BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Without limiting the scope of the invention, its background is described in connection with equity investment management as an example. The management of data related to investment management is an immense undertaking for any but the smallest of portfolios. Heretofore, in this field, computer software has been employed to store and retrieve data related to investments. Computer software has also been employed to display and print investment data in a variety of formats. The use of computer software for the performance of these tasks has been applied in various ways to facilitate the management of financial investments, including the storage, retrieval, analysis, and display of financial performance data. The tools created for the management of investments generally comprise discrete tools, each incorporating a desired functionality. For example, a general purpose marketing or research tool might be employed to locate and track potential investments while a separate financial transactions tool might be employed to maintain data regarding investment transactions and a tracking tool used to track the performance of investments made.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Although computer software has been employed for the performance of discrete tasks attendant to the management of investment data, the present invention herein disclosed provides an integrated investment management system capable of tracking each investment through its entire path through the investment cycle, from initial inquiry through investment purchase, performance tracking, and final sale.

The present invention comprises a business management system further comprising a number of separate modules. The business management system of the present invention includes a pipeline module for maintaining data related to investment prospects, an investment module for managing investments that have been purchased, a portfolio management module for retrieving and analyzing investment performance data, and business metrics and human capital modules for tracking and analyzing internal performance metrics. Each of the modules accessed one or more common databases for storage of investment data.

The pipeline module is a tool for keeping track of investment prospects, investment deals, and investments. Investment prospects are potential investments that may be investigated, investment deals are investment prospects presently being investigated, and investments are investment deals that have been closed and funded. The pipeline module is used to keep track of all of these. The pipeline module is responsible for keeping track of the status of all prospects, deals, and investments as they move through the system. The pipeline module is used to create the records that are accessed by the investment module and the portfolio module. The portfolio module is further responsible for managing the qualitative portion of each data record, such as

company name, company address, and investment team. This sort of data is distinguished from quantitative data, which comprises financial performance and other benchmarked performance data.

The investment module is responsible for keeping track of financial performance data of deals that have been invested in. The investment module is also responsiblefor identifying under performing investments and highlighting them for review by one or more investment committees.

The portfolio module comprises a set of tools for reporting on and analyzing the data on financial performance entered via the investment module and from external sources. The portfolio module also incorporates tools for identifying underperforming investments.

The human capital module is responsible for keeping track of data related to the performance of individual account executives and agents within the organization.

The business metrics module is responsible for keeping track of the cycle time and overall performance of the organization. As such, the business metrics module retrieves data from, and interacts with, each of the other modules in the system.

The incorporation of all of the functionality of the various modules in one system facilitates efficient operation and management of individual investment prospects and deals as well as the entire portfolio.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS For a more complete understanding of the features and advantages of the present invention, reference is now made to the detailed description of the invention along with the accompanying figures in which corresponding numerals in the different figures refer to corresponding parts and in which: Figure 1 is a block diagram depicting the relationship between the five primary modules of the business management system and a system database; Figure 2A is a flow chart depicting the pipeline module ; Figure 2B is a flow chart depicting the investment module ; Figure 2C is a flow chart depicting the portfolio module ; Figure 3 is a schematic depicting the relationships between the components and objects comprising the pipeline module ; Figure 4 is a schematic depicting the relationships between the components and objects comprising the investment module ; Figure 5 is a schematic depicting the relationships between the components and objects comprising the portfolio module ; Figure 6 is a drawing of the new pipeline entry screen of the pipeline module ; Figure 7 is a drawing of the new deal screen of the pipeline module ;

Figure 8 is a drawing of the deal search screen of the pipeline module; Figure 9 is a drawing of the deal maintenance screen of the pipeline module; Figure 10 is a drawing of the contact screen of the pipeline module ; Figure 11 is a drawing of the deal document repository screen of the pipeline module; Figure 12 is a drawing of the user preference screen of the pipeline module ; Figure 13 is a drawing of the deal report screen of the pipeline module; Figure 14 is a drawing of a sample pipeline report; Figure 15 is a drawing of an investment committee agenda screen of the pipeline module; Figure 16 is a drawing of an investment selection screen of the investment module; Figure 17 is a drawing of the investment profile screen of the investment module; Figure 18 is a drawing of the take-away comment screen of the investment module;

Figure 19 is a drawing of the event log and note screen of the investment module ; Figure 20 is a drawing of the footnote screen of the investment module; Figure 21 is a drawing of the company profile screen of the investment module; Figure 22 is a drawing of the investment background screen of the investment module ; Figure 23 is a drawing of the investment development screen of the investment module; Figure 24 is a drawing of the industry trends screen of the investment module ; Figure 25 is a drawing of the issue and action plan screen of the investment module; Figure 26 is a drawing of the financial screen of the investment module ; Figure 27 is a drawing of the operating performance screen of the investment module ; Figure 28 is a drawing of the investment summary report screen of the investment module ;

