WO2001065438A1 - Computerized system for providing offshore investment services - Google Patents

Abstract

A computer-based system and method for displaying, processing, and manipulating information relating to offshore investments is provided which includes the steps of receiving, as input, over a global information network (such as the Internet), identification information regarding an offshore investment vehicle of interest and retrieving, from a first database (623), vehicle-information regarding the offshore investment vehicle. The vehicle-information includes all applicable fees, commissions, bonuses, income, and withdrawals for the vehicle, and also identifies each underlying asset of the vehicle (625, 626). The underlying assets of an offshore investment vehicle may include, for example, stocks (630), bonds, cash (624) and mutual funds. The system then retrieves, from a second database, asset-value-information regarding a current value of each of the underlying assets. The second database may include, for example, a real time financial data feed (625). Then, in response to a user input over the global information network, the system selectively generates and displays a current valuation of the vehicle (608) as a function of the information retrieved from the first and second databases. Preferably, the system can also selectively generate and display a projected future valuation of the vehicle as a function of the information retrieved from the first and second databases.

Description

COMPUTERIZED SYSTEM FOR PROVIDING OFF SHORE INVESTMENT SERVICES

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to the field of financial services relating to the of shore investment industry.

Background of the Invention

Offshore investment involves investing assets outside of one's own home jurisdiction, whereby the assets are not subject to any regulation in the domestic market. Often these assets are invested in order to avoid repatriation of assets obtained outside the investor's home jurisdiction.

The end consumer of offshore investment products and services is the investor. Investors need not necessarily be extremely wealthy to be involved in offshore investment. Many investors are of only moderate income who have employment, contracts or other business interests outside of their home jurisdiction and who wish to avoid repatriating their revenues.

These investors are serviced by Independent Financial Advisors (IF As). IF As provide their clients with access to various investment products offered by various financial institutions. The IF As act as freelance salespeople for the institutions, and receive sales commissions from those institutions. The IF As are essentially brokers; they maintain portfolios of their clients' investments and initiate the transactions on behalf of the client. An IFA does not collect commissions directly from the investor buying the product, but rather indirectly from the institution managing the product. For the purposes of the present invention, the term investor refers specifically to clients of IF As, despite its more general meaning in common use.

Not all IF As operate completely independently. Many of them work for a larger brokerage. The size range of brokerages is considerable, the largest companies employing many IF As (low hundreds) in many branch offices (up to about 70 in the largest known case). The most common brokerage in this industry is a small office employing less than ten IF As. A group of brokerages operating under the same name may be a number of independently owned franchises or a more loosely knit association. For the purposes of the present invention, the term brokerage will refer specifically to such companies employing IF As, and the term "branch office" will refer to a branch office of a brokerage.

The offshore investment institutions offer investors a choice of several vehicles which are sold to the investor in the form of a life insurance policy, pension, or investment bond. These investments are designated as life insurance policies for regulatory reasons.

A vehicle consists of a set of underlying assets. The underlying assets may be ordinary stocks, bonds, mutual funds and money market funds, but they may also be any of a number of special investment funds designed especially for the offshore market. A vehicle may have various restrictions on its composition. Institutions may restrict a particular vehicle to only underlying assets found within a certain basket of funds; funds which they themselves may or may not manage. Others may be less restrictive and allow assets to be purchased from any number of markets or funds.

In the case of life insurance policies, the initial and subsequent investments of capital into these vehicles are called premiums. The policies are redeemable for the value of the underlying assets, minus any applicable encashment fees.

A number of Internet based systems for performing direct financial transactions and maintaining portfolios are currently available, including, for example, SCHWAB.COM, E*TRADE, TRADE.COM and MERRILL LYNCH. These systems, however, do not, and cannot, service the offshore investment industry, particularly the markets for offshore funds and for investment vehicles in the form of insurance policies, pensions or investment bonds. Summary of the Invention

In accordance with the present invention, an interactive online system for providing information services and trading to the offshore investment industry and its clients is provided. Although some of this information may already be available to interested parties by other means, much of it is not readily available in electronically distributable format, making the acquisition of this information both time-consuming and frustrating for the user.

In accordance with the present invention, a computer-based system and method for displaying, processing, and manipulating information relating to offshore investments is provided which includes the steps of receiving, as input, over a global information network (such as the Internet), identification information regarding an offshore investment vehicle of interest and retrieving, from a first database, vehicle-information regarding the offshore investment vehicle. The vehicle-information includes all applicable fees, commissions, bonuses, income, and withdrawals for said vehicle, and also identifies each underlying asset of the vehicle. As discussed above, the underlying assets of an offshore investment vehicle may include, for example, stocks, bonds, cash, and mutual funds.

The system then retrieves, from a second database, asset-value-information regarding a current value of each of the underlying assets. The second database may include, for example, a real time financial data feed. Then, in response to. a user input over the global information network, the system selectively generates and displays a current valuation of the vehicle as a function of the information retrieved from the first and second databases. Preferably, the system can also selectively generate and display a projected future valuation of the vehicle as a function of the information retrieved from the first and second databases.

The system can be used by brokerages and their IF As to service their investors. In this regard, it should be noted that the term "brokerage", in the context of the present invention, is defined as including independent IF As (who can be viewed as a brokerage employing one IF A). In accordance with this system, an IFA who is out of his office has the capability of accessing information over a global information network (such as the Internet) regarding his investor's vehicles, or requesting information from a vehicle which an investor is considering purchasing, and performing valuations and/or projections for these vehicles. This is a significant advantage, because, unlike other instruments like stocks and bonds, offshore investment vehicles have a complex structure of fees and commissions which varies from vehicle to vehicle and from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.

In accordance with further aspects of this embodiment of the present invention, the system allows brokerages to easily enter and maintain, in the first database, data regarding vehicles held by their investors. In this regard, the system may be configured to automatically process scheduled deposits, withdrawals, and fee transactions for held vehicles, and automatically update the first database to reflect the processed transactions. In addition, the system may be configured to process, in response to a user input, a transaction for the vehicle (such as a deposit, a withdrawal, a purchase, a sale, a switch, a fee, and a reconciliation), and update the first database to reflect the processed transaction.

In accordance with a further aspect of this embodiment, in order to enter a new vehicle into the database for an investor, the system receives, as input, over a global information network, identification information regarding an offshore investment vehicle type of interest. The system then retrieves, from the first database, information regarding the offshore investment vehicle type. This information includes default values for one or more of the applicable fees, commissions, bonuses, income, and withdrawals for that vehicle type. In this regard, the system maintains this information for a plurality of investment vehicle-types offered by a plurality of institutions.

Once the information for the vehicle-type of interest is retrieved, the user can selectively modify one or more of the default values. This feature is particularly advantageous because, in the context of offshore investment vehicles, institutions often provide different fees, commissions, bonuses, income, and withdrawals for the same vehicle type, depending, for example, upon the particular investor or the particular brokerage.

After any desired modifications to the default values have been made, the system receives (as input from the user), information identifying each underlying asset of the vehicle. The system then stores the information regarding the values of the one or more of the appUcable fees, commissions, bonuses, income, and withdrawals, and the information identifying each underlying asset of the vehicle, in the first database as the vehicle-information for the vehicle,

Preferably, for each vehicle (or variation of vehicle) offered by an institution, the system will maintain, in its database, the default fees, commissions, bonuses, income, and withdrawals described above. In addition for each brokerage which is a user of the system, the system may maintain default IFA commission fees. As set forth above, these defaults can be over-ridden by the brokerage for any given vehicle.

It is envisioned that many brokerages will want a central administrator to enter the data into the first database, and to allow their IF As to only retrieve and process the data (for example, to provide valuations or projections). Preferably, however, brokerages are provided with wide discretion to provide their users (e.g. administrators, IF As, or other employees) access to the feature of the system.

In addition, the system preferably provides the brokerages with the option of allowing their clients (i.e. investors) to access selected system functions. For example, a brokerage may wish to provide their investors with the abihty to view their portfolio of vehicles, with current valuations. In accordance with further a embodiment of the present invention, the system can also provide the abihty for IF As to communicate directly with their clients in various modalities over the Internet regarding the portfoho, while both are simultaneously viewing the same information on the same database.

