Abstract: Financial advisory methods and systems for creating a steady lifetime income stream within an investment plan is provided. According to one embodiment, a feasible, personalized pattern of periodic cash payouts from an investment plan is structured to achieve level annual income during a payout period when combined with other income sources. A mapping is maintained of fixed income investments from a limited universe of financial products available within the investment plan to corresponding constant maturity Treasury bond (CMT) weights. Based on the mapping, a payout program is designed that is expected to generate a stream of income sufficient to fund the cash payouts by determining an appropriate allocation of assets within the investment plan among the fixed income investments. A payout portfolio is formed within the investment plan including holdings in the fixed income investments in accordance with the determined appropriate allocation. The cash payouts are paid to the investor.

Abstract: Financial advisory methods and systems for creating a steady lifetime income stream within an investment plan is provided. According to one embodiment, based on an investor's current holdings in the investment plan, a pattern of periodic cash payouts is identified that can be made to the investor from an in-plan payout program implemented with the limited universe of financial products available within the investment plan. The assets of the investment plan are rebalanced to form a payout portfolio and an equity exposure portfolio. The payout portfolio is constructed to create an annuity-like stream of income to support the pattern of periodic cash payouts and includes multiple bond funds. The equity exposure portfolio is constructed to address inflation risk by providing an ability to rise with equities markets. Finally, a periodic cash payout of the pattern of periodic cash payouts is caused to be paid to the investor from the investment plan.

Abstract: Financial advisory methods and systems for creating a steady lifetime income stream within an investment plan is provided. According to one embodiment, based on an investor's current holdings in the investment plan, a pattern of periodic cash payouts is identified that can be made to the investor from an in-plan payout program implemented with the limited universe of financial products available within the investment plan. The assets of the investment plan are rebalanced to form a payout portfolio and an equity exposure portfolio. The payout portfolio is constructed to create an annuity-like stream of income to support the pattern of periodic cash payouts and includes multiple bond funds. The equity exposure portfolio is constructed to address inflation risk by providing an ability to rise with equities markets. Finally, a periodic cash payout of the pattern of periodic cash payouts is caused to be paid to the investor from the investment plan.

Abstract: Financial advisory methods and systems for creating a steady lifetime income stream within an investment plan is provided. According to one embodiment, based on an investor's current holdings in the investment plan, a pattern of periodic cash payouts is identified that can be made to the investor from an in-plan payout program implemented with the limited universe of financial products available within the investment plan. The assets of the investment plan are rebalanced to form a payout portfolio and an equity exposure portfolio. The payout portfolio is constructed to create an annuity-like stream of income to support the pattern of periodic cash payouts and includes multiple bond funds. The equity exposure portfolio is constructed to address inflation risk by providing an ability to rise with equities markets. Finally, a periodic cash payout of the pattern of periodic cash payouts is caused to be paid to the investor from the investment plan.

Abstract: Financial advisory methods and systems for creating a steady lifetime income stream within an investment plan is provided. According to one embodiment, based on an investor's current holdings in the investment plan, a pattern of periodic cash payouts is identified that can be made to the investor from an in-plan payout program implemented with the limited universe of financial products available within the investment plan. The assets of the investment plan are rebalanced to form a payout portfolio and an equity exposure portfolio. The payout portfolio is constructed to create an annuity-like stream of income to support the pattern of periodic cash payouts and includes multiple bond funds. The equity exposure portfolio is constructed to address inflation risk by providing an ability to rise with equities markets. Finally, a periodic cash payout of the pattern of periodic cash payouts is caused to be paid to the investor from the investment plan.

Abstract: A portfolio optimization process that diversifies model risk by favoring a more diversified portfolio over other portfolios with similar characteristics is provided. According to one aspect of the present invention, an intelligent search is performed for a diverse portfolio that meets a predetermined diversity budget. An initial portfolio is determined based upon an available set of financial products. The cost associated with more diversified portfolios compared to the initial portfolio is considered and one of the more diversified portfolios is selected that has an associated cost that is less than or equal to the predetermined diversity budget.

Abstract: A process utilizing a modification to the inputs to a standard portfolio optimization is provided for facilitating load aware optimizations. First, each loaded financial product, such as a mutual fund having a front end or back end load, of a set of available financial products is modeled as a loaded portion and an unloaded portion by determining an adjusted return. The adjusted return is based on a period the load bearing financial product is projected to be held in a portfolio and the amount of the load. A variable relating the fraction of a loaded financial product in the portfolio may be decomposed into two variables (one representing the loaded portion and another representing the unloaded portion) to regain the quadratic programming problem. The optimization may then be performed using quadratic programming techniques, and the fraction of each loaded financial product in the portfolio is calculated by combining the two variables.

Abstract: A portfolio optimization process that diversifies model risk by favoring a more diversified portfolio over other portfolios with similar characteristics is provided. According to one aspect of the present invention, an intelligent search is performed for a diverse portfolio that meets a predetermined diversity budget. An initial portfolio is determined based upon an available set of financial products. The cost associated with more diversified portfolios compared to the initial portfolio is considered and one of the more diversified portfolios is selected that has an associated cost that is less than or equal to the predetermined diversity budget.

Abstract: A process utilizing a modification to the inputs to a standard portfolio optimization is provided for facilitating load aware optimizations. First, each loaded financial product, such as a mutual fund having a front end or back end load, of a set of available financial products is modeled as a loaded portion and an unloaded portion by determining an adjusted return. The adjusted return is based on a period the load bearing financial product is projected to be held in a portfolio and the amount of the load. A variable relating the fraction of a loaded financial product in the portfolio may be decomposed into two variables (one representing the loaded portion and another representing the unloaded portion) to regain the quadratic programming problem. The optimization may then be performed using quadratic programming techniques, and the fraction of each loaded financial product in the portfolio is calculated by combining the two variables.

Abstract: A portfolio optimization process that diversifies model risk by favoring a more diversified portfolio over other portfolios with similar characteristics is provided. According to one aspect of the present invention, a more diverse portfolio may be selected over an initial portfolio in order to diversify model risk with reference to a predetermined diversity budget, defined in terms of expected return, risk, and/or utility. An initial portfolio of financial products is determined from an available set of financial products. One or more dimensions of an error space are searched for an alternate portfolio that is more diverse than the initial portfolio. A cost associated with the alternate portfolio is then calculated by comparing the difference between a characteristic of the initial portfolio and a corresponding characteristic of the alternate portfolio. Finally, the alternate portfolio is selected as the recommended portfolio if the cost is less than or equal to the predetermined diversity budget.

Abstract: The use of a coaxial plasma gun to produce a plasma ring which is directed into a magnetic field so as to form a field-reversed plasma confined in a magnetic mirror. Plasma thus produced may be used as a target for subsequent neutral beam injection or other similarly produced and projected plasma rings or for direct fusion energy release in a pulsed mode.

Abstract: An ultraviolet radiation source associated with a suitable cathode-anode electrode structure, disposed in a gas-filled cavity of a high pressure pulsed laser, such as a transverse electric atmosphere (TEA) laser, to achieve free electron production in the gas by photoelectric interaction between ultraviolet radiation and the cathode prior to the gas-exciting cathode-to-anode electrical discharge, thereby providing volume ionization of the gas. The ultraviolet radiation is produced by a light source or by a spark discharge.