Figure 29 is a drawing of the capital structure and leverage screen of the investment module; Figure 30 is a drawing of the investment management team screen of the investment module; Figure 31 is a drawing of the board member summary screen of the investment module ; Figure 32 is a drawing of the strategic partners screen of the investment module ; Figure 33 is a drawing of the graph selection screen of the portfolio management module ; Figure 34 is a sample portfolio analysis graph showing the unrealized gain in the portfolio; Figure 35 is a sample portfolio analysis graph of the portfolio management module showing portfolio broken down by industry; Figure 36 is a portfolio analysis graph in the portfolio management module showing the portfolio broken down by asset type; Figure 37 is a portfolio analysis graph of the portfolio broken down by group; Figure 38 is a drawing of the report selection screen for the portfolio management module ;

Figure 39 is a report showing the detailed breakdown of the portfolio by country; Figure 40 is a market indicator graph showing the Down Jones Industrial Average broken down by four segments and graphed according to time; and Figure 41 is a chronological graph of the S&P 500 price-to-earnings ratios over time.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION While the making and using of various embodiments of the present invention are discussed in detail below, it should be appreciated that the present invention provides many applicable inventive concepts which can be embodied in a wide variety of specific contexts. The specific embodiments discussed herein are merely illustrative of specific ways to make and use the invention and do not delimit the scope of the invention.

Business Management System Figure 1 depicts the five primary modules 102,104,106,108 and 110 of the business management system 100 and their relationship to each other and to the database 112. The business management system 100 comprises a business metrics module 102, a pipeline module 104, an investment module 106, a portfolio module 108, a human capital module 110 and a system database 112. Each of the five modules interacts with the database 112 directly

or indirectly.

The pipeline module 104 is a tool for keeping track of investment prospects, investment deals, and investments. Investment prospects are potential investments that may be investigated, investment deals are investment prospects presently being investigated, and investments are investment deals that have been closed and funded. The pipeline module 104 is used to keep track of all of these. The pipeline module 104 is responsible for keeping track of the status of all prospects, deals, and investments as they move through the system. The pipeline module 104 is used to create the records that are accessed by the investment module 106 and the portfolio module 108. The portfolio module 104 is further responsible for managing the qualitative portion of each data record, such as company name, company address, and investment team. This sort of data is distinguished from quantitative data, which comprises financial performance and other benchmarked performance data.

Investment module 106 is responsible for keeping track of financial performance data of deals that have been invested in by the investment group.

The investment module 106 is also responsible for identifying underperforming investments and highlighting them for review by one or more investment committees of the investment group.

The portfolio module 108 comprises a set of tools for reporting on and analyzing the data on financial performance entered via the investment module 106. The portfolio module 108 also incorporates tools for identifying underperforming investments.

The human capital module 110 is responsible for keeping track of data related to the performance of individual account executives and agents within the

investment group.

The business metrics module 102 is responsible for keeping track of the cycle time and overall performance of the investment group. As such, the business metrics module retrieves data from, and interacts with each of the other modules in the system.

Figure 2A depicts a flow chart for the pipeline module 104 (Figure 1), which begins at block 202. Prospect data is entered into the database 112 (Figure 1) in block 204. The prospect data entered may relate to a new deal in a company not yet invested in by the investment group, or a follow-on investment in an existing portfolio company. The data may include, for example, company name, city, state, country, deal type (direct, fund, or advisory), office, department, sub department, stage, industry, description, originator, co- originator, referral type, referral name, material receipt date, deal team (member names and functions), deal size, securities, type, equity, and total dollars invested.

The data entered in block 204 is analyzed in block 206. The analysis comprises a set of calculations and comparisons designed to determine whether there is enough data available to determine whether the investment prospect as a whole fits with the overall investment strategy of the investment group as well as whether the investment prospect is at a stage where investment would be prudent.

The results of the analysis performed in block 206 is reviewed in decision block 208 as to whether or not the data is ready for review by an investment committee. This determination could be made by an investment expert after reviewing the results of the analysis. If the prospect is ready to be reviewed by

an investment committee, the prospect is automatically entered to that investment committee's agenda in block 210. Subsequently, in block 212 the system produces reports for review by an investment committee to assist in the decision as to whether an investment is to be made in this prospect.

If the prospect is not invested in, as determined in decision block 214, the process returns to block 216 where the prospect data is updated and continues back to block 206 for analysis. If, however, the prospect is approved for investment, as determined in decision block 214, then the flow continues to block 218 where the status of the investment prospect is changed to deal status, then to block 220 where the deal is closed and on to 222 where the flow is ended.