The system may also incorporate a number of additional features which are useful to IFA's in servicing their clients. For example, the system may include real time world and financial news feeds, real time equity quotes, market indices, currency exchange rates and calculator, fund prices and historical performance data,*industry research capabilities, external Internet links to industry services, live chat and bulletin boards.

In accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention, a system is provided which includes a system website and a plurality of individual brokerage websites. Each brokerage website appears to its investors (and the public at large) as a dedicated ^• website for that brokerage. Preferably, the brokerage websites and the system website reside on the same server.

In accordance with this embodiment, a brokerage interface is provided via the central website for receiving requests from brokerages, and processing and responding to said requests. The brokerage interface is used to process information regarding an existing or prospective vehicle of an investor of the brokerage in the manner set forth above with regard to the first embodiment.

An institutional interface may also be provided on the central website. The institutional interface serves to receiving requests from institutions which are providers of off shore investment vehicles, and processing and responding to these requests. Preferably, the system receives as input from an institution, via the institutional interface, a request for information regarding a brokerage or an IFA, retrieves, from a third database, information regarding the IFA or brokerage. Preferably, the information includes, for examples, complaints and credit reports on the requested IFA or brokerage. The system may also allow institutions to submit complaints and credit information regarding IF As or brokerages via the institutional interface for processing by the system and storage on the third database. Institutions, via the institutional interface, may also be provided with the abihty to send, to the system and/or its users, information regarding the institution and/or its vehicles, including, for example: general information regarding the institution; information on current promotions offered by the institution; and updated fees, charges, and other vehicle terms for vehicles offered by the institution. The central website may also include a general interface which provides information which is accessible to the general public. The central website may also include other features designed to attract users to the site or to generate revenue for the system. For example, the central website may include advertizing to generate revenue. It may also include on-line world and financial news feeds, real time equity quotes, market indices, currency exchange rates and calculator, fund prices and historical performance data, online information and brochures for selected brokerages, general information regarding the offshore investment industry, external Internet links to industry services, live chat and bulletin boards. The central website may also host user contests. These contests may be aimed at the general public and/or at IF As. The central website may also maintain an archive of news article and other information regarding topics of interest to the offshore investment industry. These articles, and other portions of the web-site could be searchable via a local site content search engine. Credit card and bank accounts could also be supported by the central interface in the manner described in more detail below. . The central website may also provide a platform for a digital marketplace for offshore funds, where investors, institutions and intermediaries (T A's) are able to trade funds directly among themselves.

Many of the above features may also be made available on the individual brokerage websites. Moreover, by hosting the brokerage web sites on the same server as the central website, all the websites can easily share the same resources, thereby increasing efficiency and reducing costs. Moreover, even Brokerages which own and host their own websites, can be provided with the option of linking over the Internet to the various system services discussed above (e.g. valuations, projections, article archives, etc.).

The individual brokerage websites and/or the central website may also include an investor interface. The investor interface is accessible by investors of the brokerages who have been authorized by their brokerage to utilize selected system resources. In accordance with one aspect of the investor interface, the system receives, via the investor interface, a request from an investor of the brokerage for information regarding a vehicle. The system then identifies the investor, and if the identified investor is authorized by the brokerage to receive the information, receives, as input to the investor interface, identification information regarding an offshore investment vehicle of interest. The system then retrieves, from the first database, the vehicle-information regarding the offshore investment vehicle; retrieves, from the second database, the asset- value-information for each underlying asset of the vehicle; and selectively generates and displays, via said investor interface, and in response to an input from the investor, a current valuation the vehicle as a function of the information retrieved from the first and second databases. Preferably, the system identifies the investor by user name and password and, most preferably, by a hardware security and authentication device as well.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Figure 1 illustrates the inter-relationship between the user interfaces and various system resources in accordance with a preferred computerized system for providing of shore investment services in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 2a shows a real time market resource of Figure 1 in more detail.

Figure 2b shows a portfolio management resource of Figure 1 in more detail.

Figure 2c shows a news feed resource in accordance with the preferred embodiment of Figure 1.

Figure 3 shows in further detail the data management resources which interact with the portfolio management resource and the commission resource.

Figure 4 shows a rose model for a preferred embodiment of the present invention, illustrating the inter-relationship between various components of the system of Figures 1 through 3. Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments

The preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to Figures 1 through 4. Although the system and method of the present invention will be described in connection with these preferred embodiments and drawings, it is not intended to be limited to the specific form set forth herein, but on the contrary, it is intended to cover such alternatives, modifications, and equivalents, as can be reasonably included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Overview In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, an Internet portal is provided which provides services to at least five types of users: financial institutions, brokerages and IF As, Investors (clients of IF As), the general public, and to system administrators. Through the use of dynamically generated menus and links, any given user will be shepherded to the various parts of the system appUcable to his or her respective user-type, so that the system shows the user only those activities for which the user has access permission. For purposes of the present invention, the suite of graphical user interfaces (GUI), menus, and links available to each user type will be referred to as the "interface" for that user-type: e.g., the "brokerage interface."

Referring to Figure 1, the system 1 can be viewed as including two, separate, but interlinked, points of access. The first point of access .is the general portal 2, and the second point of access is through one or more independent broker site portals 3.

The general portal 1 can be further envisioned as including a public access interface 20 which serves as a the general portal for many different types of users: the pub he, the institutions, the brokerages, IFA's, and the system's administrative staff. This pubhc interface 20 includes links to a real time market resource 201, newsletter resource 202, on-line news feed resource 203, general information resource 204 (providing general information about the system and about offshore investment), the pubhc contests resource 205, credit card resource 206, bank account resource 207, and fund trading resource (209). In the context of the present invention, the term "resource" broadiy notes a database and/or computer software driven provider of information or services. Moreover, the particular databases and/or software driving a given resource may also be driving other resources. Thus, in the description that foUows, multiple resources may, in fact, be comprised of a single database.

The system allows Institutional users to access links to a number of additional resources through an institutional interface 21. The institutional interface 21 , which services Ufe companies and other institutional users, provides links, for example, to the industry reporting bureau resource 210.

Similarly, the system allows brokerage users and IFA's to access links to a number of additional resources through the brokerage/IFA interface 22. In this regard, the brokerage/TFA interface 22 may provide the user with i) additional information about the Offshore investment industry in an information resource 220, and the abihty to u) manage their cUents' portfoUos in a portfoUo management resource 221 and generate portfoUo valuations on these portfoUos; iii) perform illustrations and product comparisons via an illustration resource 229; iv) track their commissions via a commission resource 222, and v) administer their respective independent broker site portals 3 while on-line via a broker site resource 223. An on-line financial data feed, preferably separate from the real-time market resource 201 set forth above, provides updated financial information to the portfoUo management resource 221 , illustration resource 229, and commission resources 222. In this regard, a wizard for managing the investor sites can thus be incorporated into the brokerage and IFA interface. Other features of this interface may include: v) an industry research resource 224, a brochures and appUcations resource 225, an IFA contest resource 226, bulletin board resource 227, chat room resource 228, and custom external link resource 233. The brokerageTFA interface 22 is accessible by brokerages (including their administrators and IF As) and to individual IF As.

In the context of the present invention, the term IFA shall refer to the individual IF As, as well as IF As working through brokerages. In addition, an individual IFA (i.e. a sole practitioner) will also be considered a brokerage for purposes ofthis invention. In addition, the term "brokerage administrator" shall, in the context of the present invention, refer to any individual or individuals (e.g. an IFA, or other employee of a brokerage) which a given brokerage grants the permissions of a brokerage acLministrator.

The system allows administrative users, via the administrator interface 23, to additionally access links to management wizards 230, institution and vehicle management 231, and securities management 232.

In addition, the Institutional and Brokerage users may set permissions 229, allowing other users (for example, their customers) to view a subset of the links available to the Institutional and Brokerage users, respectively.

