U.S. patent application number 11/565878 was filed with the patent office on 2008-04-03 for account management systems and methods.
This patent application is currently assigned to ROLLOVERSYSTEMS, INC.. Invention is credited to Reginald Bowser.
Application Number | 20080082459 11/565878 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 32297092 |
Filed Date | 2008-04-03 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080082459 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Bowser; Reginald |
April 3, 2008 |
ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS AND METHODS
Abstract
Methods for providing an account rollover marketplace which
includes providing a consumer computer interface with which
consumers interact to pursue account rollovers, permitting each
consumer to interact with the consumer computer interface to
request to receive multiple rollover offers, and presenting
multiple account rollover offers from different financial
institutions to a particular one of the consumers in response to
that consumer requesting rollover offers. Also included are methods
for alerting a financial institution of a transaction, which
includes providing a consumer with an opportunity to enter
application information for a rollover account application when
that consumer selects one of a number of rollover offers, storing
the information entered by that consumer, automatically sending an
alert to the financial institution whose rollover offer that
consumer selected when a completed application for that selected
offer is received, and making the stored information electronically
available to the financial institution to which the alert is
sent.
Inventors: |
Bowser; Reginald; (Matthews,
NC) |
Correspondence
Address: |
WINSTON & STRAWN LLP;PATENT DEPARTMENT
1700 K STREET, N.W.
WASHINGTON
DC
20006
US
|
Assignee: |
ROLLOVERSYSTEMS, INC.
|
Family ID: |
32297092 |
Appl. No.: |
11/565878 |
Filed: |
December 1, 2006 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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10295059 |
Nov 14, 2002 |
7155407 |
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11565878 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
705/36R |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 40/06 20130101;
G06Q 40/04 20130101; G06Q 30/0603 20130101; G06Q 40/00 20130101;
G06Q 40/02 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/36.R |
International
Class: |
G06Q 40/00 20060101
G06Q040/00 |
Claims
1. A method for providing an account rollover marketplace involving
a plurality of networked computers, comprising: providing a web
portal to allow at least one consumer to compare a plurality of
different competitive rollover options offered by one or more
financial institutions, wherein the portal comprises a consumer
computer interface adapted and configured for each consumer to
electronically pursue at least one rollover of at least one
account, wherein the consumer computer interface displays one or
more screens for pursuing the rollover; permitting the consumer to
interact with the consumer computer interface to electronically
request to receive multiple rollover offers from the one or more
financial institutions; and presenting the multiple account
rollover offers from each financial institution to the consumer in
response to that consumer's interaction with the consumer computer
interface.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the providing comprises providing
an Internet communications interface with which consumers interact
to pursue rollovers; wherein the presenting comprises presenting an
offer page through which the consumer can access the rollover
offers; wherein the providing comprises providing an intranet
interface with which one or more of the consumers interact to
pursue account rollovers; or a combination thereof.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein the presenting comprises
presenting rollover offers for rollover of a preferred defined
contribution plan.
4. The method of claim 1 wherein the presenting comprises
presenting rollover offers for rollover of an employee 401(k) plan;
wherein the providing comprises providing the consumer computer
interface to be one with which consumers interact to receive
competitive rollover offers; wherein the presenting comprises
identifying the multiple rollover offers from a database of
available rollover offers based on the consumer's selected
criteria; or a combination thereof.
5. The method of claim 1 wherein the permitting comprises
presenting the consumer with an opportunity to select criteria to
be associated with their request for rollover offers.
6. The method of claim 1 further comprising providing each
financial institution with an opportunity to associate transaction
criteria with their rollover offers.
7. The method of claim 6 wherein the presenting comprises
identifying the multiple rollover offers from a database of
available rollover offers based on the transaction criteria
associated with the available rollover offers.
8. The method of claim 2 wherein the intranet interface is a part
of an enterprise software application of an employer of the one or
more consumers; wherein the intranet interface is present and
further comprises an Internet portal therein located to permit
consumers who interact therewith to pursue rollover transactions
through the Internet; or both.
9. The method of claim 1 wherein the intranet interface comprises
multiple intranets in which each intranet interface is implemented
and in which the intranet interface is adapted graphically to match
its intranet host.
10. The method of claim 1 wherein the presenting comprises
presenting the multiple offers side-by-side in a matrix; wherein
the presenting comprises presenting up to a predefined number of
offers; or both.
11. The method of claim 1 further comprising permitting at least
one of the financial institutions to associate a filter with a
rollover offer from that financial institution.
12. The method of claim 11 further comprising using the filter to
identify whether to present the available rollover offer associated
with that filter to the consumer.
13. The method of claim 1 further comprising presenting a report to
each financial institution with respect to activity in connection
with that financial institution's rollover offers.
14. The method of claim 1 further comprising providing the
particular consumer with an opportunity to select a desired one of
the offers; further comprising preventing the presenting of
multiple account rollover offers if any consumer request is
incomplete; further comprising automatically entering from a
database a portion of the information necessary for the consumer to
electronically request to receive multiple rollover offers to
alleviate the consumer's burden in entering information into the
consumer computer interface; or any combination thereof.
15. The method of claim 14 further comprising providing the
consumer with an opportunity to enter application information for a
rollover account application when that consumer selects one of the
rollover offers from the opportunity to select the desired one of
the offers.
16. The method of 15 further comprising storing the information
entered by the consumer.
17. The method of claim 16 further comprising automatically
electronically sending an alert to each financial institution whose
rollover offer the consumer selected when a completed application
for that selected offer is received.
18. The method of claim 17 further comprising making the stored
information electronically available to each financial institution
to which the alert is sent.
19. The method of claim 1 further comprising completing a rollover
transaction using one of the presented offers that the consumer
selects to use for the rollover transaction.
20. A computer-implemented method for alerting a financial
institution of a transaction, comprising: providing a web portal
adapted and configured so that a consumer can enter application
information for a rollover account application when that consumer
selects one of a number of rollover offers presented by at least
one financial institution; storing the information entered by that
consumer in a database; automatically electronically sending an
alert to each financial institution whose rollover offer that
consumer selected when a completed application for that selected
offer is received; and making the stored information electronically
available to the financial institution to which the alert is
sent.
21. The method of claim 20 further comprising providing the
financial institution to which the alert was sent the opportunity
to assign the application to an agent to facilitate the rollover
transaction.
22. The method of claim 21 further comprising sending a different
alert to the agent when the financial institution assigns the
application to the agent.
23. The method of claim 20 wherein the providing comprises
associating an identifier with the application.
24. The method of claim 23 wherein the identifier is a bar
code.
25. The method of claim 24 wherein the alert is automatically sent
when the bar code is read upon receipt of the application.
26. A system for providing an account rollover marketplace through
a consumer computer interface with which consumers interact to
pursue account rollovers, wherein the rollover marketplace involves
a plurality of networked computers, comprising: rollover service
equipment configured to provide a web portal to allow each consumer
to compare a plurality of different rollover options offered by one
or more different financial institutions, wherein the portal is
configured to operate with the consumer computer interface to
permit each consumer to interact with the consumer computer
interface to electronically request to receive different rollover
offers from the rollover service equipment, wherein the consumer
computer interface displays screens for pursuing the rollovers, and
wherein the consumer computer interface is further configured to
present the different account rollover offers from the one or more
financial institutions to each consumer in response to that
consumer's interaction with the consumer computer interface to
request rollover offers.
27. The system of claim 26 wherein the rollover service equipment
is configured to operate with the consumer computer interface using
an Internet communications interface with which each consumer
interacts to pursue one or more rollovers; wherein the rollover
service equipment is configured to present an offer page through
which that particular consumer can access the rollover offers;
wherein the rollover service equipment is configured to present
rollover offers for rollover of a preferred defined contribution
plan; or any combination thereof.
28. The system of claim 26 wherein the rollover service equipment
is configured to present rollover offers for rollover of an
employee 401(k) plan; wherein rollover service equipment is
configured to provide competitive rollover offers to each consumer
that interacts with the system; wherein the rollover service
equipment is configured to present each consumer with an
opportunity to select criteria to be associated with their request
for rollover offers; or any combination thereof.
29. The system of claim 28 wherein the rollover service equipment
is configured to present each consumer with the opportunity to
select the criteria and configured to identify the multiple
rollover offers from a database of available rollover offers based
on the particular consumer's selected criteria.
30. The system of claim 26 wherein the rollover service equipment
is configured to provide each financial institution with an
opportunity to associate transaction criteria with their rollover
offers.
31. The system of claim 30 wherein the rollover service equipment
is configured to identify the multiple rollover offers from a
database of available rollover offers based on the transaction
criteria associated with the available rollover offers.
32. The system of claim 26 wherein the wherein the rollover service
equipment is configured to include at least a portion that is
resident on an intranet with which each consumer interacts through
an intranet interface to pursue account rollovers.