Figure 2B depicts the flow chart for the investment management module, which begins at block 226. The investment data regarding a particular deal is entered in block 228. Investment data may comprise investment profile data, company profile data, investment background data, investment development data, and industry trends data. Investment profile data may include information such as deal name, deal ID number, investment team, investment profile, initial investment date, committed amount, amount funded-to-date, fully diluted ownership percentage, unfunded commitment, reserves, investment type and strategy, type, strategy, hedge percentage, funding list, number, type, net exposure, fair market value, number of shares, value per share, liquidity discount percentage, cost per share, series, total net exposure, total fair market value, total unrealized gain, and total IRR.

Company profile data includes data such as contact information, trading type, investment stage, and industry. Investment Background data includes information such as when the company was formed, its product line, shareholders, and customers. Investment Development data includes financial

performance, organizational change, andfinancing. Industrytrends data includes information such as industry trends, competitors, size, and segmentation.

In block 230, issue and action plan data is entered into the database 112 (Figure 1). External data is reviewed in block 232 and compared to the stored data in the database 112 (Figure 1) in block 234. If there is a variance between the stored data and the external data, as determined in decision block 236, processing continues to block 238 where the stored data is updated to conform to the external data and then to block 240. If there is not a variance, as determined in decision block236, then the processing continues directly to block 240, bypassing block 238. The variance is determined by an investment expert reviewing the data.

In block 240 the deal priority is calculated by the system. The priority reflects the level of attention that the system determines to be appropriate for a given investment. The review schedule for a given investment deal is determined by its priority. Green investment deals, also designated priority 111, have been determined to meet or exceed their predicted performance and are reviewed on a quarterly and annual schedule. Yellow investment deals, also designated priority 11, are reviewed on a monthly basis or a quarterly basis depending on the details of the investment deal. The lowest performing investment deals, designated red or priority 1, are reviewed on a monthly basis.

Parameters are viewed in determining the priority level for an investment deal include, for example, the fair market value compared to the original investment cost and any significant changes in the fair market value of the investment in a short period of time. The priority can also be changed according to management discretion.

In decision block 242 a decision is made as to whether the deal is ready

for its review by an investment committee based on its scheduling under the priority guidelines. This decision block reflects a decision made by a deal expert.

If the deal is ready for review, the flow continues to block 246 where the deal is entered into a committee agenda and the flow continues to block 248 where reports are produced for the committee. In decision block 250, a decision is made as to whether the investment group will retain the investment or sell the investment. If the decision is made to keep the investment, then the flow returns back to block 244 where the data is updated, and then to block 232. If the decision is made to sell the investment deal, then the flow moves to block 252 where the deal is sold. From block 253, the process flow moves to block 254 where the status is updated, then to block 256 where the process ends.

Figure 2C depicts theflowchartforthe portfolio management module 108 (Figure 1), which begins in block 260. A display format is selected in block 262.

The display formats available may include, for example, pie charts, bar charts, trend charts, and text reports. The display format is selected by a reports object based on the type of report or graph to be displayed.

In block 264 the data to be displayed in a selected format is selected.

The types of data available to be displayed may include, for example, unrealized gain data, operating performance data, realized return data, portfolio geography data, portfolio industry data, portfolio mix data, asset type data, portfolio stage data, portfolio quality data, and group analysis data. The data to be displayed is selected by a reports object based on the type of report or graph to be displayed.

In block 266, the system moves to the first data point in the selected data block. Then the data point is retrieved in block 268. A comparison point is retrieved in block 270. The investment data point retrieved in block 268 and the

comparison point retrieved in block 270 are compared in block 272. Decision block 274 makes a determination as to whether the investment data is below the comparison data. If the investment data is below the comparison data, then the system highlights that data point when it displays that data point in block 276.

If the data is above the comparison point, then the data point is displayed in a standard format. The term"below"is used here in a relative sense, meaning that the investment data point reflects a lower level of financial performance than the comparison data point, although it may actually reflect a higher value.

The process flow continues to decision block 280 where the system determines whether there is more data to be displayed. If there is more data, then process flow moves back to block 282 where the system moves to the next data point in the group. If there is no more data to be displayed, then the flow moves to block 284 where the process ends.

Pipeline Management Module Figure 3 depicts the schematic of the pipeline module, designated generally 300. The pipeline main object 302 is the entry point for the pipeline module. It is through the pipeline main object 302 that the other objects within the pipeline module are accessed. The pipeline module 300 is configured to manage data regarding both investment prospects and investment deals. In addition, the pipeline module 300 is configured to handle data regarding investments in new companies as well as follow on investments in companies already existing in the database.

Entry of new deals and prospects is handled by the new entry object 304.

