Computerized investor advisement and investment management system

#The present invention relates generally to computerized systems for analyzing potential investments, advising investors and automatic investment portfolio management.

#The present invention relates to evaluating, substituting and optimizing investment asset portfolios based on performance history to facilitate the investment process. An investment asset portfolio may consist of any combination of long and short positions in domestic and foreign, common and preferred stocks; corporate and government bonds; convertible securities; real estate securities; commodities; options, futures and similar derivative contracts; and any other tradable investment instruments. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the aforementioned portfolio is one and the same with a portfolio of holdings of a single mutual fund. In another embodiment, the aforementioned portfolio comprises a plurality of positions in various mutual funds. In yet another embodiment, the aforementioned portfolio comprises any arbitrary combination of the above investment instruments selected by a professional portfolio manager or an individual investor. In all cases, for the purpose of this specification, the aforementioned portfolio is referred to as the analyzed portfolio. The analyzed portfolio is characterized by periodic returns, such as the daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly or yearly (annual) relative increases or decreases in portfolio value, which facilitate comparing the performance of the analyzed portfolio to that of alternative portfolios.

#In contrast to the analyzed portfolio, the term reference portfolio denotes an investment asset portfolio that comprises exchange traded funds (ETFs), exchange traded vehicles (ETVs), exchange traded notes or certificates (ETNs), Standard and Poor's Depositary Receipts (SPDRs), Holding Company Depositary Receipts (HOLDRs), and/or index mutual funds. For the purpose of this specification, these investment instruments are collectively referred to as exchange-traded products (ETPs). The ETPs were first introduced to the financial markets in the early 1990s, and have recently gained in popularity among individual and institutional investors. The main advantages of ETPs are their broad representation of the various market indices, diversification over many individual securities, low management expenses, tax-efficient structure, transparency, good liquidity, and, with the exception of index mutual funds, an intra-day trading capability. In addition, large brokerage and mutual fund firms have lately introduced a low-commission or no-commission trading of a significant number of ETPs, which facilitates periodic portfolio adjustments.

#The accompanying figures, where like reference numerals refer to identical or functionally similar elements throughout the separate views and which together with the detailed description below are incorporated in and form part of the specification, serve to further illustrate various embodiments and to explain various principles and advantages all in accordance with the present invention.

#FIG. 1 illustrates a system for evaluating, substituting and optimizing an investment portfolio according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

#FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary series of operations performed by computer software for evaluating, substituting and optimizing an investment portfolio according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

#Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention.

#Before describing in detail embodiments that are in accordance with the present invention, it should be observed that the embodiments reside primarily in combinations of method steps and apparatus components related to investment analysis and management. Accordingly, the method steps and apparatus components have been represented, where appropriate, by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein.

#In this document, relational terms such as first and second, top and bottom, and the like may be used solely to distinguish one entity or action from another entity or action without necessarily requiring or implying any actual such relationship or order between such entities or actions. The terms “comprises,” “comprising,” or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. An element proceeded by “comprises . . . a” does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence of additional identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises the element.