As set forth above, the system also includes one or more independent broker site portals 3. The portals 3 are "virtual" sites. Each of the "virtual" sites will appear to the investors as a web site belonging to their respective brokerage. Each brokerage wiU be able to create a customized web site for their company, or one for each branch office of their company. Brokerage administrators can configure the look-and-feel settings and feature options for their site via broker site resource 223 . Advantageously, a single core engine will run all of the independent broker site portals 3 simultaneously. Each independent broker site portal 3 may include a portfoUo valuation resource (402), and may also include various resources from the general portal 2, at the option of the brokerage or IFA managing the site.

General System Features The system 1 is centrally located on a server, and is configured to allow remote users to fully access the system remotely through the Internet via http. The system 1 preferably supports users of Netscape 4 and newer, and Internet Explorer 4 and newer. The user interfaces may also be configured to support low-bandwidth and/or mobile cUent access such as PDAs, digital cellular telephones, and other technologies. It is anticipated that the system 1 will service an international and multilingual ^' audience. Therefore, the system 1 preferably accommodates locale-specific languages, number formats, times, dates and currencies. Locale-specific data will be kept separate from the core functionality of the system. Text and other locale-specific data are stored in a set of data files or resource bundles. Each locale has its own resource bundle.

To support languages using non-Latin character sets, all resource bundles preferably use the Unicode character encoding scheme for all language specific text. Unicode is a widely-accepted international standard for international character encoding, and is supported to varying degrees by the various releases of Netscape and MSIE.

Although a wide variety of programing languages may be used to code the system 1, the system is preferably coded in JAVA^®. In this regard, it should be noted that JAVA^® supports Unicode and was designed to support multilingual appUcations and has many built-in methods for dealing with and manipulating text strings in a language independent manner. JAVA^® also has built in objects and methods for dealing with resource bundles and locales.

User Support A user support system is preferably provided to supply a convenient, web-based communication channel between users of the system 1 and administrators. Administrators may use the user support system to address user problems and respond to user queries. All users of the system, including brokerage administrators, IF As, investors and members of the pubhc have access to some level of support through the user support system. The user support system will include a communication channel and an incident log.

Users and administrators may conduct their support-related communication through the web-based interfaces 20-23, email, and telephone. Administrators may enter communication to users with a form (HTML). The system 1 will log the communication and send it to the user (via, for example, SMTP mail). Each communication will refer to the incident ticket number (e.g. email subject headers will contain the ticket number). Users will be encouraged and/or reminded to quote that number in any return communication. Preferably, the system automatically appends such reminders to the text of the communication. The system will look for the ticket number in the subject headers of incoming email to automatically sort support emails by incident number.

The system 1 logs aU incidents in an incident log. Each incident has a ticket number, status, and escalation level, and the system 1 logs all communication and administrator comments regarding an incident. The status of the incident will, for example, be one of: NEW, OPEN, RESOLVED, UNRESOLVED, etc. Support administrators can communicate with the user via the communication channel, and can add comments, change the escalation level and change the status of an incident in the incident log. When a user requests customer support, the system generates a ticket number for the incident and assigns it a status of NEW, and an escalation level of 1. A support administrator wiU look at the incident, assign it a status (such as OPEN), and an escalation level. Each escalation level will be the exclusive responsibiUty of a particular administrator. Administrators wiU pass incidents to other administrators by changing the escalation level. Administrators input non-electronic communication (i.e. telephone, fax, etc.) into the incident log. For example, they can summarize telephone calls, and add such summaries to existing incidents, or enter them as new incidents.

Users. Permissions, and Roles

The system 1 contains a hierarchical security system using usernames, passwords, permissions, and roles. Roles are groups of permissions that can be granted together to simpUfy the security administrative process. Users will be granted and denied access to various activities within various sections of the various sites according to the roles and permissions assigned to them.

Additional security can be provided by utilizing, in addition to usernames and passwords, a hardware security and authentication device (such as a dongle) which mates with a computer port (e.g. serial, parallel, USB) or disk drive (e.g. floppy, CD rom). Prior to allowing a user to access the system 1, the system 1 will access the device, and, if the device is not an authorized user of the system l,^*the user will be unable to access the system. The device may also contain information regarding the permissions of the user. An exemplary device which can be used in accordance with the present invention is the E-token device manufactured by Aladdin Knowledge Systems Ltd of Israel which is configured to mate with the USB port of a computer.

The system 1 will, through the dynamicaUy-generated menus and links discussed above, present each user with only a Ust of subsystems for which he/she has permission. However to ensure that a user cannot access functionaUty outside of his/her permissions (such as by directly typing in URLs that would not otherwise be available to him/her through menus or links), code executing any functionaUty requiring permission will always verify that the user has the appropriate permission.

Permission Granting The administrator interface 23 allows administrations to create and delete users, and to grant and revoke permissions. Access to the interface 23 will require its own special set of permissions. A hierarchical set of permissions may be provided which grants users the abitity to edit other users and permissions at a number of security levels. For example, security administrators wiU be able to grant high-level security access to users they create. Among other things, they will be able to create user accounts for brokerage security administrators, who in turn will be able to create accounts for their IF As and Investors through a security administrative subsection of the site management resource 223 of the interface 22. System administrators may also have the abitity to grant brokerage administrators the power to create additional levels of permissions for the IF As, other employees, and investors of the brokerage. Brokerage administrators will not have the abihty to grant themselves or others permissions higher then their own.

Access Log The system 1 maintains an access log, providing an audit trail in case of security breaches. The access log will store relevant information on each chck performed by each user. This access log will also be available for the purposes of user profile analysis to the advertising modules. Advertizing The system 1 may be used to generate revenue by providing advertizing space. The system 1 will provide banner advertising on Web pages throughout the various sites. Two classes of banner advertising may be provided: internally brokered, and third-party brokered. The two classes of advertising are independent of each other. Banner ad real estate on each page or section of each of the web sites may be allocated to one of the classes. Externally brokered advertising is advertizing provided by an independent Web advertising agency through a banner ad server external to the system 1, and internaUy brokered advertizing is managed and provided by the system 1.

The system 1 generates and analyzes profiles of users, and thereby provides the capabiUty to target users with specific ad campaigns according to their profile. User profiles can be matched by the system 1 against campaign profiles in order to select appropriately targeted ads.

The system 1 may also be configured to provide brokerages and IF As with prior notice of new advertising campaigns, and to allow brokerages or IF As the option of excluding their investors from specific advertizing campaigns or to exclude their investors from all advertizing campaigns.

In addition to the traditional banner ads at the top of a page, the system 1 may provide advertisers with additional advertising options. For example, banner ads may advantageously be provided in small pop-up windows that would appear when someone cticks on a link to another page within the site. These windows would stay up for a predetermined amount of time (say, 5 seconds) and then close themselves and disappear.

Messaging All users of the system will have access to a basic messaging system. This system wiU aUow different users to contact each other. Users requesting customer support will use this feature to contact Administrative support staff. Users of the pubhc interface 20 of the site will be able to fiU out a form asking for more information. Investors will be able to send information to their IFA or brokerage . The system 1 also includes a utitity for sending transaction requests (buy/sell switch). The system 1 wiU have a form for investors to inform their IFA that they are moving so that the IFA can recommend to them another IFA in their new jurisdiction.

User Features

The various user-accessible features discussed above with regard to the general portal 2 and the independent broker site portals 3 will now be discussed in more detail.

1. User Accessible Features for the General Portal 2

A. Public Real Time Market Resource 201 Referring to Figure 2a, real-time market information is available through the general portal 2 via real-time market resource 201. The resource 201 includes a Quotation lookup resource 2011 which allows users to obtain up-to-date (preferably at least to the previous end of day, and most preferably, every 15 minutes or less) and historical pricing for all of the securities in the resource's database 2013. Users will select a market, company name or stock symbol, and the system will provide a quotation. The resource 201 also includes a market indices resource 2012 which displays representations of various world market indices. The indices may be displayed numerically, but, are preferably displayed graphically. The displays will preferably cover from three to ten (or more) world market indices for the previous day's close and five preceding trading days.

