AU2017100086A4 - Online Financial System - Google Patents

Abstract

An online financial system and method is provided. The system includes a graphical user interface configured to receive client data, including personal information of a client and data indicative of a current financial situation of the client. A processor is configured to analyse the client data to generate at least one financial proposal, and generate a retirement forecast for the client according to the at least one proposal. The graphical user interface is configured to provide the forecast. INITIAL CONSULTATION AND DATA GATHERING I e10 ANALYSIS OF CUSTOMER DATA SUBSEQUENT CONSULTATION WITH PRELIMINARY REPORTING CONSULTATION WITH FINANCE BROKER FINAL CONSULTATION AND FORMALISATION OF CONTRACTS Figure 2

Description

ONLINE FINANCIAL SYSTEM

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present invention relates to online financial systems. In particular, although not exclusively, the present invention relates to online financial systems that may assist a financial planner in providing customised financial advice.

BACKGROUND ART

[0002] In many cases, workers are unprepared for retirement and do not have sufficient savings to maintain the lifestyle with which they are accustomed (or expect) into retirement. For many workers, the attitude has often long been to put retirement planning to the side, and something that they will work on later. As a result, many people are often surprised and disappointed by how little their retirement savings will last.

[0003] Financial planners often help prepare workers for retirement. Initially, generic brochures and websites are used to advertise to prospective clients, after which customised data is provided by the financial planner. However, such generic information is generally unappealing to workers, and it is generally difficult, even cost prohibitive, to truly customise data based upon the worker’s circumstances.

[0004] Furthermore, it is generally difficult to maintain client loyalty without providing accurate and up to date information which is customised to the worker. In particular, it would be highly desirable from a customer point of view if the customer was able to obtain rapid updated financial/investment/cash flow information depending on changes in the customer's financial situation. This would allow the customer to be able to plan and obtain rapid and gratifying feedback with respect to certain types of investment strategies.

[0005] However, as discussed above, it is difficult and cost prohibitive to truly customise data based upon the worker’s circumstances.

[0006] As such, there is a need for an improved online financial system.

[0007] It will be clearly understood that, if a prior art publication is referred to herein, this reference does not constitute an admission that the publication forms part of the common general knowledge in the art in Australia or in any other country.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

[0008] The present invention is directed to an online financial system, which may at least partially overcome at least one of the abovementioned disadvantages or provide the consumer with a useful or commercial choice.

[0009] With the foregoing in view, the present invention in one form, resides broadly in an online financial system including: a graphical user interface configured to receive client data, including personal information of a client and data indicative of a current financial situation of the client; a processor, configured to: analyse the client data to generate at least one financial proposal; and generate retirement forecast for the client according to the at least one proposal; wherein the graphical user interface is configured to provide the forecast.

[0010] Preferably, the system is configured to generate a report, including the forecast, and a summary of the at least one proposal, and provide the report.

[0011] Preferably, the system is configured to generate the report based on preliminary proposal data, and generate a second report, including a second forecast, based upon final proposal data. The preliminary proposal data may relate to property generally, and the final proposal data to specific property.

[0012] Preferably, the system is configured to provide details of specific property opportunities, including the specific property, and enable the client to reserve the specific property. The system may be configured to generate a document, for execution by the client, to reserve the property.

[0013] Preferably, the system is configured to generate a plurality of proposals, wherein the report is configured to compare the proposals.

[0014] Preferably, the processor is further configured to generate a baseline forecast according to the current financial situation of the client, wherein the report is configured to compare the forecast with the baseline forecast. The report may be configured to graphically overlay the forecast and the baseline forecast onto a single graph.

[0015] Preferably, the processor is further configured to determine a tax difference between a tax level of the current financial situation and a tax level associated with the proposal.

[0016] Preferably, the processor is further configured to determine a net income difference between a net income associated with the current financial situation and a net income associated with the proposal.

[0017] Preferably, the report includes a graph associated with the forecast, the graph illustrating capital size over time according to the proposal. Preferably, the graph includes a preretirement component and a post retirement component.

