Abstract:
A first party is provided with access to an account of a second party by inputting identification information for the account of the second party, and receiving account information for the account of the second party based on the identification information. The account of the second party is accessed based on the account information.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to providing one party with access to an account of another party. 
     Investment firms provide their customers (including plan sponsors and participants) with on-line access to accounts, such as retirement accounts and investment accounts. To access an account via the Internet, for example, the owner or manager of the account enters a user identifier (“ID”) and a password on a Web page provided by the investment firm. Once inside the account, the owner or manager can view account information, such as balances, or change account parameters, such as fund allocations. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In general, in one aspect of the invention, an account of a second party is accessed by inputting identification information for the account (such as a user ID), and receiving account information for the account based on the identification information. The account is accessed based on this account information. 
     Among the advantages of the invention may be one or more of the following. The first party can access the account without knowing the second party&#39;s password. This is particularly advantageous if the first party is an employee of an investment firm that maintains the account. For example, the employee is able to view the same information as the account owner, thus making it easier for the employee to address any problems that the account owner is having with the account or with accessing information in the account. Another benefit is that changes to the account can be made by the employee, if the owner so desires. 
     The foregoing aspect may include one or more of the following features/functions. The account information may define a right of a first party to access computer programs associated with the account. The account information may be stored in a text file. The first party may access the account information by requesting access to the account, receiving an interrogation into the text file from software that controls access to the account, and receiving access to the account if the software determines, based on the interrogation, that the first party is entitled to access the account. The first party may input the identification information on a Web page accessed by a Web browser. The text file may comprise an Internet cookie. 
     The above aspect may also include the first party inputting identifying information, and receiving access information that corresponds to the identifying information. The access information may define a right of the first party to access a program which includes the account of the second party. The program may be accessed based on the access information. The inputting, receiving, and accessing noted above may be performed from the program. Access to the program by the first party may be governed by the access information. Information from the account may be displayed. A parameter of the account may be changed. 
     In general, in another aspect, to access an account of a second party, a first party receives identification information for the account. It is then verified that the first party is entitled to access the account based on the identification information. Account information is provided to the first party for use in accessing the account. 
     This aspect may include one or more of the following features/functions. It may include receiving a request from the first party to access the account of the second party, obtaining account information from the first party, and determining whether the first party is entitled to access the account based on the account information. The aspect may include receiving information identifying the first party, verifying that the first party is entitled to access a program that includes the account of the second party based on the identification information, and providing, to the first party, access information for use in accessing the program. The aspect may include receiving a request from the first party to access the program that includes the account of the second party, obtaining the access information from the first party, and determining whether the first party is entitled to access the program based on the access information. 
     Other features and advantages will become apparent from the following description, claims and drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a plan view of a network system that includes a server and a remote computer on which a first party accesses the account of second party. 
         FIG. 2  is a flowchart showing a process, performed on the remote computer, for accessing the account. 
         FIG. 3  is a flowchart showing a process, performed on the server, for accessing the account. 
         FIG. 4  is a view of a login Web page presented to the first party on the remote computer. 
         FIG. 5  is a view of a Web page presented to the first party for selecting an account and applications for accessing the selected account. 
         FIG. 6  is a view of a Web page presented to the first party showing programs available from within the selected account. 
         FIG. 7  is a flowchart showing a process, performed on the remote computer, for accessing a program in the account. 
         FIG. 8  is a flowchart showing a process, performed on the server, for accessing a program in the account. 
         FIG. 9  is a view of an alternate Web page presented to the first party showing programs available from within a selected account. 
         FIG. 10  is a view of Web page for accessing an account (plan) from the Web page of  FIG. 9 . 
         FIG. 11  is a view of a Web page which displays information for an account input in the Web page of  FIG. 10 . 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION 
     In some embodiments, one party (the “pretender”) can access an account of another party without knowing the other party&#39;s password. For example, an employee of an investment firm can access a retirement or investment plan of a company, an individual account in such a plan, or an independent account of a private investor. Once the account is accessed, the information that would be displayed to its owner or manager is displayed to the pretender. “Owner” refers to the person that owns funds in an account, and “manager” refers to the person that makes investment decisions for the account, but does not necessarily own the funds in the account (though he may). 