33. The system of claim 32 wherein the rollover service equipment
is configured to operate with the intranet interface when the
intranet interface is a part of an enterprise software application
of an employer of one or more of the consumers; wherein the
rollover service equipment is configured to permit each consumer to
pursue rollover transactions through the Internet when the intranet
interface includes an Internet portal; wherein the rollover service
equipment is configured to operate with intranet interfaces that
are part of multiple intranets, and is configured in each intranet
to graphically match the intranet interface hosted on that
intranet; or any combination thereof.
34. The system of claim 26 wherein the rollover service equipment
is configured to present the multiple offers side-by-side in a
matrix; wherein the rollover service equipment is configured to
present up to a predefined number of offers; or both.
35. The system of claim 26 wherein the rollover service equipment
is configured permit one of the financial institutions to associate
a filter with a rollover offer from that financial institution.
36. The system of claim 35 wherein the rollover service equipment
is configured to use the filter to identify whether to present the
available rollover offer associated with that filter to each
consumer.
37. The system of claim 26 wherein the rollover service equipment
is configured to present a report to one of the financial
institutions with respect to activity in connection with that
financial institution's rollover offers; wherein the rollover
service equipment is configured to provide each consumer with an
opportunity to select a desired one or more of the offers; wherein
the rollover service equipment is configured to receive rollover
information from that particular consumer in association with that
consumer selecting one of the presented offers to complete a
rollover transaction with the offering financial institution; or
any combination thereof.
38. The system of claim 37 wherein the rollover service equipment
is configured to provide that consumer with an opportunity to enter
application information for a rollover account application when
that consumer selects one or more of the rollover offers.
39. The system of claim 38 wherein the rollover service equipment
is configured to store the information entered by that
consumer.
40. The system of claim 39 wherein the rollover service equipment
is configured to automatically electronically send an alert to the
financial institution whose rollover offer the particular consumer
selected when a completed application for that selected offer is
received.
41. The system of claim 40 wherein the rollover service equipment
is configured to make the stored information electronically
available to the financial institution to which the alert is
sent.
42. A computer-based system for alerting a financial institution of
a rollover transaction, comprising: rollover service computer
equipment that is configured to provide a web portal that provides
a consumer with an opportunity to enter application information
electronically for a rollover account application, wherein the
consumer selects one of a number of different rollover offers
presented by at least one financial institution and the computer
equipment is configured to store the information entered by that
consumer in a database; and rollover management equipment that is
configured to automatically electronically send an alert to each
financial institution whose rollover offer that consumer selected
when a completed application for that selected offer is received,
and is configured to make the stored information electronically
available to each financial institution to which the alert is
sent.
43. The system of claim 42 wherein the rollover management
equipment is configured to provide each financial institution to
which the alert was sent the opportunity to assign the application
to an agent to facilitate the rollover transaction.
44. The system of claim 43 wherein the rollover management
equipment is configured to send a different alert to the agent when
each financial institution assigns the application to the
agent.
45. The system of claim 42 wherein the rollover service equipment
is configured to associate an identifier with the application.
46. The system of claim 45 wherein the rollover management
equipment is configured to a bar code with the application as the
identifier.
47. The system of claim 46 wherein the rollover management
equipment is configured to automatically send the alert when the
bar code is read upon receipt of the application.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.
No. 10/295,059, filed Nov. 14, 2002, now allowed, the entire
contents of which is incorporated herein by express reference
thereto.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates to account management systems
and methods and, more particularly, to account rollover systems and
methods.
[0003] There has been a phenomenal growth trend in the retirement
savings industry. This growth trend is primarily due to the shift
in the nature of retirement savings, which began with the advent of
the 401(k) plan and introduction of Investment Retirement Accounts
("IRAs") in the early 1980s, and continues with the desire of
workers to control their retirement destiny. Today, nearly 80% of
eligible employees in the United States participate in their
companies' 401(k) plans, and over 30% of United States households
own IRAs. An employee departing a company is typically faced with
the question how to manage his or her employer sponsored retirement
savings account. Although, there are a number of ways for handling
this situation, the best solution is typically to rollover the
account to an IRA because IRAs provide greater flexibility in how a
consumer may manage their retirement investment.
[0004] Job mobility and retirement trends are spurring an increase
in the number of consumers looking to roll over assets, such as
from an employer-sponsored 401(k) plan. The increase is predicted
to grow the industry to the trillions of dollars mark in the near
future. The needs of this industry and the needs caused by its
growth are not being sufficiently met by known technology.
Typically, financial institutions offering rollover solutions do
not have access to a stream of consumers who are seeking rollover
solutions and do not have access to an environment that allows them
to differentiate their products and services from those of their
competitors. Also, consumers typically find such decisions
difficult, in part due to the lack of information and difficulty of
finding information regarding possible options in a single
location. Moreover, existing systems supporting this industry
includes pervasive inefficiencies that significantly hamper the
processing of asset and data transfer between financial
institutions, increasing the time and costs associated with
establishing new IRA accounts. One stumbling block that is often
experienced by financial institutions is that a consumer cannot
directly interact with a single entity to complete a rollover
because transfer of custody of the assets to the rollover account
typically requires interaction with the employer who sponsored the
consumer's retirement saving account and may require interaction
with the financial institution who is the current custodian of the
retirement savings account.
[0005] Techniques for transacting business between consumers and
financial institutions and between employers and financial
institutions have been developed that use the Internet. These
techniques, however, do not address the needs of the rollover
retirement account industry, such as the need to simplify the
rollover process, the need for a competitive environment for
rollover transactions, the need to streamline the rollover process,
or other related needs.
[0006] In addition, even though both the Internet and employer
sponsored savings plans have existed for at least over ten years,
to date, an adequate solution for the needs of the retirement
saving industry has not been realized.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] In accordance with the principles of the present invention,
methods and systems may be provided for a rollover marketplace and
for rollover marketplace related features. A rollover marketplace
may be implemented in which a consumer interface is provided for
consumers seeking a rollover. The consumer interface may provide
consumers with an opportunity to receive offers for rollover
transactions from financial institutions offering such services.
Upon request, each particular consumer may be presented with offers
from the financial institutions. A predefined number of offers may
be presented. If desired, the offers may be presented on a
competitive basis so that consumers are presented with the best
available offer. A rollover marketplace may provide a transaction
node that is, for example, specifically for allowing consumers to
rollover their 401(k) investments (or other employer sponsored
retirement accounts) into an Investment Retirement Account managed
by a financial institution. Other rollover activity may also be
contemplated.
[0008] A consumer may specify certain criteria that suits his or
her rollover interests. Financial institutions may specify criteria
for filtering which consumers will be presented with their
offer(s). Financial institutions may have more than one offer
available in the marketplace and may associate a different filter
with each offer. Consumer selected criteria and/or financial
institution selected criteria (e.g., filters) may be used to
identify which rollover offers should be presented to each
particular consumer. An asset retention approach may also be
implemented in which consumers are steered towards particular plans
or particular financial institutions.
[0009] A rollover marketplace environment may be provided through
the use of software equipment and/or hardware equipment such a wide
area network (e.g., the Internet), local area networks (e.g.,
company intranets), consumer computer interface equipment (e.g.,
personal computers, personal digital assistants, cell phones,
etc.), and other equipment (e.g., other equipment discussed in
connection with FIG. 1).
[0010] Rollover management services using rollover management
equipment may also be provided. For example, an alerting technique
may be provided to allow financial institutions to quickly respond
to new rollover accounts. A consumer may be requested to enter
application information once the consumer selects one of the
rollover offers. The information that is entered by the consumer
may be automatically stored and an identifier may be associated
with that stored information. An alert (e.g., an e-mail or other
web-based applications) may be sent to a financial institution
whose offer was selected. The alert may be sent when a provider of
the rollover marketplace receives the identifier associated with
the stored information. The information associated with the
identifier may also be made available to the financial institution.
The financial institution may be given the opportunity to assign
the new customer to one of their agents for further processing for
contacting the customer to follow up on the matter and to print the
actual application. An alert regarding a new customer may be sent
when financial institution assigns the customer to an agent.
[0011] Hardware, software, or combinations thereof may be used to
provide rollover service (or management) equipment that implements
rollover services, features, and related tasks.