[0018] Preferably, the report is configured to be used by an advisor when presenting financial options to a client. Preferably, the system includes a central server, with which a plurality of advisors may interact using respective portable computing devices.

[0019] Preferably, the graphical user interface is configured to receive the client data at a first consultation between an advisor and the client, and provide the report including the forecast at a subsequent consultation between the advisor and the client.

[0020] Preferably, the reports are interactive.

[0021] Preferably, the system is configured to generate loan documents relating to the financial proposal of the at least one financial proposal. Preferably, the loan documents are configured to be used by a financial broker when presenting finance options to the client.

[0022] In another form, the present invention in one form, resides broadly in a financial method including: receiving, using a graphical user interface, client data, including personal information of a client and data indicative of a current financial situation of the client; analysing, using a processor, the client data to generate at least one financial proposal; generating, using the processor, a retirement forecast for the client according to the at least one proposal; and providing, on the graphical user interface, the forecast.

[0023] The client data may be received at an initial consultation with an advisor.

[0024] The forecast may be presented to the client at a subsequent consultation with the advisor.

[0025] The report may be generated based upon preliminary data. The method may further include generating a second report, including a second forecast, based upon revised data. The preliminary data may relate to property generally, and the revised data may relate to specific property. The second forecast may be presented to the client at a third consultation with the advisor.

[0026] The method may include arranging for a consultation with a finance broker intermediate the second and third consultations.

[0027] In another form, the invention resides in an interactive web based financial method which comprises: advertising or otherwise making potential clients aware of the system on the Internet, allowing potential clients to access the system and conduct preliminary assessments at no cost to enable the potential clients to determine the value of the system, providing payment means to allow a potential client to subscribe to the system to become a client, providing security identification means to the client which must be entered to allow the client to access a secure part of the system, providing online forms, the forms requiring the client to provide personal information, including current financial situation, having the client complete the forms, providing software tools to analyse the information provided by the client and to provide a multipage personal report to the client, the report including the current financial profile of the client, financial objectives and lifestyle goals of the client, and possible future investment potentials including the possible purchase price, and the timeframe for the next investment purchase, providing online update forms accessible to the client, encouraging the client to complete the update forms on at periodic basis, the update forms allowing the client to provide changes to the information provided in the online forms, providing software tools to analyse the update information provided by the client and to provide an update personal report giving financial information, and/or allowing the client to make additional investment purchase is based on the update personal report.

[0028] The online forms can be completed on line, or downloaded and completed or completed in another manner, and if necessary can be up loaded when complete.

[0029] In yet another form, the invention resides in a financial system which is web based, the system comprising: having a provider website, which can provide at least financial/investment information, providing a first corporate client which subscribes to the financial system, having a website for the first corporate client, having a client subscribe to the first corporate client, preparing an initial financial profile of the client based upon information provided by the client, providing security access means to the client to allow the client to access the corporate website, providing query means to the client to allow the client to send a query to the corporate website with respect to changed financial circumstances, having the corporation send the client query to the provider website for processing, having the provider website provide the required financial/investment or other information to the corporation based on the client query, providing answer means to the client from the corporate website with respect to the query, providing monitoring means to the corporate client to allow the corporate client to monitor the change in the financial circumstances of the client, and/or providing means to allow the corporate client to make recommendations/suggestions to the client.

[0030] In this manner, the corporation can offer a financial service or investment service or other type of service to their client base. A client will be able to interrogate the website of the corporation to see if changed circumstances for the client (for instance a pay rise) allows the client to change an investment strategy, increase repayments for a loan etc. The corporation will be able to monitor this activity to provide specific advice/recommendations/products to the client based on the changed circumstances to the client. Typically, the corporation does not need to have the infrastructure/expertise to be able to analyse and reply to a client query, as this is handled by the provider website, and the corporation pays a fee to the provider website for this service.

[0031] The system may include a referral means which allows a client to refer a friend or other person to the corporation. The system may allow client details and circumstances to be entered into a database. A bank or other authorised entity can obtain information from the database and in particular can look for client circumstances and details which can make the client suitable for a particular product. Thus, the system can allow an authorised entity to generate lists to target specifically designed products to customers or clients which according to the database details may be suited to accept such a product.