     A network system  10  for implementing this embodiment is shown in  FIG. 1 . Network system  10  includes computers  11  and  12 , network  13 , server  14 , and intermediary network  15 . 
     Intermediary network  15  may be the Internet, a wide area network (“WAN”), or any other IP (Internet Protocol) or non-IP network capable of transmitting HTML (HyperText Markup Language) (or “Web”) pages. Connected to network  15  are server  14  and computer  11 . Computer  11  is a personal computer (“PC”), or other processing device, which includes a memory  16  for storing computer programs  17  and a processor  19  for executing those programs to perform various functions (see view  20 ). Among the programs stored in memory  16  are an operating system (“OS”)  17   a , such as Microsoft® Windows98®, and a Web browser  17   b , such as Netscape® Navigator®, for accessing from server  14 . 
     Server  14  is a World Wide Web (“WWW”) server that can be implemented on one or more computers (only one computer is shown). Server  14  includes a memory  21  which stores computer programs  22  and a processor  24  which executes instructions in those computer programs to perform various functions (see view  23 ). The computer programs stored in memory  21  include code  22   a  and applications  22   b.    
     Applications  22   b  enable remote users at computers  11  and  12  to access information  25  on accounts that are accessible to server  14 . Commercial embodiments of such applications include Plan Sponsor Webstation® (“PSW”) and NetBenefits®, both from Fidelity® Investments. PSW provides a plan sponsor, such as an employer, with information about an investment plan. For example, using PSW, an employer can obtain information about its employees&#39; retirement plan. NetBenefits® provides an individual with information about investment accounts and other financial services available to the individual. The term “account” will be used to denote any type of investment account, such as an individual investment account or a company investment plan. 
     Code  22   a  receives identification information from a pretender, and authenticates the pretender based on information in database  26 . Database  26  includes user IDs, passwords, and other information for permitting a pretender to access the accounts of another party. Once the pretender is authenticated, code  22   a  retrieves information from database  26  and provides that information to the pretender. This information identifies which of applications  22   b  are accessible to the pretender, and which computer programs within each of those applications are accessible to the pretender. A detailed description of these functions of code  22   a  is provided below. Commercial embodiments of code  22   a  include the Pretender and Profiler software from Fidelity® Investments. 
     Server  14  is connected to network  13 . Network  13  is a local area network (“LAN”) that supports an intranet running HTTP (Hyper Text Transport Protocol), over which Web pages are transmitted from server  14  to a pretender logged onto computer  12 . Computer  12  is a PC, or the like, which includes a memory  27  for storing computer programs  29  and a processor  30  for executing instructions in those programs to perform various functions (see view  31 ). 
     Stored in memory  27  are OS  29   a , such as Microsoft® Windows98®, and a Web browser  29   b , such as Netscape® Navigator®. Web browser  29   b  is used to access Web pages generated by code  22   a  in server  14 . Web browser  29   b  includes a text file  32  (such as an Internet “cookie”) which contains information relating to a pretender on computer  12 . 
     Text file  32  contains the following fields: LB$T, LB$A, LB$I, LB$R, LB$D, SP$T, and SP$I. LB$T is a ticket associated with a pretender “session” and is used to track the activities of a pretender during that session. LB$A identifies programs in an application (see LB$D) that the pretender is allowed to access. LB$I is the user ID of the pretender. LB$R indicates a realm in which the pretender is operating. For example, LB$R may indicate that the pretender is viewing the contents of another party&#39;s account or that the pretender is performing tests on applications. LB$D indicates which applications a pretender is allowed to access. SP$T is used by code  29   c  to exit a session after a predetermined time of inactivity. SP$I is the user ID of the account owner or the pretender. 