[0012] Further summary information is provided below within the
Detailed Description section.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] Further features of the invention, its nature and various
advantages will be more apparent from the following detailed
description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in
which like reference characters refer to like parts throughout, and
in which:
[0014] FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of illustrative systems
for providing rollover marketplace features in accordance with one
embodiment of the present invention;
[0015] FIG. 2 is a flow chart of illustrative steps involved in
presenting rollover offers to consumers in accordance with one
embodiment of the present invention;
[0016] FIG. 3 is a flow chart of illustrative steps involved in
implementing a rollover based on a particular offer in accordance
with one embodiment of the present invention;
[0017] FIG. 4 is a flow chart of illustrative steps involved in
using filters to match plan participants with offers in accordance
with one embodiment of the present invention;
[0018] FIG. 5 is a flow chart of illustrative steps involved in
reporting rollover transaction activity in accordance with one
embodiment of the present invention;
[0019] FIG. 6 is a flow chart of illustrative steps involved in
business transactions between financial institution and a rollover
marketplace provider in accordance with one embodiment of the
present invention;
[0020] FIG. 7 is a flow chart of illustrative steps involved in
alerting financial institutions and their agents or brokers of new
transactions in accordance with one embodiment of the present
invention;
[0021] FIG. 8 is a diagram of an illustrative introductory page in
accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;
[0022] FIG. 9 is a diagram of an illustrative consumer information
page in accordance with one embodiment of the present
invention;
[0023] FIG. 10 is a diagram of an illustrative rollover details
page in accordance with one embodiment of the present
invention;
[0024] FIG. 11 is a diagram of an illustrative consumer criteria
page in accordance with one embodiment of the present
invention;
[0025] FIG. 12A is a diagram of an illustrative initial offer page
in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;
[0026] FIG. 12B is a diagram of an illustrative offer page in
accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;
[0027] FIGS. 12C-12E are diagrams of an illustrative offer page
that includes offer information for a single plan in accordance
with one embodiment of the present invention;
[0028] FIG. 13A is a diagram of an illustrative plan sponsor page
in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;
[0029] FIG. 13B is a diagram of an illustrative additional
information page in accordance with one embodiment of the present
invention;
[0030] FIG. 14A is a diagram of an illustrative completion page in
accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;
[0031] FIGS. 14B-14E are diagrams of an application in accordance
with one embodiment of the present invention;
[0032] FIG. 15 is a diagram of an illustrative setup page in
accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;
[0033] FIG. 16 is a diagram of an illustrative corporate setup page
in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;
[0034] FIG. 17 is a diagram of an illustrative filter menu page in
accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;
[0035] FIGS. 18-20 are diagrams of an illustrative filter page in
accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;
[0036] FIG. 21 is a diagram of an illustrative report page in
accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;
[0037] FIG. 22 is a diagram of an illustrative consumer criteria
page in accordance with one embodiment of the present
invention;
[0038] FIG. 23 is a diagram of an illustrative e-mail notice for a
financial institution in accordance with one embodiment of the
present invention;
[0039] FIG. 24 is a diagram of an illustrative rollover report page
in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;
[0040] FIG. 25 is a diagram of an illustrative e-mail notice for an
agent or broker of a financial institution in accordance with one
embodiment of the present invention;
[0041] FIG. 26 is a diagram of an illustrative rollover report page
in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;
[0042] FIG. 27 is a diagram of an illustrative application summary
page in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;
and
[0043] FIG. 28 is a functional block diagram of an illustrative
software architecture in accordance with one embodiment of the
present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0044] It has now been discovered that an electronic rollover
marketplace may be implemented to support rollover transactions.
Consumers may access the marketplace to proceed with steps for
completing a rollover transaction. Financial Institutions may
compete for consumers in the marketplace. The marketplace may
automate and streamline portions of the rollover process for both
consumers and financial institutions. If desired, techniques may be
implemented to provide end-to-end solutions for consumers and
financial institutions to avoid existing obstacles to the
process.
[0045] In another aspect, rollover software is implemented on
enterprise software platforms (e.g., software servicing the
business needs of a business typically over a local area network of
the business) where the marketplace feature is a component of the
overall rollover service offering (e.g., end-to-end rollover
transactions).
[0046] With reference now to FIG. 1, an environment such as
environment 100 may be used by consumers and financial institutions
for their rollover activity. Environment 100 may include wide area
network ("WAN") 102 (e.g., the Internet), WAN consumer interfaces
104, local area network ("LAN") 106 (e.g., an intranet), LAN
consumer interfaces 108, provider equipment 110, distributor
equipment 112, direct consumer interface 114, and financial
institution equipment 116. Environment 100 may be configured in
other ways. If desired, there may be fewer or greater number of
components (e.g., equipment or consumer interfaces) in environment
100. Environment 100 may include software applications implemented
in environment 100 to support rollover activity.
[0047] Provider equipment 110 may be central to rollover processing
activity. If desired, a distributed architecture may be used.
Provider equipment 110 may include equipment such as network server
118, database 120, and if desired, optical scanner 122. Database
120 may be part of network server 118. A rollover application or
applications may be implemented on network server 118 to provide
rollover services. Database 120 may store information related to
consumers and financial institutions that are involved in rollover
activity.
[0048] Distributor equipment 112 may provide the operator of
provider equipment 110 with a resource for driving their business
volume. Distributor equipment 112 may be implemented by a
distributor to provide particular services that appear to offer an
opportunity to cross-market rollover services to their consumers
(e.g., outplacement services). Distributor equipment 112 may
include server 124 that is configured to support the services
offered by the distributor. A rollover application(s) or related
information may be implemented on server 112 to provide access to
the rollover services.
[0049] Consumers may interact with rollover services via WAN
consumer interfaces 104, LAN consumer interfaces 108, direct
consumer interface 114, or other suitable interface equipment
(e.g., a telephone portal). WAN consumer interfaces 104 may include
personal computers, personal digital assistants, minicomputers, or
other computer equipment that has a suitable communications
connection with WAN 102. LAN 106 may include a local area network
that implements local communications, for example, for a company
office or for a number of sites in a company. LAN 106 may be
implemented using LAN standards such as Ethernet, Token Ring, FDDI,
or other suitable LAN techniques. LAN 106 may include storage 126
that may store information regarding personnel who use LAN 106
(e.g., company employees) and may also store application(s) for
implementing rollover services. LAN 106 may have a link to WAN 102
for establishing communications with WAN 102. LAN consumer
interfaces 108 may be personal computers, personal digital
assistances, minicomputers, or other computer equipment capable of
communicating with LAN 106 and/or with WAN 102 through LAN 106.
[0050] Direct consumer interface 114 may be a communications
interface that allows consumers direct access to the rollover
services. The communications link between direct consumer interface
114 and provider equipment 110 may be a dedicated link when the
link is established. Direct consumer interface 114 may include a
personal computer or other computer equipment.
[0051] Financial institution equipment 116 may provide an interface
for financial institutions to interact with provider equipment 110.
If desired, financial institution equipment 116 may allow financial
institutions to interact with consumers via WAN 102.
[0052] Communications links within environment 100 may be wireless
links, wired links, or combinations thereof. Suitable links may be
used for the communications links in environment 100 to allow
sufficient data throughput and interaction between end-users (e.g.,
a consumers, a rollover service provider, a rollover service
distributor, a financial institution, etc.). Techniques for
implementing such communications links are known to those skilled
in the art.
[0053] Environment 100 may provide a variety of rollover services
to consumers and financial institutions. For example, environment
100 may provide a rollover marketplace to consumers and financial
institutions in which financial institutions compete for rollover
transactions, in which financial institutions can differentiate
their services from their competitors, differentiate multiple
proprietary products from one another, or in which financial
institutions can target consumers, etc. A rollover marketplace may
be provided at least in part based on the process illustratively
shown in FIG. 2
[0054] With reference now to FIG. 2, at step 128, a rollover
application or applications may be implemented on a platform to
provide access to a rollover marketplace to consumers. A platform
may include hardware or software, individually or in combination. A
platform may be local area network 106 of FIG. 1, provider
equipment 110 of FIG. 1, distributor equipment 112 of FIG. 1,
software running on LAN 106, or other suitable hardware and/or
software equipment. If desired, software applications or related
information may be implemented on consumer interfaces to provide
access to a rollover marketplace to consumers. Rollover services
may be provided through a company intranet, an outplacement
Internet web site, an employment classified Internet web site, a
company's enterprise software, a third party administrator, a
record keeper, an access site, etc.
[0055] If desired, step 128 may include step 130. At step 130, the
rollover application may be configured to match a consumer
interface for the rollover application with "look-and-feel" of a
resource (e.g., company Intranet, outplacement Internet web site,
employment classified Internet web site, etc.) through which the
rollover application is accessed. This matching will allow rollover
services to be seamless presented when consumers are accessing
rollover services through a distributor or a company intranet.
[0056] At step 132, consumers may be notified of the availability
of the rollover marketplace. For example, a hyperlink for the
rollover service may presented to a user. Such a notification may
be presented when a consumer is involved in activity on a consumer
interface that is related to the rollover of retirement accounts or
may be automatically presented to a consumer when there is
information indicating that the consumer is in a position to
transact a rollover. Consumers may be also be informed of the
rollover services through a wide variety of media sources (e.g.,
magazines, television, newspapers, brochures, etc.) so that
consumers may obtain information from media sources on how to
access rollover services.
[0057] Other sources of such information may be provided through a
third party administrator of a benefits plan or through a record
keeper for a benefits plan. Businesses who offer retirement
accounts, such as 401k accounts, to their employees may arrange to
have a third party administrator administer their plan. Third party
administrators may arrange to have a record keeper company perform
the record handling and/or administration of the benefit plans.