[0032] Any of the features described herein can be combined in any combination with any one or more of the other features described herein within the scope of the invention.

[0033] The reference to any prior art in this specification is not, and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that the prior art forms part of the common general knowledge.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0034] Various embodiments of the invention will be described with reference to the following drawings, in which: [0035] Figure 1 illustrates a schematic of an online financial system 100, according to an embodiment of the present invention; [0036] Figure 2 illustrates a client interaction process, utilising the online financial system 100 of Figure 1, according to an embodiment of the present invention; [0037] Figure 3 illustrates a screenshot of a portion of a client data questionnaire (CDQ), in the form of an assets and liabilities entry screen, according to an embodiment of the present invention; [0038] Figure 4 illustrates a screenshot of a proposal comparison screen of an interim report, according to an embodiment of the present invention; [0039] Figure 5 illustrates a screenshot of a portfolio comparison screen of the interim report, according to an embodiment of the present invention; [0040] Figure 6 illustrates a schematic of an online financial system, according to an alternative embodiment of the present invention; and [0041] Figure 7 illustrates another client interaction process, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0042] Preferred features, embodiments and variations of the invention may be discerned from the following Detailed Description which provides sufficient information for those skilled in the art to perform the invention. The Detailed Description is not to be regarded as limiting the scope of the preceding Summary of the Invention in any way.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0043] Figure 1 illustrates a schematic of an online financial system 100, according to an embodiment of the present invention. The online financial system 100 enables advisors to efficiently and cost effectively generate financial reports and profiles for clients, as outlined below.

[0044] The system 100 includes a central server 105, with which advisors 110 interact using respective portable computing devices 115. Examples of portable computing devices 115 include tablet computers (such as iPad tables of Apple Inc., California, USA) and laptop computers, which may interact with the central server 105 via the Internet.

[0045] Initially, the advisor 110 logs onto the server 105, using, for example, a username and password. The advisor 110 then enters details of a customer 120, including financial information, which is stored on a database 125 that is coupled to the server 105. The financial information is associated with the advisor 110 and that specific customer 120.

[0046] The server 105 then automatically analyses the customer data, and generates reports based thereon and specifically for that customer 120. The server 105 provides the reports to the advisor 110, for example in response to a web query. The reports may enable the advisor to quickly illustrate financial options and forecasts to the customer, as outlined below.

[0047] In one embodiment, the advisor 110 uses the system 100 as outlined in the client interaction process below.

[0048] Figure 2 illustrates a client interaction process 200, utilising the online financial system 100 of Figure 1, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0049] At step 205, the advisor 110 conducts an initial consultation with the customer 120. At this stage, the advisor 110 personally meets the customer 120, builds rapport, and obtains information from the customer.

[0050] In particular, the advisor 110 uses his or her personal computing device 115 to log onto the server 105, and obtain a client data questionnaire (CDQ). The advisor 110 completes the CDQ by asking questions of the customer 120 and entering the answers thereto into the CDQ.

[0051] The CDQ may take any suitable form, but is advantageously a graphical user interface in the form of a web page, including a plurality of fields in which the advisor 110 enters data.

[0052] Figure 3 illustrates a screenshot 300 of a portion of a CDQ, in the form of an assets and liabilities entry screen, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0053] The assets and liabilities entry screen includes a plurality of asset elements 305, including a plurality of predefined asset elements 305a and a plurality of free-text asset elements 305b.

[0054] The predefined asset elements 305a relates to the most common assets and liabilities, such as primary residence, investment properties, cash, credit cards, personal loans and shares. The free-text asset elements 305b, on the other hand, enable the advisor to enter other assets and liabilities. As such, the assets and liabilities entry screen is both easy to use, and flexible.

[0055] The asset elements 305 include a valuation field, for entering a valuation of the asset or liability, a balance field, for entering a balance owing on the asset or liability, an interest rate field, for entering an interest rate on the outstanding balance, a repayment field, indicating a current repayment amount, a payment frequency field, indicating a frequency on which the current payment is made, a rent-per-week field, indicating a rent per week associated with a rental property asset, and client ownership fields, indicating a level of ownership of the asset or liability.

