Patent Publication Number: US-2017372426-A1

Title: Systems and Methods for Tracking Defined Contribution Benefit Plan Performance

Description:
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     A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever. 37 CFR 1.71(d). 
     FIELD 
     At least some embodiments disclosed herein relate, in general, to defined contribution benefit plans and more specifically to tracking the performance of such plans. 
     BACKGROUND 
     There are more than 3.6 million small to midsize businesses whose employees may be enrolled in a defined contribution benefit plans, such as 401(k) plans. Oftentimes account holders do not receive advice or assistance and the only time they are aware of when funds in their account are losing money is when they received a quarterly statements. This can be especially problematical when the markets are volatile, such as in 2008 when many people lost much of their retirement savings invested in 401(k) plans. 
     SUMMARY 
     User information relating to a defined benefit contribution plan is received over a network by a computing device. The user information comprises at least one fund and a plurality of performance thresholds relating to the fund. Each of the plurality of performance thresholds is associated with a respective alert 
     Performance data relating to the at least one fund is retrieved, over the network by the computing device. The performance data relating to the fund is compared by the computing device to the plurality of performance thresholds relating to the fund. 
     In response to the performance data meeting one of the plurality of performance thresholds, the alert related to the respective performance threshold is generated and transmitted, over the network, to at least one mobile device associated with the user. 
     Thus, a user (i.e. account holder) is alerted to poor performance by a fund, generally in less than 24 hours. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The embodiments are illustrated by way of example and not limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings in which like references indicate similar elements. 
         FIG. 1  Shows an embodiment of user interface provided on a smart phone for receiving alerts and tracking 401(k) account performance in accordance with the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  Is an illustrative embodiment of system for tracking 401(k) account performance in accordance with the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 3-5  Illustrates an embodiment of a process for tracking 401(k) account performance in accordance with the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The following description and drawings are illustrative and are not to be construed as limiting. Numerous specific details are described to provide a thorough understanding. However, in certain instances, well known or conventional details are not described in order to avoid obscuring the description. References to one or an embodiment in the present disclosure are not necessarily references to the same embodiment; and, such references mean at least one. 
     Reference in 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 disclosure. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodiments mutually exclusive of other embodiments. Moreover, various features are described which may be exhibited by some embodiments and not by others. Similarly, various requirements are described which may be requirements for some embodiments but not other embodiments. 
     The present invention is described below with reference to block diagrams and operational illustrations of methods and devices to select and present media related to a specific topic. It is understood that each block of the block diagrams or operational illustrations, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams or operational illustrations, can be implemented by means of analog or digital hardware and computer program instructions. 
     These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, ASIC, or other programmable data processing apparatus, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, implements the functions/acts specified in the block diagrams or operational block or blocks. 
     In some alternate implementations, the functions/acts noted in the blocks can occur out of the order noted in the operational illustrations. For example, two blocks shown in succession can in fact be executed substantially concurrently or the blocks can sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality/acts involved. 
     For the purposes of this disclosure the term “server” or “computing device” should be understood to refer to a service point which provides processing, database, and communication facilities. By way of example, and not limitation, the term “server” or “computing device” can refer to a single, physical processor with associated communications and data storage and database facilities, or it can refer to a networked or clustered complex of processors and associated network and storage devices, as well as operating software and one or more database systems and applications software which support the services provided by the server. 
     For the purposes of this disclosure a computer-readable medium stores computer data, which data can include computer program code that is executable by a computer, in machine readable form. By way of example, and not limitation, a computer-readable medium may comprise computer-readable storage media, for tangible or fixed storage of data, or communication media for transient interpretation of code-containing signals. Computer-readable storage media, as used herein, refers to physical or tangible storage (as opposed to signals) and includes without limitation volatile and non-volatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for the tangible storage of information such as computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data. Computer-readable storage media includes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory, or other solid state memory technology, CD-ROM, DVD, or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other physical or material medium which can be used to tangibly store the desired information or data or instructions and which can be accessed by a computer or processor. 
     The present disclosure is directed to systems and methods to help account holders track their 401(k) mutual fund and stock options performance by a simple dashboard. In an embodiment, the systems and methods of the present disclosure enable the user to set performance benchmarks and receive alerts sent to their smart phones when the benchmarks are close to or have reached their limits. 
     Referring first to  FIG. 1 , in an embodiment the primary user interface for an account holder is a graphical user interface provided by a mobile app  100 . In an embodiment, when an alert condition is raised regarding an account holders account, the mobile app displays a pop-up alert  101 . In an alternative embodiment, the account holder can receive an alert via email (not shown). 
     In an embodiment, using the app  100 , the account holder is able to display an expanded or dashboard view of the alert  102 . In an embodiment, the dashboard view of the alert  102  displays a chart showing the performance of a specific fund as a line graph. In various other embodiments, the dashboard view of the alert  102  can display fund performance in any suitable form such as, for example, a table showing the value of the fund at specific dates. In an embodiment, using the app  100 , the account holder is able to display the realtime performance of a fund  103  at any point in time, and set benchmarks. 
     In various embodiments, the app  100 , is implemented using any suitable programming language now known or later to be developed in the art. In an embodiment, the app  100  can be implemented to be able to run on any suitable platform, for example, an iPhone, an android phone, a tablet, a laptop, or a PC, or any other suitable platform now known or later to be developed in the art. 
       FIG. 2  illustrates an embodiment of an overall system  200  for providing alerts and fund performance information to 401(k) account holders  210 . 
     A group of 401(k) account holders  210  hold 401(k) accounts, each account comprising one or more funds, such as mutual funds. The accounts are serviced by an 401(k) account service provider  200 . The account holders  210  interact with the account service provider using user devices such as PCs  211  and smartphones  212  via the Internet  290 . 
     The account service providers  220  have one or more servers  221  and databases  222  that provide various services to account holders  210 . Such services comprise, as discussed above and below, maintaining account holder profiles, tracking fund performance, both in real-time and at end of day, and sending alerts to subscribers when fund performance falls below predetermined thresholds. 
     In an embodiment, the system is software-based PHP and MySQL for the web and web-based app for mobile. 
       FIG. 3-5  Illustrates an embodiment of a  300  process for tracking 401(k) account performance in accordance with the present disclosure. 
     In an embodiment, an account holder initially interacts with the system via a user portal  300 . The account holder, hereinafter “the user” first interacts with the system via a web-based (e.g. browser based) User Portal. Through the portal  300  the user inputs  310  required fields (e.g. profile fields) along with symbols for funds the user wishes to track and alert thresholds. 
     In an embodiment, a trial (i.e. free) account expires in  30  days  302  (or some other limited period.) In the case of a paid account  303 , email alerts are personalized  304  for premium paid accounts. 
     In an embodiment, the system pulls fund information  305  from an API interface to a third party data source, in some embodiments, real-time or near time, in other embodiments at end or day, or potentially both. The fund information is then cross-referenced with user thresholds and if the change in a fund&#39;s value falls within certain thresholds alterts are generated. 
     An exemplary set of thresholds could be 
     0 to 9% no alert is created  306   
     10 to 20% a moderate alert is created  307   
     Greater than 21% a high alert is created  308   
     Based on user update schedule, email alerts  309  are sent out. All high alerts are sent out. System resets thresholds based on new fund level  310 . Users can contact brokers for advice via their profile. 
     In the foregoing specification, the disclosure has been described with reference to specific exemplary embodiments thereof. It will be evident that various modifications may be made thereto without departing from the broader spirit and scope as set forth in the following claims. The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative sense rather than a restrictive sense.