New entry object 304 manages entry of new investments in new companies as well as new investments in existing companies. In addition, the new entry object

304 classifies investment data according to whether it relates to an investment prospect or investment deal. Investments in new companies are handled by the new object 306. A new investment may be either a prospect or a deal.

Investment prospects are handled by prospect object 310. Investment deals are handled by the deal object 312. In addition, investment deals can be classified according to whether they are direct, fund, or advisory deals. Direct deals are handled by direct object 314, fund deals are handled by fund object 316 and advisory deals are handled by advisory object 318.

Entry of the data into a prospect or a deal is handled by the data entry object 320. The data entered into the data entry object includes general information on the company such as the name of the company and the company location, as well as internal classification information such as which division attorney is working on the deal, the stage of growth of the company, the industry y of the company, the deal professional that is working on the company, the type of deal structure, and the deal size.

The pipeline module 300 is also responsible for maintaining and updating existing prospects and deals in the database. Retrieval of data regarding existing prospects and deals is handled by the existing entry object 322. Data in the database can be retrieved in one of two ways. The records can be searched for using single or multiple criteria or the data can be retrieved via a drill-down process working through a search tree one stage at a time under control of the user. Searches according to single or multiple criteria are handled by the search object 234 while searches handled via the drill-down approach are handled by the drill-down object 326.

In the case where data is to be retrieved via a search by single or multiple criteria, the search is handled by criteria entry object 328 which then feeds

results object 330 which displays the results of the search according to the criteria entered by the user. A desired deal is then selected by the user via the select object 332.

For searches involving a drill-down approach, the drill-down object 326 is employed. The data in the search tree can be filtered using one or more of a set of filters including the select filter 334, the pipeline filter 336, and the starting year filter 338. The pipeline filter 336 is further divided into the prospects filter 340, the deals filter 342, and the investments filter 344. The output from the select 334, pipeline filter 336, and starting yearfilter 338 feed into the results tree object 346. Selection of the desired data record is handled by the select object 348.

Maintenance of the deal and prospect data is handled by the deal maintenance object 350. The deal maintenance object 350 provides access to the deal ID object 352, the deal internal data object 354, the deal team object 356, the notes object 364, the contacts object 366, the GE partners object 368, the documents object 370, the security type object 362, the pipeline calendar object 360, and the pipeline status object 358. Each of these objects controls maintenance of a particular segment of prospect and deal data.

The contacts object 366 is further divided into the management object 372, the outside board object 374, the GE/GECS object 376, and the other object 378. Each of these objects contains and manages information regarding the contacts relevant to a particular deal or prospect. The document section 370 manages the storage and archival of documents related to a given deal or prospect. These documents may include, for example, term sheet, confidentiality agreements, internal presentation, and correspondence.

The pipeline module additionally incorporates a user preferences object 380, a report creation object 382, and an investments committee object 384. The user preference object controls the maintenance of the individual preferences of a particular user. These include the user's preferred view mode defaults and data entry defaults.

The report creation object 382 is used for generation of pipeline reports.

The report creation object 382 is able to access data in a database and present the information in a variety of formats. For example, the report object 382 can produce pipeline summary reports showing the companies involved in a particular subsection of the pipeline by name, the deal professionals working in that pipeline, the industries involved, the size of the deals involved, the stage of the companies, and other relevant information in order to assist in the management of the pipeline.

The investment committee agenda object 384 is used to maintain the agendas for investment committee meetings for reviewing the prospects and deals in the pipeline. The investment committee agenda object 384 automatically creates the agenda for each investment committee meeting. The investment committee agendas are created based on the prospects and deals in the pipeline that are ready for review by the investment committee.

Investment Management Module Schematic Figure 4 shows the schematic of the investment module generally designated 400. At the center of the investment module is the investment main object 402. The investment selection object 404 controls a selection of a particular investment for display and/or maintenance. After being accessed via the investment selection object 404, the deal data record can be displayed and

modified via a number of different objects in the investment module, including the investment profile module 406, the company profile object 408, the background object 410, and the company development object 412.

The investment profile object 406 comprises a team object 406a, the investment profile object 406b, the funding list object 406c, the investment strategy object 406d, the hedge object 406e, the take-away object 406f, the event log object 406g, the recommendations object 406h, and the footnotes object 406i.

The team object 406a controls the storage and maintenance of the members of the investment team assigned to the investment deal. The investment profile object 406b controls access to the investment profile data for the deal including the initial investment date, the committed amount, the amount funded to date, the fully diluted ownership percentage, the unfunded commitment, and the reserves.

The funding list object 406c controls access to the data regarding the one or more funding phases of the investment deal, including the security type, the net exposure, the fair market value of the funding, the number of shares, the value per share, the liquidity discount percentage, the cost per share, and the series of the stock held. This object also keeps tracks of the total net exposure, the total fair market value of the deal, the total unrealized gain, and the total IRR.

