Automated Financial Plan Implementation via Investment Liquidation

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Individuals and entities often fail to implement financial plans effectively, as they lack the discipline to derive funds from specified sources, leading to deviations from planned expenses and financial goals due to spontaneous decisions and unawareness among multiple account holders.

Innovation Solution

A system and method that automatically generate funds from appropriate sources based on a financial plan, using a plan defining module to produce sequentially applied liquidation rules, which are then implemented by a plan implementation module to liquidate investments and generate funds for paying expenses.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If a financial plan is created with specified fund sources, then financial goals can be achieved, but people lack the discipline to follow the plan and derive funds from the specified sources

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvefinancial plan implementationVSAvoidfund derivation discipline

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The system enables automatic fund generation and expense payment without requiring manual intervention or discipline from the person. The computer automatically derives funds from specified sources and pays expenses according to the financial plan, eliminating the need for human discipline in following the plan.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The patent replaces the mechanical system of manual fund management and human discipline with an automated computer-based system. The computer executes the financial plan by automatically generating funds from investment instruments and paying expenses, substituting human action with automated processing.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

2Adaptability or versatility

If multiple persons use the same assets, then shared resources are utilized, but each person is unaware of decisions made by others

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveshared asset utilizationVSAvoiddecision awareness among account holders

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The system provides automatic notification to all authorized persons when funds are generated from investment instruments or when expenses are paid. This feedback mechanism ensures that all account holders are informed of decisions made by the system, eliminating the information loss that occurs when multiple persons use the same assets without awareness of each other's actions.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

3Reliability

If automatic fund generation from investment instruments is implemented, then financial plan compliance is improved, but system complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvefinancial plan complianceVSAvoidautomated fund generation system

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The computer system is designed to perform multiple functions: storing the financial plan, generating funds from various types of investment instruments, paying different types of expenses, and notifying authorized persons. By consolidating these functions into a single multi-functional system, the patent manages complexity while achieving reliable financial plan compliance.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Data Source

PatentUS7904362B1Systems and methods for implementing a financial plan with regard to expenses

Publication Date: 2011.03.08 UNITED SERVICES AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION (USAA)

AI summary

A person has expenses to be paid according to a financial plan which identifies liquidating procedures for liquidating investments to generate funds for the person, where the funds are for paying the expenses. To implement the financial plan for the person, the financial plan is received at a plan defining module which produces based thereon a formatted list of sequentially applied liquidation rules. A plan implementation module is actuated upon a triggering event, after which the formatted list of rules is received at the actuated plan implementation module. The actuated plan implementation module applies the received list of rules to liquidate investments of the person and thereby generate the funds for the person.