Typically, a single third party administrator is used by a business
to administer their retirement plan. In such cases, the third party
administer is often a financial institution or is associated with a
financial institution. The third party administer (or record
keeper) may also have penetration into the employee environments of
businesses which they service, for example, through a company's
intranet. Such features are often provided to give the employees
ease of access to the information in their retirement accounts and
to simplify the process for moving account contents between
different mutual funds that are available in the retirement
program. The third party administrator or record keeper may provide
a link in electronic pages that are presented to their customers
for guiding the customers to a rollover service. If desired, the
third party administrator or record keeper may be a host, agent,
provider, or distributor for the rollover service.
[0058] Once a consumer accesses the rollover service, the consumer
may be presented with the opportunity to receive rollover offers
from financial institutions at step 134. If desired, step 134 may
include step 136. At step 136, a consumer may be presented with
criteria that the consumer may select from in order to receive
offers that better match that consumer's interests. Examples of
such criteria are further discussed below.
[0059] At step 138, the consumer may be presented with rollover
offers. The rollover offers may have been selected for presentation
to the consumer based on that consumer's criteria. A limited number
of offers may be presented to the consumer. Step 138 may involve
step 140. At step 140, financial institutions may be presented with
the ability to associate desired criteria with different offers.
For example, a financial institution may associate different offers
with what different types of consumers by associating groups of
criteria with each offer. This allows financial institutions to
better target their different services by filtering consumers for
whom those services are not intended. The criteria selected by a
consumer may be matched with the criteria selected by a financial
institution to identify which offers best match the interests of
the consumer and the financial institutions. The winning offers may
be presented to the consumer. The system may be configured to
present only up to a defined number of winning offers to a
consumer. Random selection techniques may be used as a secondary
tool for identifying winning offers to be presented to a consumer.
Other techniques may involve allowing financial institutions to
select a set of primary criteria and to select one or more sets of
lower priority criteria. This will allow financial institutions
greater flexibility in suiting their offers with their intended
consumers and will allow better differentiation between offers
within the rollover offer process.
[0060] Other techniques which focus less on criteria-based
targeting may also be used. For example, the rollover service may
provide a distribution channel for rollover IRA plans of a
financial institution. One example of this involves the situation
where a third party administrator, which typically is also a
financial institution, or record keeper (which typically has a
financial institution as an existing client) is given control over
the presentation of offers to steer consumers to rollover accounts
offered by the third party administrator or a particular financial
institution. Multiple offers from one financial institution may
also be presented to, for example, steer a consumer to a particular
financial institution. This provides an asset retention program
that can be used to prevent the reduction of assets managed by the
third party administrator or record keeper. One way of
accomplishing the asset retention program is by permitting third
party administrator or record keepers to be distributors.
Implementing a feature that permits control over which offers are
presented may also be useful for other purposes. For example, some
financial institutions may seek to increase their exposure to
consumers and may pay a higher premium to increase the number of
times offers from that financial are actually presented to
consumers.
[0061] The steps illustratively shown in FIG. 2 may be performed in
different combinations or in different sequences as appropriate.
The steps may be combined with other processes, steps, or systems
illustratively described herein.
[0062] Illustrative steps involved in completing a rollover
transaction are shown in FIG. 3. With reference now to FIG. 3, at
step 142, a consumer may be presented with a number of offers
(e.g., winning offers that were identified for presentation based
on criteria selected by the consumer and/or financial
institutions). Information that is related to the offers (e.g.,
information associate with each offer) may be presented to the
consumer with the offers at step 143, which may be included as part
of step 142. This information may present the consumer with
specifics about each offer, with incentives for accepting a
particular offer, with information on services that will be
included as part of the offer, with service bundles that the
financial institution will provide for their offer, or other
suitable information that will allow the consumer an the financial
institutions to differentiate the services of the financial
institutions.
[0063] Once a consumer selects one of the presented offers,
additional information pertinent to the rollover process may be
requested from the consumer at step 144. For example, electronic
forms (e.g., an electronic rollover IRA application form of a
particular financial institution) may be displayed to the consumer
in response to the consumer selecting one of the presented offers.
In a corporate intranet environment, a consumer may be presented
with a custodian transfer form that will authorize the transfer of
custody of the consumer's assets to their intended rollover
recipient. This form may also be presented to consumers in other
suitable environments also.
[0064] Step 144 may include step 146. At step 146, pertinent
information may be automatically obtained (e.g., entries in the
forms are automatically completed) when that information is already
available in the current environment. For example, information that
a consumer may have already entered while interacting with the
rollover service, information available on the consumer from a
corporate intranet, or other information resources may be used to
further automate the process for the consumer.
[0065] When the consumer has completed the requested information
(e.g., the electronic forms), the consumer may continue the process
by printing, signing, and mailing the information to the rollover
marketplace provider. Other ways by which the consumer may continue
the process may involve accepting the information in the forms
(e.g., through an electronic signature, through encryption, etc.)
and sending the information in electronic format for receipt by the
rollover marketplace provider. Thus, a rollover marketplace
provider may be central to the presentation of offers and the
acceptance of offers by consumers. However, other techniques may be
also be used such as, to have consumers send their rollover
applications to some other intermediary or to the financial
institutions.
[0066] At step 147, an incentive may be presented to a consumer to
promote the completion of the process by the consumer. An incentive
may be presented when a consumer is viewing offer information or
may be presented once the consumer has selected an offer or
completed an online application for a selected offer. The incentive
may provide some form of reward (e.g., free trades, cash, free
financial services, etc.) to entice the consumer to continue the
process or to send the application within a certain time frame. An
incentive may be presented as part of a page such as an offer page
or may be sent to a consumer (e.g., using e-mail or other mode of
communications) when that consumer has provided sufficient
information for such activity. An advantage of this technique is
that it will quicken the rate at which completed applications are
received.
[0067] At step 148, financial institutions may be informed of the
receipt of the requested information (e.g., completed forms). At
step 150, the rollover of the consumer's account may be effected in
response to the receipt of the requested information (e.g., receipt
of completed and signed forms).
[0068] The steps illustratively shown in FIG. 3 may be performed in
different combinations or in different sequences as appropriate.
The steps may be combined with other processes, steps, or systems
illustratively described herein.
[0069] As mentioned above, financial institutions may associate
desired rollover criteria with their offers to better tune the
offers to their intended consumers. Illustrative steps involved in
providing such services are shown in FIG. 4. With reference now to
FIG. 4, at step 152, a rollover application interface may be
implemented for a financial institution. The implementation may
involve implementing software applications or information on the
software and/or hardware equipment of the financial institution or
may simply involve presenting information to the financial
institution through existing applications (such as a browser
application, e-mails applications, etc.). The implementation will
result in giving the financial institution access to rollover
marketplace features. At step 154, the financial institution may be
presented with different consumer related criteria to select from.
The consumer related criteria may be criteria such as consumer
demographics (e.g., age, sex, geographic location, marital status,
etc.), rollover amount, or other consumer related criteria. As
mentioned above, the financial institution may assign different
criteria to have different levels of importance.
[0070] At step 156, the financial institution may be given the
opportunity to save a selected set of criteria as a filter to be
applied within the rollover marketplace. At step 156, the financial
institution may be permitted to associate the filter with one or
more rollover offers of the financial institution. Step 156 may
also include step 158 that may allow the financial institution to
save multiple filters and to associate filters with different
offers.
[0071] At step 160, the filter(s) may be applied to information
related to the consumers on the rollover marketplace to identify
which offers among the offers on the rollover marketplace best
match consumer related information (e.g., consumer selected
criteria, consumer demographics, etc.). As mentioned above, offers
may be presented to a consumer based on the application of the
filters. At step 162, the effectiveness of a financial
institution's offers may be presented to the financial institution.
The report may provide the financial institution with information
about their existing filters, associated offers, the number of
times each offer was presented to consumers, the number of times
offers that were presented to consumers were selected by a
consumer, or other related information.
[0072] The steps illustratively shown in FIG. 4 may be performed in
different combinations or in different sequences as appropriate.
The steps may be combined with other processes, steps, or systems
illustratively described herein.
[0073] Illustrative steps in tracking consumer rollover activity
are shown in FIG. 5. With reference now to FIG. 5, at step 164,
information used in requesting rollovers by consumers may be
stored. The information may be stored at any suitable location in
environment 100 of FIG. 1. For example, information may be stored
in a corporate employee database in an intranet, in a database 120
of provider equipment 110 of FIG. 1, stored locally on a consumer
interface, etc. The information may be automatically stored in
response to information that a consumer manually enters into their
consumer interface (e.g., in response to information requests).