The investment strategy object 406d controls access to the information related to the type of investment and the strategy behind the investment. The hedge object 406e is responsible for maintenance of the hedge percentage data.

Take-away object 406f maintains take-away comments data. Take-away

comment data includes, for example, recent company developments for which is desired to keep a note. Event log object 406g maintains progress notes in each investment including the investment name, the investment ID number, the funding numbers, deal notes, and the name of the agent entering the note and the date on which it was entered.

The recommendations object 406h retains notes on agent recommendations such as buy, sell, or hold. The footnotes object 406i, maintains data that is desired to be kept in footnotes to the PQR report related to data such as the initial investment date, the amount funded to date, the net exposure, the fair market value, and the agent who last updated the fair market value.

The company profile object 408 is responsible for maintaining information related to the company in which the investment has been made. The information may include for example, contact information, trading type, investment stage, or industry. The company profile object 408 comprises the contact object 408a, the trading object 408b, the stage object 408c, the industry object 408d, and the description object 408e.

The contact information object 408a maintains information such as whether the contact is at the headquarters or at another location, the address, the phone number, and the e-mail address. The trading object 408b maintains information related to the trading type, whether private or public, the trading symbol, and the trading exchange. The stage object 408c maintains information related to the stage of the investment. An example of this would be, for example, whether the investment is in the early growth stage or a mature stage.

The industry object 408d maintains information related to the industry in which the investment is engaged and the niche occupied by that company, if any. The

description object 408e maintains information related to the general description of the company.

The background object 410 maintains background information on each company, for example, when the company was formed, its product line, its shareholders, and its customers. The background object 410 comprises the insert object 41 Oa, the delete object 41 Ob, and the print object 41 Oc. The insert object 41 Oa is responsible for inserting new notes into the background data. The delete object 41 Ob is responsible for deleting such data. The print object 41 Oc controls the printing of selected background data.

Company development object 412 maintains data regarding recent company developments, for example, financial performance, organizational changes, and financing. Similar to the background object 410, the company development object 412 incorporates an insert object 412a, a delete object 412b, and a print object 412c.

The industry trends object 414 is responsible for maintenance of data regarding industry developments in the industry in which the company is engaged, for example, industry trends, competitors in the industry, the size of the industry, and the industry segmentation. Again, the industry trends object 414 incorporates an insert object 414a, a delete object 414b, and a print object 414c.

The issues and action plan object 416 maintains data regarding recent company issues and the action plan to mitigate those issues. Again, the issues and action plan object incorporates an insert object 416a, a delete object 416b, and a print object 416c.

The financial object 418 maintains financial information on each

investment, such as the income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement. Financial object 418 incorporates an income statement object 418a, a balance sheet object 418b, and a cash flow object 418c.

The operating performance object 420 maintains actual financial performance as well as projections of financial performance made at the time of investment approval. The operating performance object 420 incorporates a driver object 420a, actuals object 420b, estimates object 420c, a basis object 420d, and a status object 420e. The operating performance object 420 incorporates tools for analyzing the actual financial performance of the investment deal versus the estimated performance of the investment deal. From this analysis, the operating performance object 420 can output a performance status such as below plan.

The investment summary report object 422 generates a 1 to 2 page investment summary report showing investment profile, company profile, investment background, company developments, and financial data. The investment summary object 422 incorporates an investment profile object 422a, a company profile object 422b, a background object 422c, a company development object 422d, and a financial object 422e.

The stage object 424 maintains data regarding a company's operational stage, for example, early stage growth or turnaround. The company name object 426 maintains the record of the company name.

The capital structure object 428 maintains data related to the capital structure of the investment. In addition, the capital structure object 428 incorporates tools for calculating the leverage ratios for each investment. The capital structure object 428 incorporates a capital object 428a, a debt object

428b, an equity object 428c, an options object 428d, and a leverage object 428e.

The debt object 428b maintains data related to investment debt such as the type, whether or not the debt is to be incorporated into leverage calculation, the amount of the debt, the percentage of the capital, the dividend or interest rate, the cash PIK, the investors, and other comments. The debt object 428b additionally can calculate the subtotals for the amount of the debt and the percentage of capital. The equity object 428c and the options object 428d both maintain data similar to that maintained by the debt object 428b with additional data such as the number of shares and ownership percentage, both of which are specific to equity and option. The leverage object 428e incorporates tools for calculating the EBITBA, total debt, total equity, the sum of debt and equity, the book leverage percentage, and the cash flow leverage ratio.

The investment team object 430 maintains the list of members of the internal team responsible for managing the investment, including the member name and the member function. The investment team object 430 incorporates a member name object 430a and function object 430b, as well as a management credit object 430c.