Exchange rate tables and/or an exchange rate calculator resource 2015 may also be provided in the resource 201. The exchange rate calculator accepts input in the form of quantities and currencies from users, and returns equivalencies based on rates from the financial database. Exchange rate tables Ust, in tabular form, exchange rates of various currencies.

B. Illustration Resource 229

Illustration resource 229 provides one or more different types of projections and comparisons of various vehicles and/or securities. The user wiU choose vehicle(s) and/or securities, and provide the system with investment amount, period and estimated growth rates. The system will display theoretical values (in both numbers and charts) of the holdings at given future dates, including all fees and penalties, allowing for vehicle comparisons. The user may also query the system to find a vehicle or vehicles that, given user-defined criteria, will deUver a specified return over a specified period of time. The illustration feature may also display the theoretical net growth of a given vehicle over a given period with a given growth rate. A user will then be able to see the real growth of an investment once the fees are all calculated and subtracted.

C. Portfolio Valuation

Referring to Figure 2b, users, depending on their permissions, will be able to obtain valuations 2211 of portfoUos using the portfoUo management resource 221. In the case of an investor who has holdings organized into more than one portfoUo, with some perhaps held in trust, valuations will be available for individual portfoUos or for all portfoUos together. The permissions associated with this activity will be fully configurable, and, may, for example, be based on the foUowing hierarchy: brokerages will permit branch managers to view portfoUos for all IF As under their management, branch managers wiU permit IF As to view portfoUos for all their investors, and IF As may permit each of their investors to view his her own portfoUos. The valuation resource 2211 may also be made available by the brokerage to "permitted" investors via portfoUo resource 401 in broker sites 3.

The valuation resource 2211, and the iUustration resource 229 preferably have access to separate financial information data feed(s) (discussed below with regard to securities management resource 5002) than pubhc real time market resource 201. Naturally, to the extent the data is overlapping, a single data feed could alternatively be used to drive the pubhc real time market resource 201, the valuation resource 2211, and the illustration resources 229.

D. News Feeds Referring to Figures 1 and 2c, news feed resource 103 provides users with access to news suppUed by a number of Internet news wire feeds, with basic capabitities for searching and displaying results. The news feed system is preferably a fully automated system which handles downloading, cross-referencing and linking, search and retrieval, archival and deletion of the news. News articles referencing information in other parts of the system 1, such as references to securities found in the securities table or articles in the industry research section or newsletter, wiU be cross-referenced to the appropriate section.

The on-line news feed resource 103 preferably includes one or more, and preferably, aU, of the following: a world news feed 1031, a financial news feed 1032, an offshore news feed 1033, and an industry news and commentary feed 1034.

Preferably, the world news feed 1031 (preferably from an existing, syndicated, on-line source) is dynamically displayed on the pubhc access interface, providing the latest news headlines and stories. Links 1035 may also be provided to other syndicated online sources. Examples of currently available syndicated, on-line sources include CNN, MSNBC, and Reuters.

In addition, the pubhc access interface 20 may also include, for example, a streaming ticker running across the page with headlines of financial news stories. The headlines may be cUckable references to the full story. Preferably, the interface 20 wiU also offer a number of choices of links to other online financial news feeds. As with the world news, the content is preferably obtained from a syndicated on-line source such as the Financial Times, Bloomberg, MSNBC Finance.

In order to provide offshore investment related news, the system 1 preferably includes a script 1036 which searches through all the available news and extract articles matching certain key words. The tagged articles may then be reviewed by an administrator and' selected posting on one of the interfaces 20, 21, or 22.

Additional information culled from all industry press releases, as weU as articles chosen from institutional print pubUcations or websites and interviews, may also be posted on one or more of the interfaces 20, 21, or 22. Preferably, the pubUc wiU have access to selected headlines, with the links to fuU stories restricted to IFA users.

E. Industry Research

The industry research resource 224, through the brokerage/IFA interface 22, provides users with access to industry research and analysis,, including fund prices and historical fund performance and comparisons, with basic capabiUties for searching and displaying results. Research referencing information in other parts of the system 1 may also be cross-referenced to this resource. Administrators may be provided with the abihty to customize article Ufetimes and archive options of the resource 224 via the interface 23.

The system may also provide users with access to a professional practice library via the industry research resource 224. This tibrary may include, for example, articles, information regarding the regulatory regimes and investment climates in various jurisdictions, and power point presentations for presentation to ctients.

F. Newsletters The system 1 can email headlines and hyperlinks to new content and features to users of the system via a newsletter resource 201. The news letter content will also be accessible via the pubhc access interface 20.

G. Welcomes. Texts and Links

The pubhc interface 20 of the system preferably contains a main welcome page consisting of links to the various available sections as well as to the login section for registered users. The pubhc interface 20 may also include an About "System" Text ( orming users about the general nature of the system and its owner); an Offshore Text (about the offshore investment industry in general); a "Privacy Text" (about information privacy); a "Security Text" (about system security); a Legal disclaimer text; a Contact Info text (providing contact information for system administrators); a link to system press releases ; an "In the news" link (providing copies of third-party press coverage of the system 1); and a Glossary of financial terms ( a Ust explaining some of the financial terms used elsewhere in the site). The public interface 20 will also provide users with access to th pay advertizing links (see supra), and links to other sites relating to offshore investment. The brokerage/TFA interface 22 will also include the brokerage's custom links for that brokerage's authorized users (via the resource 233), and a hst of, and links to, fund management companies, insurance providers, offshore banks, trust formation companies, offshore jurisdictions, etc. The linked sites can open within a frame on the system's web pages.

H. Directory of Life and Related Products The BrokerageTFA interface 22, via information resource 220, also provides users with access to a directory of Ufe-related companies, their products and other information. The directory will include list and links to online sources, as well as information on companies who are not online, products where information is either not available or restricted online, and announcements of new products, special offers, etc. - with links and key document downloads.

Electronic copies of various brochures and appUcation forms for these products are available for browsing and printing via resource 225. Access to industry brochures and appUcation forms is also provided by resource 224, along with access to brochures prepared by the brokerages having brokerage sites 3. At the option of the brokerage, access to brokerage's brochures may be available on the pubhc interface 20.

I. User Contests The system 1 may also host user contests. The contests serve to stimulate traffic and help to build up a user mailing Ust. Two types of contests may be provided: one for the general pubhc (including investors), and one for the IF As. Users will have access to a form where they can enter the contest. The system will prompt the entrant for his/her name and email address as well as other information to be determined which will be stored in the mailing list.

The pubhc contest, supported by pubUc contest resource 204, will include a regular prize which will be awarded to the user who comes closest to guessing the closing balance of the FTSE each Friday. Each week's contest will close the Sunday leading up to the draw. The system will catalogue entries and provide the administrator with a sorted Ust of entrants and their guesses. Winners will be notified by email.

The IFA contest, supported by IFA contest resource 226, is a regular investment competition, where IF As will compete with an equal initial stake and attempt to make the most imaginary money with it. A regular prize will be awarded to the IFA who achieves the highest rate of return. Winners may be notified by email.

J. Bulletin boards

The system 1 wiU allow users to submit notices to bulletin boards via bulletin board resource 227. The notices may be posted openly or anonymously. Users will have a choice of several different forums, and will be able to search the forums. If desired, certain forums may be restricted to specific classes of users (e.g., investors, brokerages, IF As, institutions). Moreover, certain users, such as brokerages, wiU be permitted to create new forums. Preferably, the bulletin board resource 227 also includes a job board, where IF As and brokerages can post and respond to job opportunities in the industry.

K. Industry Reporting Bureau Institutional users wiU have access to an information exchange service (bulletin board) resource 210 through the institutional interface 22, which will serve as an information reporting bureau about IF As, similar to a credit rating bureau. Institutions will be able to request information on individual IF As, as well as to lodge complaints or file reports on rogue IF As.

L. Chat Rooms The system 1 also includes one or more chat room resources 228, where Uve chats can take place between users. Preferably, the system 1 provides the ability to allow administrators to moderate the chat via administrative interface 23, and to keep, edit and archive chat transcriptions. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the chat room resource 228 allows investors to communicate, virtuaUy in real time, e.g., "chat", with their IFA regarding their portfoUo. In this regard, the system 1, through the various resources described herein, provides the abihty for the investor and the IFA to view the same data regarding a given portfoUo.