     Code  29   c , which is also stored in memory  27 , interacts with browser  29   b  and code  22   a  in server  14  to enable a pretender at computer  12  to access others&#39; accounts. In  FIGS. 2 and 3 , a pretender at computer  12  inputs ( 201 ) identification information via a Web page  34  ( FIG. 4 ) provided by server  14 . The identification information includes the user ID  35  and password  36  assigned to the pretender. Clicking on “Continue” button  37  causes code  29   c  to transmit the identification information to server  14 . 
     At server  14 , code  22   a  receives ( 301 ) the identification information of the pretender from computer  12 . Code  22   a  verifies ( 302 ) the password and user ID of the pretender by comparing them to passwords and user IDs stored in database  26 . If code  22   a  determines that the pretender&#39;s user ID and password match those stored in database  26 , code  22   a  locates access information in database  26  corresponding to the user ID and password of the pretender. The access information is stored in association with the user ID and password, and specifies which of applications  22   b  the pretender may access. 
     Code  22   a  retrieves the access information for the pretender and provides ( 303 ) it to computer  12 . Code  22   a  also outputs a Web page  39  ( FIG. 5 ) to computer  12 . Web page  39  includes selection buttons  40  for selecting which of applications  22   b  to access, and pull-down bar  41  which can also be used to select an application  22   b . Web page  39  also includes entry box  42  for entering a user ID to access a user&#39;s account. This user ID may be the social security number of the account owner, the actual user ID of the account owner, or any other account identifier. 
     Returning to  FIG. 2 , code  29   c  in computer  12  receives ( 202 ) the access information from server  14 , and stores ( 203 ) the access information in text file  32 , in particular, in the LB$D field. Web page  39  ( FIG. 5 ) is also displayed on computer  12 . Using this Web page, the pretender selects ( 204 ) an application  22   b  and inputs a user ID in entry box  42  that corresponds to an account the pretender wants to access from the selected application. This information is transmitted to server  14 , where it is received ( 304 ) by code  22   a.    
     Code  22   a  verifies ( 305 ) that the pretender is entitled to access the account based on the identification information for the pretender and the user ID from Web page  39 . In particular, code  22   a  searches through database  26  to determine if the pretender has the right to access the account associated with the input user ID. If information in database  26  indicates that the pretender is permitted to access the account, code  22   a  retrieves information from database  26  that specifies the scope and content of the pretender&#39;s right of access to the account. 
     An account may provide access to one or more computer programs and/or databases. For example, a user&#39;s investment account may be served by programs for transmitting money between funds and determining fund performance, as described below. Database  26  contains information specifying which programs (and/or databases) a pretender may access in each account and/or restrictions on the pretender&#39;s rights of access. Code  22   a  provides ( 306 ) this information (called “account information”) to computer  12 . 
     Code  29   c  in computer  12  receives ( 205 ) the account information from server  14 , and stores ( 206 ) the account information in text file  32 , in particular, in the LB$A field. The access information and account information in text file  32  are used in gaining access to accounts and applications. For example, if a pretender selects applications  44  or  45  from Web page  39  ( FIG. 5 ), and inputs an account number in entry box  42 , code  22   a  provides Web page  46  ( FIG. 6 ) to computer  12 . Web page  46  includes the same information that is displayed to the user specified in entry box  42  when the user accesses the account. Web page  46  also includes an indication  47  that the pretender is “pretending” to be the user whose ID is specified in entry box  42 , and identification information  49  for the user. 
     The rights of the pretender to view data, execute programs, and change parameters of the account of Web page  46  are specified in the account information (LB$A) in text file  32 . For example, Web page  46  displays icons  50  for executing programs that are available in the account. These icons include “Balances” icon  50   a  for executing a program to obtain account balances; “Quotes” icon  50   b  for executing a program to obtain stock quotes and the like; “Market Indices” icon  50   c  for executing a program to obtain market indices; “Fund Performance” icon  50   d  for executing a program to determine the performance of funds in the account; “Fund Exchanges” icon  50   e  for executing a program to move money between funds; “Contribution Elections” icon  50   f  for executing a program to contribute money to funds; “Payroll Deductions” icon  50   g  for executing a program to specify payroll deductions; “Loans” icon  50   h  for executing a program to inquire about loans; “Withdrawal” icon  50   i  for executing a program to withdraw money from the account; “Transaction History” icon  50   j  for executing a program to obtain a transaction history for the account; “Plan Literature” icon  50   k  for executing a program to obtain literature about an investment plan; “Plan Information” icon  50   l  for executing a program to obtain information about an investment plan; and “Calculator” icon  50   m  for executing a calculator program. 