The contact information object 432 manages contact information for individuals associated with the investment. For example, the company's management team, outside board members and other contacts such as accountants, legal counsel, and consultants. The contact information object 432 incorporates a management object 432a, an outside board object 432b, a GE/GECS object 432c, and other object 432d. Each of these objects is responsible for maintaining the contact information for a certain subset of contacts.

The board member object 434 maintains a list of the company's board

members. The strategic partner's object 436 maintains the list of strategic coinvestors involved in each investment.

The investment management module 400 incorporates a priority management object 438 to calculate the priority level of each investment deal.

The priority of an investment reflects the level of scrutiny and frequency of review for that investment. Investment deals having strong financial performance compared to predicted performance or market performance are given a lower priority, while investment deals failing to meet expected performance levels or significantly underperforming compared to the markets are given a higher priority. Investment deals are scheduled to investment review committee agendas based on their priority, with high priority deals (designated"red"or priority 1), being reviewed monthly and low priority deals (designated"green"or priority 111) being reviewed quarterly.

The priority management object 438 generates a priority level based on the investment deal's financial performance as compared to the level of performance predicted at the time the deal was first funded. The priority management object can access the data stored and managed by the financial object 418 as well as the other objects in the investment module. In alternate embodiments, the priority level could be calculated based on comparison to external market data regarding the market as a whole, to the performance of the company's nearest competitors, or to any of the performance indices commonly used to gauge the value of an investment.

Portfolio Management Module The portfolio management module is schematically depicted in Figure 5.

The core of the portfolio management module is the portfolio main object 502.

Portfolio main object incorporates the point object 504 and the trend object 506.

The point object 504 is used to select graphs having a single data point, while the trend object 506 is used for graph of a range or period of time. The trend object 506 incorporates period range object 508 and interval object 510. Period range object 508 is used for entering a range of dates over which a graph is to be made. The interval object selects the discrete time intervals at which data points are to be displayed. Each of the point object 504 and trend object 506 interact with the graph display objects.

The set of graph display objects comprises the unrealized gain object 530, the operating performance 532, the realize return object 534, the geography object 536, the industry object 538, the portfolio mix object 540, the asset type object 542, the stage object 544, the portfolio quality object 546, and the group analysis object 548. Each of these displays a graph based on the input from the point object or the trend object 506.

The market indicators object 518 displays data retrieved from external market sources. The market indicators object comprises the Dow world object 520, Dow US object 522, the S&P P/E ratio object 524, the exchange rates object 526, and the equity funds flow object 528.

The reports object 512 generates detailed reports analyzing the portfolio.

The reports object 512 comprises a report selection object 514 and the period selection object 516. The report selection object 514 is used to select the type of report desired. The period selection object 516 is responsible for selecting the time period over which the report is to be created.

Additional objects in the portfolio module 500 include the policy 6.0 object 550, the equity dashboard object 552, the MD dashboard object 554, the

industry dashboard object 556, the operating performance object 558, the PQR reports object 560, the priority object 562, and the PQR close object 564. Each of these objects is used to create, display, and print reports and graphs based on the data entered through the investment module. The portfolio module 500 additionally comprises the intranet object 566, the maintenance object 568, the report writer object 570, and the calendar object 572.

Pipeline Management Module User Interface Figure 6 shows the new pipeline entry screen of the pipeline management module. The pipeline main screen, generally designated 600, comprises a title bar 602, and a menu bar comprising a file header 604, an edit header 606, a reports header 608, a window header 610, and a help header 612. The pipeline main screen also includes a tool bar 616 and a new pipeline entry window 642.

The tool bar 614 further comprises a new entry icon 616, an open entry 618, a file icon 620, a global icon 622, a search icon 624, a fill-in-the-blank icon 626, a print icon 628, a calendar icon 630, and an exit icon 632. Each of these objects incorporates functionality specific to the pipeline management module.

In addition to the specialized objects described above, the pipeline management window incorporates standard windowing objects such as a pipeline management window minimize button 634, pipeline management window resize button 636, and a pipeline management close button 638. The pipeline management window further comprises a help block 654, a window close button 656, window maximize button 658, and a window close button 660.

The functionality and purpose of these objects is well known in the art of graphical user interface design.

Pipeline entry window 640 comprises a title bar 642, a new deal or

prospect radio button 644, a follow-on investment radio button 646, a text entry block 648, an OK button 650, and a cancel button 652.

From the new pipeline entry window 642, the user is prompted to select whether the new pipeline entry is a new dealer prospect or a follow-on investment. The radio buttons 644 and 646 are designed to be mutually exclusive, such that only one of the two can be selected at any one time. After selecting the desired option, the user may select OK in order to begin the process of a new pipeline entry or cancel to abort the process.