M. Credit Cards The system 1 can also market credit cards to users via the pubhc interface 20 through credit card resource 206. Credit cards are marketed to two classes of users: user's who are ctients of one of the brokerages 3, and users who are not. With respect to the former, these users wiU be instructed to contact their respective IFA or Brokerage. With respect to the latter, the system 1 will prompt the user to fiU out a form and, based upon the user's response, the system will a select an appropriate IFA or brokerage and forward them the file. This selection may be done manually by a human operator, or may be done automaticaUy based upon a set of system defined criteria (e.g., type of investor, type of vehicle of interest, amount of investment, citizenship of investor).

Preferably, the system 1 offers two types of credit cards: secured cards and prepaid cards. Secured cards are identical to ordinary American bank credit cards, except that they are secured with cash, typically more cash than the credit limit of the card. Prepaid cards function also like ordinary credit cards, except that they have a credit limit of zero, and users must therefore maintain a credit balance in order to use the card. Preferably, the system 1 wiU offer both types of cards as either generic or "house" brand cards, the latter including, for example, the company name and or logo of the system owner.

N. Bank Accounts Offshore savings accounts are marketed to users via the bank account resource 207. As with credit cards, bank accounts are marketed to two classes of users: user's who are ctients of one of the brokerages 3, and users who are not. With respect to the former, these users will be instructed to contact their respective IFA or Brokerage. With respect to the latter, the system 1 will prompt the user to fill out a form and, based upon the user's response, the system will a select an appropriate IFA or brokerage and forward them the file. This selection may be done manually by a human operator, or may be done automatically based upon a set of system defined criteria (e.g., type of investor, type of vehicle of interest, amount of investment, citizenship of investor).

O. Search Engines The system 1 also includes a local site content search engine 208 which will also optionally search archived content. The system may also provide the abihty to externally search the entire Internet with, for example, commercially available search engines. Alternatively, links could be provided to existing search engines (e.g. Altvista, Yahoo) to provide external searching functions.

P. Fund Trading The system may provide buyers and sellers of funds (e.g., institutions, investors, and intermediaries such as IF As) with the abihty to directly trade with one another online. The system 1 automatically tracks matched firm offers and manages the complete transaction cycle and performance from bid to commitments.

Q. Additional Features Finally, other features may also be provided through one or more of the interfaces 20, 21, and 22. For example, an "Ask an adviser" resource could be provided which aUows users able to submit investment-related question to an adviser. The answers could be provided, for example, by one or more of the brokerages 3 as a marketing tool. Alternatively, answers could be provided by the system owner, or by another source.

The system may also provide, for example, through the brokerage/IFA interface 21 and/or the institution interface 22, a calendar of upcoming industry events. Each event is preferably characterized by a name, date, sponsor, location, contact information and URL.

The system 1 might also provide a daily or weekly user poll, consisting of a question and multiple choice answers which the system will tabulate and the results of which the system will automatically post to the site.

The system 1 may also provide Institutions with the abitity to send, to the system 1 and or its users, information regarding the institution and/or its vehicles, including, for example: general information regarding the institution; information on current promotions offered by the institution; and updated fees, charges, and other vehicle terms for vehicles offered by the institution.

2. Data Management Modules

As set forth above, the brokerageTFA interface 21 includes a portfolio management resource 221 for managing client portfoUos and a somewhat inter-related commission resource 222 for managing commissions paid to brokerages and IF As. These resources can be divided into a number of separate functions which wiU be described in detail below with respect to Figures 3 and 4.

A. Institution and Vehicle Management An institution and vehicle management resource 5000 catalogues the different institutions and their vehicles. Each vehicle is one of two broad payment classes: incidental (lump sum) or periodic.

Incidental payment classes are either extensible or non-extensible. For extensible payment class vehicles, additional contributions will be lumped in with the initial contribution. For non-extensible payment classes, additional contributions wiU constitute a new pohcy.

Periodic payment classes are either Regular Savings Plans (RSPs), or pension plans. A system administrator will manually enter fee rates into the database as new vehicles come on the market.

The system 1 will also enable users to obtain up-to-date fee information for all of the vehicles in the database. The valuation resource 2211 will also use the price and fee structure tables to provide up-to-date values for investors' portfolios. B. Brokerage. Branch, and Team Management

Each brokerage may have of one or more branches, and each branch wiU have one or more IF As, who may be organized into different teams. Each brokerage will also have one or more brokerage aclministrators. Brokerage administrators wiU set permissions and roles for the users under them in the hierarchy via the interface 22.

C. Investor and Portfolio Management

Each IFA wiU have a chentele of one or more investors, and each investor will have one or more portfoUos. Each portfoUo, in turn, will contain an aggregate Ust of holdings. Holdings may be a pohcy containing underlying assets, or directly held assets. Pohcies may be broken down into a number of sub-pohcies.

An investor/portfoUo management resource 5001 maintains a investor profile for each investor. The investor profile could be as sparse, for example, as an investor ID number. Alternatively, the profile could include more detailed information regarding the investor, including the investor's name, address, and telephone number, as weU as other information relevant to the management of the investor's portfoUo. Preferably, the brokerage will have the option of how much, or how tittle, information regarding its investors are stored in the profile.

The resource 5001 also maintains a database of information regarding each holding in an investors portfoUo, including, for example, information regarding the corresponding fees, bonuses, incomes & withdrawals, and commissions for each holding.

Brokerage administrators will manage investor profiles and portfoUos, adding/deleting or modifying information as required.

D. User Mailing List

The system will maintain an electronic mailing Ust of all users, including the general public. This Ust will be used for mailouts and other purposes. E. Securities Management The securities management resource 5002 maintains a historical database of price quotations, fee and commission rates, and price update frequencies for a wide range of financial products (mutual funds, currencies, stocks, etc.).

Securities can have two prices: the bid price and the offer price. The NAV (net asset value) is the bid price. Some calculations will use a mid-price, meaning the average of the bid and offer prices.

With regard to treatment of dividends, reinvested dividends are entered by the brokerage as new purchases. The system 1 will automatically recognize x-dividend pricing (e.g., pricing where the value of a holding (mutual fund, bond, etc.) is post dividend), and preferably, wiU also automatically recognize and manage stock sphts.

i. Automated Pricing

The current prices for most of securities are automatically fed into the resource 5002 by online financial data feeds. The system is preferably designed to accommodate multiple data feeds, to provide the abitity to automaticaUy switch feeds to a backup feed in the event of an outage of the primary feed.

ii. Manual Pricing Certain funds may not be carried by any available online source. For example, some institutions manage special funds which are offered as underlying assets for their own vehicles. There are also smaUer funds called Broker Managed Funds (BMFs) which are maintained and accounted for by an institution on behalf of an independent broker who manages the fund and seUs shares in it to his/her chents. System administrators will regularly coUect and enter price quotations for these products into the resource 5002 via the administrative interface 23.

At the current time, the number of institutions offering products of direct interest to the target audience of this system is in the low dozens. The average number of unpublished funds and BMFs offered by each institution is likewise in the low dozens. Therefore, it is estimated that only a few hundred securities whose pricing data will need to be entered manually on a regular basis. Moreover, many of these securities are priced only weekly or monthly, so the task of manually maintaining accurate and timely information should be quite manageable.

iii. Currencies

The current exchange rates for currencies are automaticaUy fed into the resource 5002 by on line financial data feeds.

In addition, the securities management resource 5002 also maintains a historical database of currency exchange rates. The valuation system 402 and 2211 will use these rates to estimate values when the actual rate used is not available.

iv. Security Fee Structures and Default Rates The securities management resource 5002 catalogues the fee structures and default rates associated with each security. Default fee rates can be manually entered into the resource 5002 by system administrators via the administrative interface 23.