[0056] The advisor 110 enters data into each of the relevant fields of the appropriate predefined asset elements 305a, and enters any additional asset or liability information into the free-text asset elements 305b. Having said this, not all fields are relevant to all assets. For example, the valuation element is not relevant for cash (as cash has a fixed value), and the rent per week fields are not relevant to non-property assets.

[0057] The CDQ comprises a plurality of screens, each much like the assets and liabilities entry screen, which are navigated between using navigation elements 310a, 310b. Examples of other screens on the CDQ include a personal details screen, an income and superannuation screen, and a retirement goals screen.

[0058] Upon completion of the CDQ, the data is uploaded to the server 105 for analysis. At this time, the advisors makes an appointment to see the client again in a couple of days to present the results.

[0059] In other embodiments, the CDQ may be provided as a document. The document may be interactive, and enable the advisor 110 to enter details therein on the portable computing device 110. The document may, however, be printed out and manually completed at the initial consultation, and later entered onto the server 105.

[0060] A typical CDQ is illustrated in Annex 1.

[0061] Now turning back to Figure 2, at step 210, analysis is performed on the data at the server 105. The analysis includes generating one or more financial proposals for the customer 120, and generating retirement forecast(s) for the customer 120 based upon the proposals.

[0062] The proposals generally include the purchase of one or more investment properties that fit within a budget of the customer 120. The retirement forecast(s) generally relate to all of the customers) assets, and illustrate a total value over time. In particular, during a preretirement phase, the forecast will generally illustrate an increase in value in the customer’s asset pool, as investments are made (and paid off). In retirement, assets are liquidised and sold, and as such, the forecast will generally illustrate a decrease in value in the customer’s asset pool over time, at a defined rate, until it reaches zero. As such, the customer 120 is able to quickly see how long their savings are expected to last at that particular rate.

[0063] The advisor 110 is provided with details of the analysis, reviews the forecast data, and makes manual adjustments where appropriate.

[0064] At step 215, the advisor 110 conducts a subsequent consultation with the customer 120. The advisor 110 personally meets the customer 120 again, further builds rapport, and presents results of the analysis to the customer.

[0065] In particular, the advisor 110 uses his or her personal computing device 115 to log onto the server 105, and obtain one or more reports relating to the analysis. The advisor 110 then uses the personal computing device 115 to present details of the analysis to the customer 120, including details of the forecast.

[0066] At this stage, the reports are interim reports, and relate to investments generically. However, as outlined later, details of actual properties (or other actual investments) may be included for later reports.

[0067] Figure 4 illustrates a screenshot 400 of a proposal comparison screen of an interim report, according to an embodiment of the present invention. The proposal comparison screen compares income, expenditure (deductions), and tax of a proposal (i.e. a proposal previously presented to the customer 120) with reference to a current position.

[0068] The proposal comparison screen includes an existing income section 405, illustrating existing income and deductions for comparison purposes, and a proposal income section 410, illustrating income and deductions associated with the proposal.

[0069] Each of the existing income section 405 and the proposal income section 410 includes a plurality of income and deduction items 415, including projected income and deductions (expenses) relating to the proposal.

[0070] The existing income section 405 and the proposal income section 410 further include net income elements 420, to enable a simple comparison of the proposal to the existing situation based upon net income. Similarly, the proposal income section 410 includes a tax savings element 425, to illustrate a tax difference between the proposal to the existing situation.

[0071] In short, the proposal comparison screen provides a comprehensive overview of the proposal financially, as a whole, and with reference to the existing situation.

[0072] Figure 5 illustrates a screenshot 500 of a portfolio comparison screen of the interim report, according to an embodiment of the present invention. The portfolio comparison screen comprises a forecast (projections) that illustrate a comparison of a portfolio value associated with the proposal with a portfolio value associated with the existing situation.