[0074] At step 166, information on offers that were presented to
consumers may be stored. The information may be stored at any
suitable location in environment 100 of FIG. 1. For example, the
information may be stored in a database 120 of provider equipment,
on financial institution equipment 116, or any other suitable
location that makes the information available to the operator of
the rollover marketplace and/or to financial institution. At step
168, an identifier may be associated with a particular offer that
is presented and selected by a consumer and with its associated
information (e.g., offer information, consumer information, etc.).
An advantage of the identifier is that it provides quick and
convenient tracking of rollover activity. At step 170, consumer
rollover activity may be tracked based on the identifier. For
example, the identifier or identifier related information may be
included as part of the requested information (e.g., forms) that a
consumer completes and sends to an operator of the rollover
marketplace to continue with the rollover process. Provider
equipment 110 may include equipment for automatically reading the
identifier when the requested information (e.g., forms) is received
from a consumer. For example, the identifier may be a bar code that
is included in an IRA form to be read by an optical scanner at step
172 when the form is received by an operator of the rollover
marketplace.
[0075] At step 174, the operator may report on rollover activity to
an appropriate financial institution in response to receiving an
identifier. Thus, an operator may send a communication to financial
institution that includes information associated with an identifier
(e.g., consumer, accepted offer, etc.) when the operator receives
requested information (e.g., completed forms) that includes that
identifier. Step 174 may include step 176. At step 176, reporting
information (e.g., a transaction alert) may be automatically sent
to an appropriate financial institution in response to receiving an
identifier of an offer (or information from an identifier may be
obtained). The information may be automatically sent, for example,
in an e-mail, when an optical scanner reads the identifier (e.g., a
bar code containing identification information). The reporting
information may include information about the information that is
associated with that identifier. If desired, this automatic
reporting technique may be used immediately upon receiving an
identifier from a consumer because the relevant information of the
consumer may have been stored and is readily available to be sent
to a financial institution when the identifier is received (e.g.,
the identifier is received with a signature to confirm the
transaction). The reporting information will allow the financial
institution to act quickly in the rollover process and allow the
financial institution to directly contact the consumer.
[0076] The steps illustratively shown in FIG. 5 may be performed in
different combinations or in different sequences as appropriate.
The steps may be combined with other processes, steps, or systems
illustratively described herein.
[0077] A rollover marketplace may provide an outlet for financial
institution to market services. For example, with reference to FIG.
6, an electronic forum (e.g., a rollover marketplace) may be
established for financial institutions to transact rollover
activity with consumers at step 178. Step 178 may include step 180
and 182. At step 180, the rollover process may offer an end-to-end
rollover solution by enabling consumers to complete forms or other
supply other information that is needed to change the current
custodian of their account (e.g., the custodian of their 401(k)
account). This may typically be offered through a company intranet
of an employer who has sponsored the retirement plan account of
consumers who are leaving that company. The "transfer of custodian
form" is one that is typically only available through an employer.
This form, in combination with an IRA application, allows the
rollover of a 401(k) to an IRA account.
[0078] At step 182, the forum may match consumers with financial
institutions. Such features were discussed above in connection with
FIG. 2 and FIG. 3. At step 184, financial institutions that are
given access to use the forum may be charged an initiation fee. At
step 186, financial institutions may be charged for specific forum
related activity in which they are involved. For example, a
financial institution may be charged a fee when an offer by that
financial institution is presented to a consumer, and/or when a
financial institution views information on a consumer to whom an
offer from that financial institution was presented. At step 188, a
financial institution may be charged a fee when a rollover
initiated through the forum is completed. This process may save
financial institutions the substantial cost and effort involved in
individually marketing and selling their rollover services. Other
fee structures may also be used.
[0079] The steps illustratively shown in FIG. 6 may be performed in
different combinations or in different sequences as appropriate.
The steps may be combined with other processes, steps, or systems
illustratively described herein.
[0080] Some of the disadvantages in known account management
systems are the inability of the system to allow financial
institutions to promptly access information about their new
customers and the inability of the system to allow financial
institutions to promptly contact their new customers. A technique
that alerts financial institutions of new customers may be used in
the rollover marketplace environment. Illustrative steps in such
techniques are shown in FIG. 7.
[0081] With reference now to FIG. 7, at step 190, a transaction
alert may be transmitted to an appropriate financial institution in
response to the receipt of requested consumer rollover information
(e.g., receipt of completed forms). The transaction alert may be
transmitted by the rollover marketplace to a financial institution
when the rollover marketplace receives forms or other documents
indicating that a consumers desire to rollover an account (e.g.,
rollover an account based on an offer presented to that consumer).
Thus, the provider of the rollover marketplace (or another suitable
participant) may transmit a transaction alert to a financial
institution to alert the financial institution of the new customer
account.
[0082] Step 190 may include steps 192 and 194. At step 192, the
alert may be automatically transmitted when
consumer-transaction-identifying information (e.g., an identifier,
a bar code, etc.) is received with information requested for a
rollover. The alert may be automatically sent to the appropriate
recipient when the identifying information is automatically read
and a financial institution (e.g., a designated e-mail recipient
for the financial institution) is identified based on the
identifying information. At step 194, transaction related
information (e.g., the actual scanned image of the application) may
be made available to the recipient (e.g., transmitted in the
e-mail, made available through a web page, FTP access is provided,
etc.). Using electronic communications and processing to handle the
application should substantially reduce the response time of
financial institutions to incoming applications. Information such
as customer name, contact information, rollover amount, or other
suitable transaction related information may be made available to
the recipient of the alert by including such information in the
alert or by making the information available through some other
technique in connection with the receipt of an alert.
[0083] At step 196, a report may be provided to a financial
institution to communicate to the financial institution a record of
alerts that have been sent to the financial institution. The report
may include information related to the alerts (e.g., date and time
information, rollover amount, consumer name, etc.). Financial
institutions may be presented with the option to assign
transactions to desired agents in response to receiving an alert.
Thus, at step 198, a financial institution may be allowed to assign
a transaction associated with a received alert to an agent for
their handling. For example, a financial institution may be
presented with an option to assign an alert or assign a transaction
related to an alert and to identify the assignee when the financial
institution receives an alert or is presented with a new alert in a
report.
[0084] At step 200, information related to a transaction may be
transmitted to an assigned agent to alert the agent of the
assignment. The information may be transmitted in response to a
financial institution assigning an alert or related transaction.
The information may include sufficient specifics to allow the
assigned agent to start the rollover process or to contact the
consumer.
[0085] The steps illustratively shown in FIG. 7 may be performed in
different combinations or in different sequences as appropriate.
The steps may be combined with other processes, steps, or systems
illustratively described herein.
[0086] With reference now to FIG. 8, a consumer may be presented
with introductory page 202 via a consumer interface (e.g., consumer
interfaces 104, 108, or 114 of FIG. 1). For example, introductory
page 202 may be presented to a consumer via an intranet of a
company using that company's enterprise platform or may be
presented to a consumer when the consumer selects to access a
particular web site on the Internet. Thus, a consumer who is
leaving a particular company may be given access a marketplace for
rollover transactions via the company's intranet. A page can be
customized according to the needs of individual electronic human
resources partners or needs of employers. As mentioned above, other
communications routes may also be used. Introductory page 202 may
provide introductory information, links to related information or
related interactive pages, and options 204 for beginning the
rollover process.
[0087] In response to selecting option 204, consumer questionnaire
page 206 of FIG. 9 may be presented to a consumer. With reference
now to FIG. 9, questionnaire page 206 may include profile
information area 208, login information area 210, and rollover
information area 212. Questionnaire page 206 may also include next
page option 214 and save option 216.
[0088] Profile information area 208 may include data entry sections
requesting profile information such as name, address, marital
status, age, citizenship, and annual income. Other profile
information may also be requested. Login information area 210 may
include data entry sections for allowing the consumer to specify
their login identification (e.g., their e-mail address) and login
password. Rollover information area 212 may include specific data
entry sections for requesting information about the number of
accounts to rollover and if more than one account is involved,
requesting whether the accounts are to be pooled. A consumer may
also enter a promotional code with which her or she may obtain
certain benefits.
[0089] Save option 216 may be a save and stop option that permits
the consumer to save the information that they have entered and to
return to the rollover process at a later time (e.g., by logging
into the system using their login identification and password).
Next page option 214 may allow the consumer to continue with the
rollover process. In environments in which a database containing
information about that consumer is already available (e.g., in a
corporate intranet in which a user currently logged in), some of
the information may be automatically entered into page 206 without
requiring user action. In addition, a consumer may be prevented
from continuing the rollover process when some of the information
on page 206 is incomplete.
[0090] With reference now to FIG. 10, rollover details page 218 may
be displayed in response to next page option 214 of FIG. 9 being
selected. Rollover details page 218 may include rollover details
area 222 to request that the user enter information specifying a
name for this rollover and for specifying the amount that the user
intends to rollover. Rollover details page 218 may include next
page option 224 and save option 216. Rollover details page 218 may
also include previous page option 219 that returns the user to the
previous page (e.g., page 206 of FIG. 9) when previous page option
219 is selected. Rollover details area 222 may include a data entry
area adapted to receive account number information for one or more
accounts that will be involved in the rollover. Rollover details
page 218 may include beneficiary area 223 with which beneficiary
information may be entered. Beneficiary information may include
beneficiary name, social security number, and percentage share of
benefits. Beneficiary information for the current user may be
requested at another point in the rollover process such as after a
particular rollover offer is accepted.