In order to reduce the possibiUty that fee structure modifications wiU inadvertently not be entered into the system, each fee structure is provided with a designated half-Ufe when it is entered into the system, and an automatic process periodically prompt a system administrator to confirm that the fee structure has not been modified.

v. Security Commission Structures and Default Rates The securities management resource 5002 catalogues the commission structures and default rates for each security. Each security has two commission rates associated with it, depending on whether it is held directly or as an underlying asset within a pohcy. Each brokerage and branch wiU be provided with the abihty to override the default commission rate with a default of their own via the commission resource 222.

F. Policy Management

When an investor buys into a vehicle, there are issued one or more pohcies. Each pohcy has a certain set of information associated with it, such as the initial investment, start date, currency denomination, fees, bonuses, income and withdrawal, etc. The portfoUo management resource 221 maintains a database of this information in a poUcy management resource 5003. The following is a detailed discussion of the manner in which the pohcy management resource 5003 maintains and processes the information on each poUcy . As the initial investment, start date, and currency denomination entries are self-explanatory, this section will focus on the management of the fee, bonus, and income and withdrawal features of a poUcy.

i) Fees There are three main types of fees: portfoUo fees, vehicle fees, and asset fees. These fees are either incidental or periodic, and are either flat rate fees, percentage fees, or max(F,%) fees. a) Portfolio Fees

Brokerages charge a periodic portfoUo maintenance fee. This fee can be either a flat fee or a percentage. The percentage can be calculated on the market value of the portfoUo or peak to peak. Peak to peak means only on new profit, i.e. a loss followed by a re-gain will not produce a fee.

b) Vehicle Fees

Each vehicle wiU also have one or more vehicle fee structures. An institution might offer different vehicle fee structures as options to the investor. The vehicle fee structures might also vary depending on the amount of the initial investment. Each vehicle fee structure will contain a number of fees. Each of the fees will have one or more fee rates. The different fee rates correspond to different periods in the pohcy Ufetime. The resource 5003 catalogues historical fee rates for each fee structure of each vehicle.

Vehicle fees can have a number of characteristics, each of which is catalogued for each vehicle. For example: i) fees can be denominated in either units or currency; ii) fees can be calculated on either the market value, the initial investment value, the periodic premium of the holding, or the greater of a subset of same; iii) fee rates can be expressed in terms of any frequency; iv) fees can be calculated and levied with any frequency; v) time periods may start at the beginning of the month/quarter/year/etc., or be based on the anniversary dates of the pohcy (e.g. rolling quarter); and vi) fee rates may differ depending on the length of time the pohcy has been held.

In addition, vehicle fees can be either : i) incidental fees; ii) or periodic fees. Both fee types are catalogued and managed by the resource 5003. There are numerous names for periodic vehicle fees, and the names vehicle maintenance fee, administrative fee, and pohcy fee are used ambiguously by the institutions for various periodic vehicle fees.

There are five types of incidental vehicle fees: estabUshment fees, allocation fees, switching fees, withdrawal fees and early encashment fees.

EstabUshment fees are charged when the poUcy is issued and may be a flat rate or a percentage. EstabUshment fee rates may vary according to the amount of the initial investment.

Allocation fees are amounts subtracted from contributions before the allocation of units. They are thus like negative bonuses. Some vehicles have aUocation penalties for investors over a certain age. Some vehicles charge a variable-rate aUocation fee called a rounding fee.

Institutions charge switching fees when investors switch their holdings between different funds within the same pohcy. The switching fees are flat rates per switch. The vehicle may waive the switching fee for a certain number of switches in a given period. There may be a maximum or mirιiττmττι fee for a set of concurrent switches. The number of individual switches within a set of concurrent switches may be the greater of either the number of funds switched into or switched out of, or the total number of switches. Some institutions may charge an additional percentage switching fee when they deem switching to be excessive. PAGE MISSING AT THE TIME OF PUBLICATION

Each fee has one or more rates. Referring to Table 2, a fee may be at a one rate during certain portions of the investment period (or age), and other rates at other portions of the investment period.

Table 2

The resource 5003 provides default vehicle fee rates for each vehicle. Brokerages can override default vehicle fee rates with other defaults via the interface 22.

c. Asset Fees

There are three types of incidental asset fees: loads, exit penalties, and misceUaneous (bank fees, stockbroker fees, etc.). There are no periodic asset fees. The institutions post the values of the funds net of the mutual fund management fees. Therefore, there is no need to track these fees with the system 1.

ii. Bonuses A vehicle may have one or more bonus plans. There are three types of bonuses: allocation bonuses, retroactive bonuses, and compensation bonuses. AUocation bonuses are a small percentage added to each contribution (the investor wiU get for example 102% of their contribution value in units). For periodic payment class vehicles, the bonus rate varies according to the age of the pohcy. For lump sum payment class vehicles, the bonus rate varies according to the amount contributed. For extensible lump sum payment class vehicles, the bonus amount apphed to an additional investment may depend directly or indirectly upon the amount of the initial investment. Retroactive bonuses (often called loyalty bonuses) are paid once at the end of periodic payment class pohcies and are calculated as a percentage of the total premium. Compensation bonuses are usuaUy paid periodically after the pohcy has reached a minimum age, and are calculated as a percentage of the total number of units held. For each vehicle, the bonus characteristics are maintained by the resource 5003. The resource 5003 may provide default values for bonuses, which can be over-ridden by brokerage administrators. Alternatively the values for bonuses can simply be entered by the brokerage administrators.

iii. Income & Withdrawals

With certain vehicles, the investor will have the option to set up an income plan. Income plans are pre-authorised, regular cash withdrawals. Each withdrawal can be a fixed amount or a percentage of the initial investment. Investors may also make incidental withdrawals. Withdrawal amounts may be limited. The pohcy may have a miniτmιm value under which it is not possible to go. This minimum may be a flat amount, a percentage of the initial investment, or a factor of the appUcable early encashment penalties. The values for the withdrawals will be entered into the resource 5003 by the brokerage administrators through the interface 22. The resource 5003 may, in certain preferred embodiments, notify the user if an entered value violates minimum or maximum withdrawal amounts for the vehicle.

G. Asset Management There are two types of assets: held securities, and cash accounts. Assets can be either underlying or directly held. Vehicles may contain cash accounts, and may require that a cash account be maintained, with a certain minimum balance. This minimum balance is a percentage of the market value of the pohcy. Institutions may automatically sell held securities in order to maintain the minimum cash balance, or, they may aUow pohcies to overdraw their cash accounts in order to meet fee obligations. In these case, the institutions often charge overdraft fees. Asset management resource 5004 catalogues this information for each investor's portfoUo.

H. Transaction Processing

The system 1 maintains a historical database of all transactions via transaction resource 5005. Transaction information will include holdings, fees and commissions. Transactions are either generated by a user or by the system; are either pending or confirmed; and are either periodic or incidental.

i. User-generated Transactions

In one embodiment of the invention, the system 1 provides brokerages with real transaction processing. Brokerage staff will enter transaction requests though the interface 22, and the resource 5005 will store the transactions as pending and transmit them to the institutions. Once the institution confirms the transaction, the resource 5005 will then confirm the information stored in the pending transaction record (dates, prices, fees, etc. as required) and send a confirmation message to the brokerage.

In another embodiment of the invention, resource 5005 provides only transaction logging. Brokerages will enter transaction requests into the system through forms via the interface 22. The resource 5005 will store these pending transactions and produce a fiUed-out transaction request sheet, which the brokerages may then print out and fax to the institutions. Brokerages wiU then manuaUy confirm pending transactions in the system after they receive confirmation from the institutions.

n. System Transactions

The resource 5005 runs several batch transaction jobs on preselected schedule: i) a purchase batch job will generate BUY transactions for the poUcies with periodic payment class vehicles such as RSPs and pension plans; ii) a charges batch job wiU generate CHARGES transactions for periodic fees; iii) a commissions batch job will generate COMMISSION transactions for periodic commissions; iv) a phased switching batch job will generate SWITCH transactions for phased switches; and v) an income batch job will generate WITHDRAWAL transactions for regular income plans.