Figure 7 depicts the new deal entry window generally designated 700.

New deal entry window 700 incorporates a company ID section, a deal type section, a deal team section, and a deal size section. Company ID section is composed of a company name text entry block 706, a company city text entry block 708, and a company state text entry block 716 with a corresponding drop down button 718. Company ID section also includes company country field 710 and drop down button 720. Deal type section comprises direct radio button 712, funds radio button 714, and advisory radio button 722.

Deal type section incorporates office text field 715, department field 724, sub department field 726, stage field 728, industry field 730, company description field 732, originator field 734, color originator field 736, referral type field 738, and referral name field 740. Each of these, with the exception of company description field 732, incorporates a drop down button to facilitate rapid data entry.

Deal team section incorporates deal team member column 744 and deal team member function column 746. The deal size section incorporates security type column 752, GE equity column 750 and total GE dollars column 748. New

deal entry window 700 also incorporates a material receipt date field 742 to record the first date of receipt of information from the prospect. The window also interacts with help row 758 at the bottom of the screen to assist the user in data entry. After the entry of data by the user, the user makes use of either the OK button to proceed and store the data or the cancel button to abort the process.

Figure 8 depicts a deal search screen as used in the pipeline management module. Deal search screen 800 incorporates a search criteria section 802 and a results section 804. Search criteria section 802 incorporates a deal name field 806, a department field 808, a sub department field 810, a company stage field 812, an industry field 814, a team leader field 816, a team member field 818, a status field 820, an underwriter stage field 822, a referral name field 824, and a referral type field 826. The user can make use of any one or more of these fields to narrow the search. These fields, with the exception of the deal name field 806, incorporate drop down buttons to facilitate quick data entry. After the criteria have been entered by the user, the user makes use of the search button 828 to initiate the search or the cancel button 820 to abort the search.

After the search is completed, the results of the search are displayed in the results section 804. The data displayed in the results section 804 include deal ID 832, company name 834, pipeline 836, status 838, and funding 840.

The search object will display a list of deals meeting the selected criteria. The user then selects which of the deals to proceed with using the select button 842.

Figure 9 depicts a deal maintenance screen. This screen is brought up after either a search or a new deal is created. The deal maintenance window, generally designated 900, incorporates a search filtertree 910, a deal ID section 932, a deal type section 934, a pipeline status section 952, and a calendar

section 950. The deal maintenance window 900 displays the deal name 902, the deal ID 904, the deal type 906, and the number of fundings 908 across the title bar.

The search filter tree 910 comprises a selection filter 912, a pipeline filter 914, and a starting year filter 916. Any of these or all of them in combination can be used to narrow the data to be manually searched by the user. Deals meeting the criteria in the filters 912,914, and 916 are displayed in the search tree 918.

The search tree 918 displays each deal by name, for example, deal 920 and deal 930. In addition, the search tree 918 displays data subsets of the deal record such as documents 922, notes 924, contacts 926, and strategic partners 928. Deal ID section 932 and deal type section 934 are substantially the same as the corresponding sections in Figure 7.

The deal maintenance screen additionally incorporates a pipeline status section 952 and a deal calendar section 950. The pipeline status section 952 incorporates a pipeline type field 936, a pipeline status field 938, and an update field 940. The deal calendar section incorporates a target date column 942, an actual date column 944, and a set of rows, such as prospect row 946 and material receipt row 948, reflecting different stages in the prospect's life cycle from initial prospect data entry through deal funding.

Figure 10 depicts the contact information window generally designated 1000. The contact information window 1000 comprises a title bar 1002, a management tab 1004, an outside board tab 1006, a GE/GECS tab 1008, and an other tab 1010. Each of the tabs reflects a subset of the contacts for a given investment deal. In the window shown in Figure 10, the management window is on top. The management window under tab 1004 comprises a manager name column 1012, manager title column 1014, a contact section 1016, a business

section 1018, and a home section 1020. The contact section 1016 includes fields for entry of first and last name, title, function, whether the individual is an officer or board member, and other comments. The business address section 1018 includes address, city, state, country, phone, fax, pager, and e-mail. The home section 1020 incorporates fields for entry of substantially the same information as the business address section.

The documentation maintenance window depicted in Figure 11 and designated generally 1100 comprises an attached document section and a document information section. The attached document section comprises a list of attached documents related to the deal. For example, GE equity early read pitch 1102, GE equity approval pitch 1104, and corporate 260 approval pitch 1106 are shown as attached documents in Figure 11. The document information section incorporates a date attached entry field 1108, an'attached by'entry field 1110, and a description entry field 1112. This window is used for maintaining the files and archives containing the electronic documents related to the deal.

Figure 12 shows the user preferences window generally designated 1200.