[0091] With reference now to FIG. 11, consumer criteria page 220
may be presented to the user in response to the user selecting next
page option 224 of FIG. 10. Consumer criteria page 220 may include
criteria area 226 to request that the user enter his or her
interests or desired terms for the rollover transaction. In
criteria area 226, a user may, for example, specify the type of
investment (mutual funds., stocks, bond/fixed income, CD, etc.)
that they are most likely to use for the recipient rollover account
(e.g., a rollover IRA account) and specify the number of changes or
trades (e.g., per month or per year) that the user made in the past
to the account or plan (e.g., their 401(K)) that is the subject of
the rollover. Consumer criteria page 220 may include an area in
which a user indicates the level of risk that best describes their
investment philosophy (e.g., conservative, conservative/Moderate,
moderate, moderate/aggressive, aggressive, etc.).
[0092] Other information that may be requested to be specified may
include information on criteria that is important to the user when
considering which financial institution is to manage the rollover
account. For example, the consumer may specify information
regarding account/management fee criteria (e.g., whether the user
is interested in "no load" (no fee) mutual fund transactions,
whether the user is interested in low-fee stock trading, etc.),
specify information regarding receiving financial planning advice
(e.g., specify how many times a year or month the user would like
to have access to a financial planner, etc.), information regarding
investment research and expertise (e.g., whether free access to
stock and/or bond research reports is desired, etc.), specify
information regarding specialized products and services (e.g.,
whether access to initial public offerings or extended hours
trading is desired, etc.), specify information on services or
convenience (e.g., whether access to a secure online account for
making changes or trades is desired, whether access to a branch
office of the financial institution is desired, whether access to a
24 hour customer service telephone line is desired, etc.). If
desired, user entry of such information may be optional.
[0093] Consumer criteria page 220 may include pervious page option
219 and save option 216. Consumer criteria page 216 may include
submit option 228 with which the consumer can submit his or her
information for processing. The information may be submitted, for
example, to provider equipment 110 (e.g., server 118) of FIG. 1 or
to another suitable site that is configured to handle rollover
transactions and has access to a database of information on
financial institutions and their current rollover offers (e.g.,
database 120 of FIG. 1). Information submitted by the user may be
stored at provider equipment 110 (e.g., database 120), stored at
some accessible intermediate point, or in a combination thereof.
The information may be processed to identify current offers from
financial institutions to present to the user. The offers may be
identified based on consumer criteria entered by the user and/or
based on criteria selected by financial institutions in connection
with their offers. If desired, other criteria may also be used.
[0094] With reference now to FIG. 12A, initial offer page 229 may
be presented to a user in response to the user submitting their
information to the rollover marketplace (e.g., by selecting submit
option 228 of FIG. 11). Initial offer page 229 may include rollover
offer links 231 that are associated with offers for the current
user. Rollover offer links 231 have information displayed in
association with them for identifying the offering financial
institution and/or financial service. This will allow a consumer to
simply select an offer based on their interest in a particular
financial institution or service. Initial offer page 229 may
present up to a predefined number of rollover offer links 231
(e.g., five links) to the user. Links 231 may have been selected
for presentation identifying offers and associated criteria that
best match a consumer criteria. Since a limited number of offers
are being presented, random selection techniques may be used to
break ties between offers. Random selection may be used to select
five offers to present from a group of ten offers that each matched
the consumer criteria of a particular user equally well. If
desired, other techniques may also be used. Initial offer page 229
may include compare offers option 227. A user may select compare
offers options 227 to have information regarding offers presented
in a way that the user can compare the details of the offers.
[0095] With reference now to FIG. 12B, offer page 230 may be
presented to a user in response to the user submitting their
information to the rollover marketplace (e.g., by selecting submit
option 228 of FIG. 11) or if desired, when the user selects compare
offers option 227 of FIG. 12A. If desired, offer page 230 may be
presented to the user immediately after the user selects to submit
their information or after a short pause information to allow for
processing and communications. Offer page 230 may present up to a
predefined number of offers (e.g., five offers) to the user. Offers
and their associated criteria that best match consumer criteria may
be presented to a user. Since a limited number of offers are being
presented, random selection techniques may be used to break ties
between offers. For example, in an offer page that presently shows
only five offers, random selection may be used to select five
offers to present from a group of ten offers that each matched the
consumer criteria of a particular user equally well. If desired,
other techniques may also be used.
[0096] Offer page 230 may present information (e.g., in a matrix
format) on offers. As shown, matrix 236 may include row 232
identifying the financial institutions from which offers are being
presented. Matrix 236 may include rows specifying particular
information for each offer. For example, matrix 236 may include
rows for providing a link to where a consumer can go for more
information, for identifying the rollover amount, for information
on the cost of the annual fee for the recipient rollover account,
for information on identifying how many free trades a user may have
per year, for information on identifying whether online advice and
tools are available with an offer, for information on identifying
whether stock or bond research report will be available with an
offer, for information on identifying whether access to initial
public offerings will be provided with an offer, for information on
identifying whether access to a financial advisor will be provided
with an offer, for information on whether access to an online
account will be provided with an offer, for information on whether
access to an institutional branch office will be provided with the
offer, for information on whether extended hour trading will be
provided with an offer, for information on whether any special
features are included with the offer, etc. Matrix 236 may include
row 234 that includes a select option for each offer to allow the
user to select an offer comparing the different offers side-by-side
and deciding which offer best suits their needs.
[0097] An offer page for a single offer is illustratively shown in
FIGS. 12C-12E. The single offer page may be displayed when a user
selects one of rollover offer links 231 of FIG. 12A. FIGS. 12C-12E
present detailed information regarding the offer from a financial
institution or service (e.g., the financial institution or service
selected using rollover offer links 231 of FIG. 12A). The offer
page shown in FIGS. 12C-12E may include an option to allow the user
to select the offer.
[0098] The portion of the single page offer shown in FIG. 12E
includes incentive section 241. As mentioned above, incentives may
be presented to consumers to promote the selection of a rollover
offer. Incentive section 241 may present the consumer with a reward
of obtaining three free trades if that consumer applies now for the
current offer shown in FIGS. 12C-E. Other incentive techniques and
rewards may be implemented. For example, an e-mail or other
correspondence may be sent to a consumer to encourage that consumer
to complete the process such as by selecting an offer or by
completing and mailing an application within a certain number of
days. Rewards may for example, include cash, free trades,
subscriptions, etc.
[0099] With reference now to FIG. 13A, plan sponsor page 243 may be
displayed for a user to have the user enter plan sponsor
information for the user's accounts (e.g., 401k accounts) involved
in the rollover. Plan sponsor page 243 may be displayed when a user
selects a particular offer or at another suitable time. Plan
sponsor page 243 may be configured for entry of information on one
or more plan sponsors such their names, telephone numbers,
addresses, etc.
[0100] With reference now to FIG. 13B, additional information page
238 may be displayed when a particular financial institution
requires additional information from a consumer that has selected
an offer from that particular financial institution. Additional
information page 238 may include logo 240 that is a logo for the
financial institution that provided the selected offer.
[0101] Once a user has completed the requested information,
completion page 244 of FIG. 14A may be displayed. Completion page
246 may include information instructing the user on how to complete
the application process. Completion page 244 may include
information on how to print the requested information (e.g., the
forms of the financial institution) on a printer that is available
to the user's computer equipment. Completion page 244 may instruct
the user to sign the printout from the printer and to mail the
signed document to a particular address. If desired, an option may
be provided that permits the user to electronically submit his or
her application (e.g., using an electronic signature). The
requested information (e.g., the forms) may be sent to the provider
of the rollover marketplace, to an agent of the provider, to the
winning financial institution, etc. Sending the information to the
provider or its agents allows better tracking of rollover activity
by the provider. When the winning financial institution receives
the requested information (e.g., the forms), a rollover account
(e.g., a rollover IRA account) may be opened for the applicant.
[0102] FIGS. 14B-14E show an illustrative rollover application. The
rollover application may include an account application, a direct
rollover authorization form, and if desired other suitable forms.
The application may be the application of a financial institution
(e.g., a financial institution associated with a selected offer).
The application may be displayed to the user in scanned image form
(e.g., PDF form). The application page 238 may be presented to the
user in response to the user following the print instructions in
completion page 244 of FIG. 14A. The application may include a logo
of the financial institution. The application may also include a
bar code (as shown) that is associated with rollover process. The
bar code may be scanned upon receipt of the form at a processing
center such as server 110 to automatically associate the received
documents with information that was entered by the user during the
rollover offer and application process. As further discussed below,
automatic notifications may be sent in response to the receipt of
the bar code.