[0073] In particular, the portfolio comparison screen comprises a graph including a value axis 505 and a time axis 510, on which an existing portfolio projection (forecast) 515 and a proposed portfolio projection (forecast) 520 are illustrated. As discussed above, the graph includes a pre-retirement portion, where value increases, and a retirement portion, where value decreases.

[0074] The projections 515, 520 enable the customer to get a quick overview of how long into retirement their savings will last, with reference to both the proposal and the existing situation. In many cases, customers are surprised to see how little their existing savings will last, and as such, find the graph to be very valuable.

[0075] The skilled addressee will readily appreciate that the proposal and portfolio comparison screens may be modified to suit comparison of any number of proposals, including three proposals, four proposals or more.

[0076] The reports are advantageously interactive, to enable to the customer/advisor to drill down on information relevant to that person. As an illustrative example, the use may select to focus on a portion of the graph of Figure 5 to obtain further details of same, or toggle between different proposals (or change a proposal) to see an impact thereof.

[0077] In other embodiments, the reports may be provided as a document. The document may be viewed on the portable computing device, or be printed out and gone through at the subsequent consultation.

[0078] A typical report is illustrated in Annex 2.

[0079] In some embodiments, various reports are provided according to various proposals.

In such case it is desirable to provide a summary of the reports to the customer, so that he or she is able to make comparisons between the reports (and thus proposals). The summary may include a comparison in tax savings between the proposals, a difference in portfolio value after a certain time, a retirement income length (i.e. how long a retirement income at a certain level will be possible), and a net contribution cost.

[0080] A typical summary sheet is illustrated in Annex 3.

[0081] At this subsequent consultation, the advisor 110 also answers any questions the customer has, and if appropriate reserve real estate, and books a time for the customer to speak with a finance broker.

[0082] Prior to meeting with the customer 120, the advisor 110 may select real estate options that fit well with the proposals. As such, when the customer 120 selects a proposal, the advisor 110 is able to go through various real estate options. This enables the customer to get a concrete overview of the proposal in its different forms.

[0083] Once the customer 120 selects a real estate option associated with the proposal, the advisor 110 may help the customer 120 reserve the real estate. This may be achieved by signing a real estate reservation form, and paying a reservation administration fee or deposit. The system 100 may be configured to handle the preparation of documents for this purpose automatically.

[0084] At this stage, the reports may be updated based upon feedback from the customer 120. This ensures that the reports provide an accurate depiction of the customer’s circumstances and financial goals throughout the process.

[0085] Similarly, the advisor 110 may sell products or services to the client at this stage, including the real estate mentioned above and associated goods or services. Examples of other goods and services include insurance products and the like.

[0086] Now turning back to figure 2, at step 220 the customer consults 120 with a finance broker 130. In particular, the finance broker 130 personally meets the customer 120, builds rapport, and arranges for finance for the customer 120.

[0087] The finance broker 130 uses a personal computing device 135 to log onto the server 105, and obtain details of the proposal, and uses these details to compare finance options. The finance broker 130 discusses these options with the customer 120, upon which ultimately a finance option is selected. Selection of the finance option is again saved on the database 125, and associated with the customer 120 and the finance broker 130.

[0088] The skilled addressee will readily appreciate that the server 105 may provide a graphical user interface to assist the finance broker 130 in presenting options to the customer 120, and to assist in comparing options. This is particularly advantageous as various finance options may differ in a plurality of different variables, and it may be difficult to manually compare options. Similarly, not all finance options (or conditions) may be available to each customer, and as such, the server 105 may be configured to display only relevant finance options.

[0089] At step 225, the advisor 110 conducts a final consultation with the customer 120.

The advisor 110 personally meets the customer 120 again, and presents a final report to the customer based upon the selected real estate (and/or other investments) and associated income and expense data. As such, the final report relates to actual proposal data and the selected real estate.

[0090] The advisor 110 uses his or her personal computing device 115 to log onto the server 105 to retrieve the report, which is presented to the client 120 much like the reports above. The advisor 110 answers any questions that the customer has, and contracts associated with the properties (or other investments) are signed.

[0091] According to certain embodiments, the advisor 110 initially presents different strategies at step 215. In one particular embodiment, a small, a medium and a large investment are presented to the customer 120. Then, at step 225, the final consultation relates to the selected strategy (investment).