I. Valuation

A valuation resource 300 will calculate actual and/or hypothetical values for holdings. The valuation resource 300 will incorporate data from three other areas (Portfolio management resource 5001, securities management resource 5002, and fee structures from policy management resource 5003) in order to reckon the value of a holding. In order to perform the tasks of portfolio valuation (2211), quotation lookup (2011), illustration (2014, 2212), and batch processing (in the resource 5005), the respective resources discussed above access the valuation resource 300.

J. Portfolio Reconciliation

Through the resource 221, portfoUo managers can reconcile portfoUos to correct and compensate for omitted or erroneous transaction entries in the transactions database via a reconcihation resource 5006. Some of these errors may be amenable to automatic reconcihation or retroactive correction once the source error is corrected via a reconcihation algorithm. In other cases this will be impossible (source error is unidentifiable or uncorrectable), in which case manual reconciliation will be necessary.

It is also important to ensure that any automatic reconcihation algorithm not introduce additional errors, such as hyper correction. Therefore, historical archive of financial data (quotations, fees, and transactions) is preferably stored by resource 5006 in order to maintain a baseline of the unreconciled financial data which can be accessed to recover from any such errors.

K. Earned Commission Tracking

The system 1 also tracks earned commissions via commission tracking resource 5007. Brokerages coUect commissions and they in turn give portions of the commissions to their individual IF As. Commission tracking resource 5007 uses a hierarchical set of permissions: a brokerage user wiU be able to access information for all the branches, a branch user will be able to access the information for aU the teams, a team supervisor will be able to access all of the IF As on that team.

i. Brokerage Commissions

Brokerage administrators will enter commission information via resource 222 as part of the transaction tracking system. The resource 5007 processes this information to present users with summaries of total commissions earned, broken down by branch, team and IFA, date, institution, etc. ii. Vehicle Commissions Commissions for lump sum and RSP vehicles include two parts: the Base and the Marketing. The base commission is expressed as a percentage of the initial investment. The marketing commission is expressed as a percentage of base. Both the base and marketing commissions are paid out at the time of sale.

Some vehicles charge the investor an additional periodic fee which they pay to the brokerage in the form of a vehicle maintenance fee kickback.

Commissions for pension plan vehicles consist of three parts: TCP, marketing and renewal. The TCP commission is expressed as a base commission percentage (C) of the annual premium (P) times the number of years (T), and is paid at the time of the initial investment. The marketing is expressed as a percentage of the base commission. The renewal commission is expressed as a percentage of the annual premium and is paid annually thereafter.

The institutions wiU claw back TCP commissions from the brokerages when the investor stops contributing to the plan before the end of a certain period.

System administrators, via the interface 23, enter into the institutions and vehicles resource 5008 default commission rates for each institution and each vehicle. Brokerage administrators, via the interface 22 and resource 222, will be able to override these defaults for each commission rate for each institution and each vehicle. Branch administrators wiU be able to override the Brokerage administrator defaults for each commission rate for each institution and each vehicle. m. Asset Commissions

There are two main types of asset commissions: up front and trails. Institutions pay the brokerages an up front commission on the purchase of a security. There are two rates for up front commissions on securities: as underlying or as directly-held assets.

The institutions also pay the brokerages a periodic trail for aU held assets. The trail is expressed in terms of a rate which is reckoned at a certain frequency, a calculation frequency and a charge frequency.

System administrators, via the interface 23, enter into the securities management resource 5002 default commission rates for each asset. Brokerage administrators wiU be able to override the system defaults for each commission rates for each institution and each vehicle via the interface 22. In addition, Branch administrations will be able to override the Brokerage defaults for each commission rates for each institution and each vehicle via the interface 22.

iv. IFA Commissions A brokerage has a lot of flexibiUty in how it calculates the commissions it pays its IF As. For lump sum and RSP vehicles, the brokerage will generaUy pay the IFA a portion each of the Base and the Marketing (and possibly the underlying asset commission). For pension plan vehicles, the brokerage wiU generally pay the IFA a portion each of the TCP and the renewal (and possibly the underlying asset commission). For assets, the brokerage will generaUy pay the IFA a portion of the trail. The system 1 , via the securities pricing system, wiU maintain the IFA commissions in the database. Brokerage administrators (or branch administrators) wiU enter the appropriate commission information (e.g. the particular flat fee or percentage) for each vehicle into an IFA commission resource 5009 via the interface 22. Alternatively, system administrators may enter default commission information via interface 23, providing the brokerage administrators (and/or Branch administrators) to override the system defaults for each commission rates for each institution and each vehicle via the interface 22.

L. Error Management As in any database system, there are a number of inherent constraints which prevent the data contained in the system 1 to be either authoritative or a mirror of an authoritative source. There are numerous ways in which inaccuracies and errors may enter the system. It is therefore important to provide system implemented safeguards to reduce the likelihood of error.

For example, without intervention, errors in the database may cause portfolio valuations will become increasingly inaccurate. The current status of the offshore investment industry is such that timely, accurate information is difficult to come by and quite spread out. Portfolio valuation requests tend to be faxed in by IF As to the institutions when necessary, and responses returned by fax can take weeks to arrive. The information services offered by the system 1 thus represent a significant improvement over the status quo, regardless of potential smaU inaccuracies.

Nevertheless, at least the foUowing safeguards are preferably provided to reduce the likelihood of errors in the valuation system: i) transactions will be entered by the IFA; ii) the system will prompt IF As to confirm pending transactions; and iii) the IF As wiU confirm pending transactions when they receive written confirmation from the institutions, entering in actual dates, prices and fees as required.

3. Independent Broker Site Features

The system 1 wiU provide independent broker sites 3, which are maintained by the system 1, preferably on the same server as the general portal 2. The system 1 will provide on-line registration of domain names, and wiU also host the domain names for the brokerages. Preferably, aU of the domains will ah be routed to a single server.

Brokerage users will register their web site and arrange for payment of the fee on line through the system 1. The system 1 wiU prompt users for personal and company information, the name of their regulatory authority, username and password, password reminder, etc. Users will then be directed to a domain name search facihty to help them to select an unused domain name.

A basic web site for each brokerage and branch will be provided, which will be a facsimile of the general portal 2. The system 1 will present brokerage users entering the broker sites 3 with a section for logging in, enabling them to perform functions appropriate to registered users for their web site.

In addition, the system 1 allows a brokerage to set up a plurality of "branch office" sites, corresponding to various branch offices of the brokerage. In accordance with this feature, Brokerages will be able to impose a set of default formats (layout and features) on their branches or leave branches to select their own.

The brokerages (or branch as the case may be) will be able to customize the look of their site (layout options) and add and remove content from their site (feature options). Preferably, the layout options include color schemes, textures, logos and other images, and company information, and the feature options include quotation lookup, investor portfoUo valuation, newsletters, news feeds, and links. The Brokerages/branches can choose custom links to be placed on their custom pages via resource 233. The system 1 will suggest certain categories - e.g. sports, and provide specific suggested links, while also allowing the Brokerages the flexibiUty of choosing other links not suggested by the system 1. In any event, these links, once entered, wiU open in a new pop-up browser window. In addition, the system 1 wiU aUow Brokerages to add any links they find on the general portal 3 to their own page by clicking on an icon displayed beside the link. All of these administrative functions may be implemented by the brokerages through broker site resource 223. Preferably, the system 1 also allows the brokerages to set permissions on the web-site, aUowing only specified users or classes of users to access certain resources.

The system 1 also supports customized newsletters for each brokerage site 3. Users of the sites 3 are provided with the option of receiving an email teaser of the newsletter contents, and can select to receive the teaser and/or the newsletter, either as text or HTML. The system 1 may also provide the brokerages with the abitity to "spam" their investors with mass mailings.

4. Summary of Component Inter-relationships

The inter-relationship between various components of the system 1 can be summarized with reference to items 600 through 635 in the rose model shown in Figure 4. An investor 605 or trust 606 is catalogued as a ctient of his or her IFA 602 (chentele 603). In the case of an IFA 602 who works for a Brokerage 600 (or brokerage branch 601), the investor 605 or trust 606 is also catalogued as part of the customer base 604 of the brokerage or branch.