[0103] Information that is available on the consumer who is
applying for the account may be automatically entered into the
application. For example, information that the user entered in
questionnaire page 206 of FIG. 9 may be automatically entered into
the application (e.g., entered into "Account Holders" section of
the application as shown). The application may include several
document pages that may each have been automatically completed
based on information available to the system. Thus, once printed,
the user simply signs and sends the documents. The financial
institution receives the benefit of the use of their own "paper"
applications for the process if desired.
[0104] A number of different financial institutions may take part
in the rollover marketplace. With reference now to FIG. 15, setup
page 150 may include list 152 of financial institutions that have
signed up to take part in rollover transactions. List 252 may
include address and contact information for the financial
institutions and may include an option for editing information
stored for each particular financial institution (e.g., edit their
designated manager). Setup page 250 may include option 254 for
adding a new financial institution to the system. Setup page 250
may be a page that is accessible by authorized personnel of the
provider of the rollover marketplace (e.g., personnel at provider
equipment 220 of FIG. 1).
[0105] Corporate setup page 256 of FIG. 16 may be presented in
response to a user selecting add new financial institution option
254. With reference now to FIG. 16, corporate setup page 256 may
include logo area 258, company description area 260, disclosure
area 262, and save option 2464. Logo area 258 may be used to
identify a file that contains a logo that is to be used for a
financial institution. In company description area 260, a
description of the financial institution may be entered. The
description may be presented to marketplace users. Disclosure area
262 may include an area in which company disclosure may be entered
for presentation to marketplace users. Save changes option 264 may
be selected to save information entered into corporate setup page
256. Access to corporate setup page 256 may be limited to specified
personnel of the financial institution for which page 256 was
displayed and/or to authorized personnel of the provider (or its
agents).
[0106] As mentioned above, financial institutions may specify
filters that are to be used in matching their rollover transaction
offers with rollover customers. With reference now to FIG. 17,
filter menu page 266 may be presented to create or access filters
for a financial institution. Filter menu page 266 may include new
filter area 274 and existing filter area 270. New filter area 274
may include option 268 and 272 that can be selected to create a new
filter. Option 268 may provide the option of selecting a filter
template for the new filter. Option 272 may be selected to create a
filter based on a selected template. Existing filter area 270 may
provide access to filters that have already been created. Existing
filter area 270 may include a name of a filter and options for
editing or deleting a filter.
[0107] With reference now to FIG. 18, filter page 276 may be
displayed when a user selects to create, view, or edit a filter.
Filter page 276, as shown, does not indicate that any user
selections have been made. However, for editing and viewing a
filter, filter page 276 will include earlier saved user selections.
Login identifier 280 may be included in this page or on other pages
that require user login. Login identifier 280 indicates who is
currently logged in to the system (e.g., using a login ID and a
password). Change password option 282 may be included in filter
page 276 or on other appropriate pages to allow the current user to
change their password. Area 278 may identify the current date
and/or time. Log out option 284 may be included in filter page 276
or in other accessed pages when a user is currently logged in to
the system. Log out option 284 may be selected to logout of the
system. Logo 286 may be included in filter page 276 and may include
a logo of the financial institution who is currently using the
system. A logo for the provider of the rollover marketplace may
also be shown in filter page 276.
[0108] Filter page 276 may include filter name area 288 that can be
used to enter a filter name for the particular filter setting that
will be selected. Primary filter area 292 may present selectable
criteria that can be used as a primary filter for matching consumer
(e.g., retirement plan participant seeking to rollover their
retirement accounts) with offers. Primary filter area 292 may
include criteria that a financial institution may identify for the
eligibility of consumers. Primary filter area 292 may include
rollover amount criteria 294, state of residence criteria 296, zip
code of residence criteria 298, age criteria 300, and annual
household income criteria 302. If desired, other criteria or other
combinations of criteria may be included as part of primary filter
area 292.
[0109] Rollover amount criteria 292 may permit a financial
institution to identify rollover amount filter criteria to filter
consumers based on a maximum, minimum, or range for the amount of a
rollover. State of residence criteria 296 may permit a financial
institution to filter consumers based on their state of residence.
Zip code of residence criteria 298 may permit a financial
institution to filter consumers based on the zip code of the
consumers. Age criteria 300 may permit a financial institution to
filter consumers based on their age (e.g., specifics ages, or one
more specific age ranges). Annual household income criteria 302 may
permit a financial institution to filter consumers based on their
annual household income (e.g., based on one or more specific income
ranges).
[0110] Filter page 276 may include more than one displayable page.
FIGS. 19A-20 may include addition content of filter page 276. With
reference now to FIGS. 19A-19B, filter page 276 may include
secondary filter criteria such as investment criteria 304, trading
flexibility criteria 306, risk assessment criteria 307, financial
planning/advice criteria 310, investment research and expertise
criteria 312, and specialized products and services criteria
314.
[0111] Investment criteria 304 may permit a financial institution
to specify investment filter criteria based on which consumers are
interested in specific investment options (e.g., mutual funds,
stocks, bond/fixed income, etc.). Trading flexibility criteria 306
may include options that can configure to filter consumers based on
the trading flexibility that consumers desire. For example, a
financial institution may specify filtering to be performed based
on a maximum or minimum number of trades that are desired over a
specified period of time (e.g., a month, a year, etc.). Trading
flexibility criteria 306 may also permit the financial institution
to associate the trading flexibility that consumers desire with an
offer (e.g., a specific number of free trade per) and/or a
disclosure for the offer.
[0112] Risk assessment criteria 307 may permit a financial
institution to select risk assessment criteria. For example, the
financial institution may select conservative,
conservative/moderate, moderate, moderate/aggressive, or
aggressive. This criteria may be used to distinguish between
applicants based on their financial goals. Financial
planning/advice criteria 310 may permit a financial institution to
select financial planning/advice criteria such as whether or how
often account owners will be interested in accessing a financial
advisor. In filter page 276, the financial institution may be
permitted to associate an offer with the selected criteria (e.g.,
two free advisor sessions per year) and to associate a disclosure
with the offer.
[0113] Investment research and expertise criteria 312 may permit a
financial institution to specify investment research and expertise
criteria such as whether account owners are interested in specials
deals for research reports. Filter page 276 may further allow a
financial institution to associate an offer and a disclosure for
the offer with this criteria.
[0114] Specialized products and criteria 314 may permit a financial
institution to select specialized products and criteria such as
whether account owners are interested in specialized products or
services (e.g., access to Initial Public Offerings, access to
extended hours trading, etc.). As in the case of some of the other
criteria mentioned above, a financial institution may select to
associate a particular offer for a specialized product or service
(e.g., access to initial public offering, access to extended hours
trading, etc.) with the current filter and to associate a
disclosure with the offer.
[0115] Filter page 276 may further include content shown in FIG.
20. With reference now to FIG. 20, other secondary criteria may
include service and convenience criteria 318 such as whether it is
important to the customer to have access to a secure online account
for trading purposes or for changing their rollover, whether access
to a branch of the financial institution is desired, whether access
to a 24 hour customer telephone line is desired, etc. The system
may permit a financial institution to specify an offer for the
different product or services that are mentioned in service and
convenience criteria 318 and to associate a disclosure with the
offer.
[0116] Filter page 276, as shown, permits a financial institution
to directly link an offer or parts of an offer with a particular
set of filter criteria that the financial institution selects. One
of advantage of this technique is that the financial institution is
not required to access an additional page to set parameters for an
offer and link those parameters to a particular filter. However, if
desired, one or more additional pages may be used to implement
filters and/or offers.
[0117] Filter page 276 may include additional offer-related
features that permit a financial institution to specify additional
offer page information. For example, filter page 276 may include
area 324 to permit a financial institution to specify marketing
information (e.g., text information) for the offer. Filter page 276
may include area 326 for specifying a particular annual fee offer
(e.g., a particular price per year) and to associate a disclosure
in connection with that fee offer. Filter page 276 may include area
328 for specifying whether the current offer will include text with
respect to offering online advice, online tools, or both and may
permit a financial institution to specify and associate a
disclosure with that offer.
[0118] Filter page 276 may include save option 330, which may be
selected to save the currently selected filter setting, and may
include cancel option 332, which may be selected to cancel the
currently selected setting and exit page 276.
[0119] If desired, other techniques for configuring filters and/or
offers may be used. In addition, the information and/or setting
discussed above in connection with page 276 are not intended to be
exhaustive. If desired, other types of criteria, information, or
features may be included in page 276.
[0120] A provider of a rollover marketplace environment may view
rollover information based on filter information. For example, with
reference now to FIG. 21, report page 334 may be displayed to
present to a provider options for viewing rollover forms based on
filter information. Report page 334 may include completed forms
options 336, which will permit a provider to select to view a
report on completed rollover forms (e.g., forms that have been
completed and received by the provider) based on all filters or
based on one or more specific filters. Report page 34 may also
include transmitted forms option 338, which will permit a provider
to select to view a report on transmitted forms (e.g., forms that
have been transmitted to be completed) based on all filters or
based on one or more specific filters.