[0092] Figure 6 illustrates a schematic of an online financial system 600, according to an embodiment of the present invention. The online financial system 600 is similar to the system 100 of figure 1, but includes a plurality of corporate servers 605a-605n between the server 105 and the advisor devices 115.

[0093] In particular, the system enables a plurality of corporations to offer services of the server 105 together with their own services and through a single website. This is particularly advantageous from a licensing perspective where multiple corporations license technology from the server 105.

[0094] The system 600 includes the central server 105, and a plurality of corporate servers 605a-605n, and a plurality of advisor devices, 115a-115n, 115a’-115n\ The advisor devices 115a-l 15n are coupled to the server 105 via the server 605a, and the advisor devices 115a’-115n’ are coupled to the server 105 via the server 605n. However, the skilled addressee will readily appreciate that any number of servers may be provided.

[0095] Typically, a corporation subscribes to the financial system and some form of fee is payable to the owner of the system. In return, an associated corporate server 605 is able to access the information on the central server 105.

[0096] The advisors using the advisor device 115 need not ever know of the existence of central server 105, as from their perspective they are dealing with a server 605 associated with the corporation only.

[0097] The servers 605 may add branding to reports generated by the server 105, or generate their own reports based upon data therefrom using templates.

[0098] In another form of the invention, a server, such as the central server 105, or a corporate server 605, may provide direct client access, through which the client is able to enter his or her financial data, generate up-to-date reports based thereon, and update their data when appropriate. An exemplary client interaction process 700 is illustrated in Figure 7.

[0099] In such case, the client provides information to the server about the financial position of the client which is typically in the form of a statement of assets/liabilities/living expenses.

This information can be prepared either by the client or by an advisor who may visit the client.

[00100] Once the information has been provided by the client, the information is stored on the server, or a database thereof. The initial information provided by the client enables the server to make some recommendations to the client with respect to financial opportunities, investment opportunities, and the like depending on the services provided by the corporation associated with the server.

[00101] The initial information can be sent to the server for analysis and the analysed information can then be viewed by the client when the client logs into the server.

[00102] The analysed information may comprise a comprehensive multipage personal report is then generated for the client based on the information provided, and may be similar or identical to the report(s) discussed above in the context of the system 100.

[00103] The report will generally provide personal information about the client, the current financial profile of the client, the current expenditure of the client, the current cash flow summary which is provided graphically, a current liability summary which is provided graphically, a section providing financial objectives and lifestyle goals which includes retirement goals, a section providing mortgage reduction and cash flow management advice, a section outlining an investment program operation, cash flow projections, and a section showing advantages of purchasing additional investment products.

[00104] The detailed report provides the client with extremely valuable and useful information including any deficiency in retirement income, and any ability to improve on the investment strategy based upon the current financial circumstances of the client.

[00105] The client is able to request further financial analysis at any stage by varying details of the information provided by the client to the server. Typically, this information is in the form of one or more forms or tables which is completed by the client. The client is able to download a fresh form or table from the server to the client's computer, the client is then able to update or change information, and can then upload the form or table to the server.

[00106] This new information is then analysed by the server and the analysed information is provided to the client, as outlined above. This allows the client to conduct investment or financial scenarios based on increased salary, a sudden financial gain, or conversely a decreased salary and a sudden financial loss.

[00107] The server can recommend to the client certain investment strategies/financial changes/or provide other recommendations or suggestions to the client. The server may also notify the corporation when the client details have improved to enable the client to undertake additional investments, et cetera, and typically for a fee.

[00108] As will be readily appreciated by the skilled addressee, the server can provide access to a multiplicity of clients, with each client having their own unique identification number and password.

[00109] According to certain embodiments, the systems described above may include a referral system, enabling existing clients to refer new clients. In particular, an existing client may wish to recommend a friend to the corporation, which can be achieved by client providing the name and address of the friend to the server. This information is then sent by server to the corporation, upon which the corporation will contact the friend directly. If the friend becomes a client, a benefit may be provided to the referring client.

