Patent ID: 7302413

Claim:
A computer system for providing loans to a participant having assets in a benefit plan account comprising: a processor; and a memory operatively coupled to the processor, the memory including program data for causing the processor to perform the steps of: initializing loan-fund information upon establishment of a loan fund account for the participant which loan fund account is associated with one or more investment vehicles in the benefit plan account, wherein the initializing further comprises funding the loan fund account by investing participant assets in the one or more investment vehicles, wherein the one or more investment vehicles associated with the loan fund account are segregated from other investment vehicles in the benefit plan account, and wherein money is drawn for loans from the loan fund account, wherein the loan fund account is managed by an investment manager, wherein the loan fund account is recorded in the benefit-plan account as an asset; generating data representing requests to the investment manager to: (i) transfer funds from the loan fund account that is less than a full amount of funds in the loan fund account to settle redemptions made by the participant, the participant making redemptions from the loan fund account by use of at least one access vehicle; or (ii) accept funds into the loan fund account from the participant in repayment of redemptions; and updating said loan-fund information for said loan fund account using a redemption/repayment accounting process associated with the loan fund account that computes a current balance of available funds in the loan fund account based on funds transferred from assets in the loan fund account to settle redemptions and funds accepted as assets into the loan fund account as repayments of redemptions and does not change a loan fund asset amount listed in the account information of the benefit plan account relating to the loan fund account.