[0121] A provider may drive rollover transaction activity and/or
related revenue by establishing relationships with distributors.
Distributors may host their own rollover marketplace environment,
may user the rollover marketplace environment established by the
provider, or may provide a rollover marketplace environment using a
combination of the two. Distributors may, for example, be companies
who are already operating in a related business and may have
financial institutions as existing clients of their business. One
advantage that may be offered to such distributors is that the
distributor may limit available offers to offers that are available
from financial institutions that are their existing clients. With
reference now to FIG. 22, distributor setup page 340 may be
displayed to a provider to permit the provider to view information
on existing distributors 342 and/or to add, edit, or delete
distributors. Distributor setup page 340 may include add
distributor option 346, which will permit a provider to specify a
new distributor when that option is selected.
[0122] The response time of financial institutions is typically an
import aspect with respect to the expectation of individuals who
have requested rollovers and with respect to the opportunity for
financial institutions to close a deal. An alert system (e.g.,
illustrative process of FIG. 7) may be implemented to quicken the
response of time financial institutions.
[0123] For example with reference now to FIG. 23, a notice such as
e-mail 348 may be sent (e.g., automatically sent) to a designated
e-mail address for a financial institution to notify the financial
institution that a customer has accepted their offer (e.g.,
completed rollover forms for an offer by that financial institution
is received by a provider, distributor, or other intermediary).
E-mail 348 may include link 350 which may be selected to access
information for that financial institution. E-mail 348 may also
include information 353 which may be rollover information and
instructions.
[0124] With reference now to FIG. 24, rollover report page 354 may
be displayed for a particular financial institution to view
information on applications that have been received in response to
offers made available by that financial institution. Rollover
report page 354 may be displayed when link 350 of FIG. 23 is
selected. Rollover page 354 may include list 356 specifying
information on rollover applications for that financial
institution. List 356 may include information on an identifier for
each application, on the rollover amount specified in the
application, on the date on which the application was received
(e.g., received by the provider via regular mail), on the date on
which the provider submitted the application to the financial
institution, etc. Assign feature 358 may be included in page 354 to
allow a financial institution to assign one of their agents (e.g.,
a specific one of their brokers to oversee or handle the
transaction (e.g., to contact the customer via telephone). A notice
(e.g., an e-mail) may be automatically sent to a broker or agent
when that broker or agent is assigned an application. List 356 may
include the names of agents or brokers who have been assigned
transactions. An option may be associated with listings in list 356
to allow the financial institution to view the one or more
applications.
[0125] With reference now to FIG. 25, a notice such as e-mail 362
may be sent (e.g., automatically sent) to an agent of a financial
institution when the financial institution assigns that agent a
rollover application (e.g., when the financial institution uses
assign feature 358 of FIG. 24). E-mail 362 may include information
366 for informing an agent of their new application assignment and
may include information on how to access information on the new
application assignment. E-mail 362 may include link 364 which may
be selected to access information on the new application
assignment.
[0126] With reference now to FIG. 26, rollover report page 368 may
be displayed for an agent (e.g., when the agent or broker selects
link 364 of FIG. 25). Report page 368 may include report 370 that
provides information related to the agent assigned to the
rollovers. The information may include an identifier for each
application, a rollover amount, application receipt date,
application process/submission date, etc. Report page 368 may
include information identifying which entries on report 370 are new
and may include option 372 for viewing information on a particular
application.
[0127] With reference now to FIG. 27, application summary page 374
may be presented to display a summary of a particular application.
Application summary page 374 may be displayed to an agent of a
financial institution when the agent selects to view information on
a particular application assigned to that agent (e.g., the agent
selects option 372 of FIG. 26). Application summary page 372 may
include information on the applicant (e.g., name, address, age,
marital status, citizenship, e-mail address, household income,
etc.), information on the applicant's rollover criteria (e.g.,
desired investment option, change/trade preferences, secondary
criteria, etc.), information on the rollover (e.g., amount, former
employer, type of plan to rollover, plan administrator, etc.),
beneficiary information, etc.
[0128] Application summary page 374 may include view application
option 376, which the current user can select to view information
shown in summary page 374 in a different format (e.g., view
electronic forms that were completed by the applicant).
[0129] A broker or agent who views information in application
summary page 374 may gain relevant information regarding the
rollover and the rollover applicant and may follow up with the
applicant to confirm the transaction or to answer any of the
applicant's questions. This information may be provided to an agent
of the financial institution shortly after an applicant requested
information (e.g., completed application forms) is received by the
provider, a distributor, or some other intermediary. As mentioned
above, automatically saving rollover marketplace participant
information and associating an identifier with a particular
transaction that is desired by the participant permits the
information to be automatically available to financial institutions
and their agents when documents containing the identifier are
received (e.g., received electronically, received via mail, etc.)
by the provider, a distributor, or an intermediary.
[0130] One or more applications may be implemented to provide such
rollover marketplace features or systems. One example of a
three-tier architecture for implementing a rollover marketplace
application is illustratively shown in FIG. 28. With reference now
to FIG. 28, the first tier of the application may include web
interface 380. Web interface 380 may provide an Internet Word Wide
Web interface supporting interaction with plan participants,
financial institutions, a provider of the rollover market, and
rollover application server 382. Rollover application server 382
may be the second tier of architecture. Rollover application server
382 provides business logic, data management, web user management,
and access to database 384. Database 384 may be the third tier of
the application. Database 384 may store plan participant
information, financial institution information, system
administrator information, rollover transaction information (e.g.,
for particular transactions), and other suitable information (if
desired).
[0131] Thus, plan participant seeking a rollover transaction may
receive competitive offers for their transaction that match their
financial interests. Financial institutions may delineate their
services with respect to each other. The rollover activity of a
large pool of plan participants and financial institutions that
provide rollover services may together be channeled through a
rollover marketplace. A rollover marketplace environment may be
established that streamlines the process for finding suitable
financial institutions, for applying for a rollover, and for
informing a financial institution (and its agents or brokers) of
new applications. End-to-end solutions may be implemented that
present access to a rollover marketplace environment from an
intranet of an employer which gives access to the rollover
marketplace to employees to various financial institutions that
also have access to the rollover marketplace environment.
Distributors may provide a separate marketplace environment or may
driver activity through a marketplace environment of a
provider.
[0132] The steps illustratively described in connection with FIGS.
2-7 and the interactive pages illustratively described in
connection with FIG. 8-27 may be implemented using equipment
illustratively described in connection with environment 100 of FIG.
1 and/or the architecture illustratively described in connection
with FIG. 28.
[0133] For convenience and clarity, the word "page" is used herein
to describe a graphical user interface through which a user
interacts with the rollover marketplace environment. Other terms
may also be used for these features.
[0134] For convenience and clarity, the graphical user interface
discussed herein is discussed primarily in the context of web-based
communications technique (e.g., HTTP). However, other forms of
communications techniques may also be implemented (e.g., FTP,
Telnet, etc.).
[0135] A computer readable medium such as a floppy disk, CD-ROM,
DVD, etc. may be use to store the processes, techniques, and
information illustratively described herein. Thus, a provider may
implement a rollover marketplace in a distributed manner using
several servers. This may also be used to provide such techniques
to distributors. Computer readable medium and techniques for
storing data on the medium are known to those skilled in the
art.
[0136] The rollover marketplace environment may be for providing
rollover services for 401(k) plans and for other defined
contribution plans such as 403(b) plans.
[0137] In another aspect, the rollover service may be provided as
an application layer to Internet users, to intranet software
providers, through intranets, through enterprise software
solutions, to third party administrators, record keepers, and other
distribution channels for transacting rollovers. The application
layer may be modular, may be scalable, and may be easily configured
into existing points of electronic interface (e.g., users of
electronic human resources) with consumers. Thus, the application
layer may provide a service to financial institutions and other
companies involved in retirement plans for transacting rollovers
with consumers. In one aspect, in implementing the service,
financial institutions and other companies involved in retirements
plans may be given control over which offers are presented to
consumers. In such cases, criteria that may have been selected by
consumers may be ignored or used a secondary tool for presenting
offers.
[0138] The trademarks of various financial institutions may have
been sometimes used herein. Such trademarks may include trademarks
for TD Waterhouse, Morgan Stanley, American Express, American
Century, and Chase. Such trademarks are not being used to indicate
the good will, support of, or affiliation with those companies.
[0139] It is to be understood that the invention is not to be
limited to the exact configuration as illustrated and described
herein. Accordingly, all expedient modifications readily attainable
by one of ordinary skill in the art from the disclosure set forth
herein, or by routine experimentation there from, are deemed to be
within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the
appended claims.
* * * * *