[00110] In certain embodiments of the present invention, the owner of the systems described above, or a representative thereof, may conduct marketing or media campaigns to raise awareness of the existence of the system. This can be in the form of a direct mail out, a letterbox drop, print advertising, television advertising, radio advertising, telemarketing, the use of e-mail, word of mouth, social media and the like.

[00111] For each type of advertising, the advertising material will provide the URL of the server, and will provide a code. The code will be different for each type of advertising. For instance, the code provided in a newspaper advertisement will be different to the code provided on a flyer which is placed in letterboxes. The reason for this is that it allows the server to see which type of advertising has the highest success rate by determining how many hits are made on the website using a particular type of code.

[00112] Prospective clients are free to access the website and use the access code to log in to a part of the website of the server. This part of the website typically provides an overview of the product (the financial system according to an embodiment of the invention). The overview typically includes some promotion about the product (such as a sample plan), but may also include some restricted interactive material to allow a prospective client to assess the value of the product.

[00113] If the prospect is convinced of the value of the product, he or she can subscribe to the product, and this is done online using a credit card facility over a secure network, or by any other suitable means. The prospect then becomes a client, and is given a security code (typically an identification number and a password which is unique to the client), upon which the client is able to access the website using the identification number and password.

[00114] The client is able to access forms on the website, the forms providing prompts and making the clients provide information which is required by the server to provide the client with high-quality financial and investment information, as described above.

[00115] The systems may be configured to encourage clients to periodically log back into the system top update the financial/investment or other information. This is particularly useful in case the client may has received a lump sum payment or a pay rise. This information will be analysed by the server and a shorter updated personal report will be sent to the client showing the changed situation.

[00116] If the changed situation is an improvement, the updated personal report can advise the client the value of any additional investment that the client may wish to purchase, and how much longer it will take before the client is in a position to purchase the additional investment. It is considered that this part of the embodiment will be extremely useful in valuable to the client and will help retain client loyalty.

[00117] In summary, the systems described above enable advisors to accurately and efficiently provide relevant data to clients relating to various investment options.

[00118] In some cases, the systems facilitate client retention and generation of leads to a subscriber of the system.

[00119] In other cases, the systems provide an easy regular way for clients to introduce friends to the corporation.

[00120] While the systems described above are from the context of financial advisors, in other forms the systems may be used in the context of real estate to encourage specific property sales. In such case, the system can be used to increase awareness and real estate investing, to build rapport between the client and the agent.

[00121] In the present specification and claims (if any), the word ‘comprising’ and its derivatives including ‘comprises’ and ‘comprise’ include each of the stated integers but does not exclude the inclusion of one or more further integers.

[00122] Reference throughout this specification to ‘one embodiment’ or ‘an embodiment’ means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, the appearance of the phrases ‘in one embodiment’ or ‘in an embodiment’ in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more combinations.

[00123] In compliance with the statute, the invention has been described in language more or less specific to structural or methodical features. It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to specific features shown or described since the means herein described comprises preferred forms of putting the invention into effect. The invention is, therefore, claimed in any of its forms or modifications within the proper scope of the appended claims (if any) appropriately interpreted by those skilled in the art.

Claims (5)

1. An online financial system including: a graphical user interface configured to receive client data, including personal information of a client and data indicative of a current financial situation of the client; a processor, configured to: analyse the client data to generate at least one financial proposal; and generate retirement forecast for the client according to the at least one proposal; wherein the graphical user interface is configured to provide the forecast.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the system is configured to generate a report, including the forecast, and a summary of the at least one proposal, and provide the report.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the system is configured to generate the report based on preliminary proposal data, and generate a second report, including a second forecast, based upon final proposal data.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to generate a baseline forecast according to the current financial situation of the client, wherein the report is configured to compare the forecast with the baseline forecast.

5. A financial method including: receiving, using a graphical user interface, client data, including personal information of a client and data indicative of a current financial situation of the client; analysing, using a processor, the client data to generate at least one financial proposal; generating, using the processor, a retirement forecast for the client according to the at least one proposal; and providing, on the graphical user interface, the forecast.