to direct the user to use computer coaching prior to using live coaching, if the service level is below a threshold.

14. The coach computer system of claim 8 wherein the system includes:

a user interface for computer coaching to dispense general financial advice based on the user'"'"'s financial model.

15. The live counselor system of claim 8, further comprising:

a user interface for live coaching to dispense specific financial advice based on the user'"'"'s financial model.

16. A computer program embodied on a computer readable medium for providing a web-based, online personalized financial counseling over the Internet in a collaborative computing environment, wherein the computer program comprises executable code for:

developing a service level agreement with a user which includes a desired service level of financial counseling services for the user, including;

providing a plurality of unique service levels each including a unique combination of available computer coaching and live coaching, the live coaching being performed by a financial advisor;

prompting a user to input personal financial information;

receiving the user desired level of financial management service from the plurality of available unique service levels;

estimating profitability based on the financial information; and

negotiating fees to be charged to the user based upon estimating profitability and the desired level of service prior to providing services under the service agreement;

analyzing, with the services provided by the service level, the financial needs of the user according to the financial information of the user, including processing the user'"'"'s intended financial state, analyzing the user'"'"'s investment portfolio, calculating the user'"'"'s future income and expenses, assets, and liabilities, and factoring in risk events;

providing the financial advisor performing live coaching with the personal financial information and analysis of the financial needs of the user, detailing areas that require attention;

developing a financial model for the user to address the financial needs of the user by utilizing the computer coaching and the live coaching, including permitting the user to enter a dialogue with at least one of a computer-generated coach and the financial advisor over the Internet as determined by the service level agreement, and permitting the user to initiate communication with the financial advisor to obtain live coaching during the computer coaching dialogue; and

generating a financial model for the user to implement computer coaching and live coaching as determined by the service level agreement.

17. The computer program of claim 16, further comprising determining access at least one to a account of a user.

18. The computer program of claim 16 for developing a financial model, further comprising:

developing the user'"'"'s equity investment portfolio.

19. The computer program of claim 18, further comprising:

determining the financial goals of the user and the user'"'"'s risk tolerance;

determining the current equity positions of a user;

suggesting new equity positions for the user.

20. The computer program of claim 16, further comprising:

restricting a user to use computer coaching before accessing live coaching.

21. The computer program of claim 20 wherein the automated coaching further comprises:

computer coaching to dispense general financial advice based on the user'"'"'s financial model.

22. The computer program of claim 20 wherein the live coaching further comprises:

computer coaching to dispense specific financial advice based on the user'"'"'s financial model.