     Which of the programs the pretender has a right to access is specified in the account information in the LB$A field of text file  32 . Upon execution, code (not shown) in a program interrogates text file  32  to determine if the pretender can access the program. Referring to  FIGS. 7 and 8 , the pretender requests ( 701 ) access to a program by clicking on one of icons  50 . Code  22   a  in server  14  receives ( 801 ) the request and obtains ( 802 ) account information from text file  32  in browser  29   b . Specifically, code  22   a  interrogates the LB$A field of the text file. Code  22   a  receives ( 702 ) the interrogation request and allows the text file to be probed. Code  22   a  then determines ( 803 ) if the pretender is permitted to access the program based on the account information in the LB$A field. 
     If the pretender is permitted to access the program, the pretender receives access in  703 ; otherwise access is denied. The account information in LB$A may permit the pretender to execute programs for viewing/accessing information relating to an account (e.g., fund performance), but not to change parameters of the account (e.g., to move money from one fund to another). Alternatively, the access information may permit the pretender to change account parameters. Access to the account may be provided to a pretender from an application  22   b  regardless of whether the owner of the account can access that application. 
       FIG. 9  shows a Web page  52  that is accessed via application  54  ( FIG. 5 ). As in Web page  46  of  FIG. 6 , web page  52  includes various programs that can be accessed therefrom. These programs  55  include “News”  55   a  (shown) for executing a program to obtain news about an account (plan), “Plan”  55   b  for executing a program to access information on a specific plan (see below); “Participant”  55   c  for executing a program to obtain information on a plan participant; “Admin”  55   d  for executing a program to obtain information regarding plan administration; “Reports”  55   e  for executing a program to obtain plan reports; “Communication”  55   f  for executing a program relating to communication; and “Invest”  55   g  for executing a program to invest in a plan. 
     As above, which of the foregoing programs the pretender has a right to access is specified in account information in the LB$A field of text file  32 . Upon execution, code in a program interrogates the text file to determine if the pretender can access the program. This is done in accordance with the processes of  FIGS. 7 and 8 . Also, as above, the view and information provided by Web page  52  is the same view and information that the plan sponsor specified in entry box  42  ( FIG. 5 ) would see. 
     As an alternative to the view of the plan sponsor provided in  FIG. 9 , the pretender can obtain information about a specific plan (such as content, templates, and the like) that is not associated with a particular plan sponsor&#39;s view. Clicking on “Plan”  55   a  ( FIG. 9 ) produces Web page  60  shown in  FIG. 10 . From Web page  60 , the pretender is prompted to enter a plan number in entry box  61 . Clicking on “Continue” button  62  retrieves Web page  64  ( FIG. 11 ), which includes information  65  on the plan number entered in entry box  61 . As above, the pretender will be able to do this if it is permitted by the account information in text file  32 . 
     Returning to  FIG. 5 , each time a pretender enters a new application  22   b  in a current pretender session, code in that application interrogates the access information (LB$D) in the text file  32  to determine if the pretender has the right to enter that application. Once in the application, accessing programs in the application is performed in accordance with  FIGS. 7 and 8  above. 
     Other embodiments are also within the scope of the following claims. For example, programs  50  in an application  44  might themselves include embedded programs. Rights of access to such embedded programs may also be specified in a text file that is interrogated by such embedded programs prior to their execution. The pretender can obtain access to accounts while the owner is accessing the account (at the same time) or while the owner is not accessing the account.