An portfoUo holder 607 (which can be an investor 605 or a trust 606) holds one or more portfoUos 608 which includes the transaction history 609 and the holdings 623. As indicated, valuations can be generated for all of the portfoUos, or for selected ones using the resources described above (via, for example, resource 221). In any event, the holdings 623 in a given portfoUo may include assets 625 such as securities 630 and cash accounts 631 , or vehicles 627, which are offered by the institutions 633. As discussed above, quote histories 634 can be accessed for securities (via, for example, resources 221 and 201). The quote history may be generated to provide the most recent quote, or quotes on various days.

For batch transaction jobs (see transaction resource 5005), job scheduler 622 activates one or more of a scheduled deposit 618 (which generates deposit 611), a scheduled withdrawal 619 (which generates withdrawal 612), and a scheduled fee 620 (which generates a fee charge 616). Fee charge 616 calculates the fee charge with the assistance of fee rate 621. For user entered transactions (see resource 5005), a user manually enters one of a deposit 611, a withdrawal 612, a purchase 613, a sale 614, a switch 615, a fee charge 616, and a reconcihation 617. In any event, each of these transactions (collectively identified as transaction 610) results in a modification of the investor's holdings 623 (see pohcy management resource 5003) and the generation of a transaction history 609.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A computer-based method for displaying, processing, and manipulating information relating to offshore investments, comprising the steps of:

receiving, as input, over a global information network, identification information regarding an offshore investment vehicle of interest;

retrieving, from a first database, vehicle-infoπnation regarding the offshore investment vehicle, the vehicle-information including all appUcable fees, commissions, bonuses, income, and withdrawals for said vehicle, the vehicle-information identifying each underlying asset of the vehicle, wherein each underlying asset is selected from the group consisting of stocks, bonds, cash, mutual funds and combinations thereof;

retrieving, from a second database, asset- value-information regarding a current value of each underlying asset; and

selectively generating and displaying, in response to a user input over the global information network, a current valuation of the vehicle as a function of the information retrieved from the first and second databases.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the second database is a real time financial data feed received as input over a global information network.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of: selectively generating and displaying, in response to a user input, a projected future valuation of the vehicle as a function of the information retrieved from the first and second databases.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the vehicle is a held vehicle of an investor, and ^• wherein the method further comprises the steps of: automatically processing any scheduled deposit, withdrawal, and fee transactions for the vehicle, and updating the first database to reflect the processed transactions.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the vehicle is a held vehicle of an investor, and wherein the method further comprises the steps of: processing, in response to a user input, a transaction selected from the group consisting of a deposit, a withdrawal, a purchase, a sale, a switch, a fee, and a reconcihation for the vehicle, and updating the first database to reflect the processed transaction.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the vehicle is a held vehicle of an investor, and wherein the method further comprises the steps of: automatically processing any scheduled deposit, withdrawal, and fee transactions for the vehicle, and updating the first database to reflect the processed transactions; and processing, in response to a user input, a transaction selected from the group consisting of a deposit, a withdrawal, a purchase, a sale, a switch, a fee, and a reconciUation for the vehicle, and updating the first database to reflect the processed transaction.

7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of entering a vehicle into the first database by:

receiving, as input, over a global information network, identification information regarding an offshore investment vehicle type of interest; retrieving, from the first database, information regarding the offshore investment vehicle type, the information including default values for one or more of the appUcable fees, commissions, bonuses, income, and withdrawals for said vehicle type;

selectively modifying, in response to a user input, one or more of said default values; receiving as input from the user, information identifying each underlying asset of the vehicle, wherein each underlying asset is selected from the group consisting of stocks, bonds, cash, mutual funds and combinations thereof; and

storing in the first database, as the vehicle-information for the vehicle, the information regarding the values of the one or more of the appUcable fees, commissions, bonuses, income, and withdrawals, and the information identifying each underlying asset of the vehicle.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the fees include portfoho fees and vehicle fees.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the commissions includes brokerage commissions, vehicle commissions, and asset commissions.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the commissions further include IFA commissions.

11. A computer-based system for managing, displaying, processing, and manipulating information relating to offshore investments comprising: a brokerage interface, the brokerage interface for receiving requests from brokerages, and processing and responding to said requests, the system: processing information regarding an existing or prospective vehicle of an investor of the brokerage by: receiving, as input to the brokerage interface, over a global information network, identification information regarding an offshore investment vehicle of interest; retrieving, from a first database, vehicle-information regarding the offshore investment vehicle, the vehicle-information including all appUcable fees, commissions, bonuses, income, and withdrawals for said vehicle, the vehicle-information identifying each underlying asset of the vehicle, wherein each underlying asset is selected from the group consisting of stocks, bonds, cash, mutual funds and combinations thereof; retrieving, from a second database, asset-value-information regarding a current value of each underlying asset; and selectively generating and displaying via said brokerage interface, in response to an input from the brokerage over the global information network, a current valuation of the vehicle as a function of the information retrieved from the first and second databases;

entering a vehicle for an investor of the brokerage into the first database by: receiving, as input via the brokerage interface, over a global information network, identification information regarding an offshore investment vehicle type of interest; retrieving, from the first database, information regarding the offshore investment vehicle type, the information including default values for one or more of the appUcable fees, commissions, bonuses, income, and withdrawals for said vehicle type; selectively modifying, in response to an input from the brokerage, one or more of said default values; receiving, as input from the brokerage, information identifying each underlying asset of the vehicle, wherein each underlying asset is selected from the group consisting of stocks, bonds, cash, mutual funds and combinations thereof; and storing in the first database, as the vehicle-information for the vehicle, the information regarding the values of the one or more of the appUcable fees, commissions, bonuses, income, and withdrawals, and the information identifying each underlying asset of the vehicle;

an investor interface, the investor interface for receiving requests from investorsrokerage, and processing and responding to said requests, the system receiving, via the investor interface, over the global information network, a request from an investor of the brokerage for information regarding a vehicle; identifying the investor, and if the identified investor is authorized by the brokerage to receive the information: receiving, as input to the investor interface, over a global information network, identification information regarding an offshore investment vehicle of interest; retrieving, from the first database, the vehicle-infoπnation regarding the offshore investment vehicle; retrieving, from the second database, the asset-value-infoπnation for each underlying asset of the vehicle; and selectively generating and displaying via said investor interface, in response to an input from the investor over the global information network, a current valuation of the vehicle as a function of the information retrieved from the first and second databases.

12. The system of claim 11 , further comprising a plurahty of brokerage websites on the global information network, each brokerage website including a respective investor interface; a system website on the global information network, the system website including the brokerage interface.

13. The system of claim 11 , further comprising an institutional interface, the institutional interface for receiving requests from institutions which are providers of off shore investment vehicles, and processing and responding to said requests, the system: receiving, as input from an institution via said institutional interface, over the global information network, a request for information regarding a brokerage or an IFA; and retrieving, from a third database, information regarding the IFA or brokerage, said information selected from the group consisting of complaints and credit reports.

14. The system of claim 13 , further comprising receiving, as input from an institution via said institutional interface, over the global information network, information regarding the EFA or brokerage, said information selected from the group consisting of complaints and credit reports; storing said information in the third database.

15. The system of claim 11, wherein the second database is a real time financial data feed received as input over a global information network, and wherein the global information network is the Internet.

16. The system of claim 11 , wherein the system: selectively generates and displays, via the brokerage interface, in response to an input from a brokerage, a projected future valuation of the vehicle as a function of the information retrieved from the first and second databases.

17. The system of claim 11 , wherein the vehicle is a held vehicle of an investor, and wherein the system: automaticaUy processes any scheduled deposit, withdrawal, and fee transactions for the vehicle, and updating the first database to reflect the processed transactions.

18. The system of claim 11 , wherein the vehicle is a held vehicle of an investor, and wherein the system: processes, in response to an input from a brokerage, a transaction selected from the group consisting of a deposit, a withdrawal, a purchase, a sale, a switch, a fee, and a reconciUation for the vehicle, and updating the first database to reflect the processed transaction.

19. The system of claim 11 , wherein the fees include portfolio fees and vehicle fees, and wherein the commissions includes brokerage commissions, vehicle commissions, and asset commissions.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the commissions further include IFA commissions.