The user preferences window incorporates a view mode entry field 1204, an include prospects option switch 1206, an include deals option switch 1208, an include investments option switch 1210, and a starting year entry field 1212 with corresponding drop down button 1214. These options are used to personalize and customize the data display to the particular user's needs.

The lower section of the user preferences window 1200 relates to user defaults for data entry options. The data entry section comprises a pipeline type radio button for prospects 1216, a radio button for deals 1218, a country entry field 1220, a drop down button 1222, an office entry field 1224 and drop down field button 1226, a department entry field 1228, a sub department entry field

1232, an industry drop entry field 1236, and a team function entry field 1240.

Each of entry fields 1216 through 1240 have corresponding drop down buttons 1222 through 1242 to facilitate data entry.

The window 1200 also incorporates an option to show other input sections 1244 with drop down field 1246. After modifying the preferences, the user can select the okay button 1248 to store the options or the cancel button 1250 to abort the preferences.

Figure 13 depicts the report selection screen for the pipeline management module. Report selection window 1300 incorporates a report list 1308, a segment section 1312, a stages section 1314, a status section 1316, a description section 1346, a date entry field 1330, and a pipeline option section 1332.

Report list 1308 comprises a list of reports that can be produced by the system such as reports 1302,1304, and 1306. The segment section allows the user to select the segments in list 1320 to be displayed. Alternatively, the user can select segments all switch 1312 to display all segments. The stages section 1314 allows the user to select which stages to display in the report. The stages are selected from the list 1326. Alternatively, the user can select stages all switch 1348 to display all stages. The status section 1316 is used to select the status of the investments to be included in the report. The status is selected from the list 1328. The user can select status all 1344 to display all status investment.

The date section 1330 incorporates start entry field 1322 and end entry field 1324. Together fields 1322 and 1324 control the chronological range of report. Pipeline section 1332 incorporates prospects switch 1334, deal switch

1336, and investment switch 1338. The switches control the types of pipeline data to be included in the report. After selections are made, user selects okay button 1340 to produce report or cancel button 1342 to abort.

Figure 14 shows a pipeline report generally designated 1400 having a title 1404, a company column 1406, a deal team column 1408, industry company description 1410, size of deal column 1412, company stage column 1414, first heard of date 1416, and current stage column 1418. The pipeline management report window also incorporates a report title bar 1402.

Figure 15 displays an investment committee agenda window generally designated 1500. The agenda window 1500 incorporates a month entry field 1502, a year entry field 1506, and drop down buttons 1504 and 1508 to facilitate data entry. The agenda window 1500 is organized into vertical columns, such as column 1510, and horizontal rows, such as row 1512. Columns 1510 represent the days of the week, with each row 1512 representing a week. In the screen shown in Figure 15, the 15th of October 1999 has been selected by pressing the button for the 15t", designated 1514. This selects Friday the 15th of October to be the date for this investment deal to be reviewed by an investment committee. After the date is selected, the system automatically posts the investment deal data to the investment committee agenda when the user presses the OK button 1516. The cancel button 1518 will abort the process.

Investment Management Module User Interface Figure 16 depicts the investment selection screen of the investment management module. The investment selection screen generally designated 1600 incorporates a file menu column 1602, an edit menu column 1604, an options menu column 1606, financial menu column 1608, ECG data column

1610, windows column 1612, and help column 1614. Each of these opens up a standard windows menu column with further options for the user. The selection screen 1600 also incorporates tool bars 1642 and 1644.

Investments are selected via the investment selection section 1616 of selection screen 1600. The investment selection section 1616 incorporates a divested investments check field 1618, a months entry field 1620, and a year entry field 1622. The investment selection section incorporates investment groupings such as 1624 and individual investment IDs such as 1626 and 1628 shown.

The investment selection screen 1600 feeds the various investment management windows which are controlled by tabs 1630,1632,1634,1636, 1638, and 1640 and shown in detail in Figures 17-25.

Figure 17 depicts an investment profile screen generally designated 1700.

The investment profile screen is brought to the forefront with investment profile tab 1708. investment profile screen 1700 shown in Figure 17 reflects the data stored for A Company, shown in the selection tree as 1702. As shown, this deal has only a single funding, designated 1704 in the selection tree.

Priority indicator 1706 indicates the priority status of the investment. The priority indicator 1706 will display red, yellow, or green. Red, or priority 1, investments are selected to have a higher degree of scrutiny than yellow (priority II) and green (priority 111) investments. Yellow investments may incorporate a heightened level of scrutiny than green investments depending on the details of the deal. There is nothing within the nature of the invention limiting the priority portion of the system to a one-dimensional priority schedule having three stages.

An alternate embodiment could incorporate any number of stages of priority.

Additionally, an alternate embodiment of the present invention could incorporate a priority schedule having more than one dimension. For example, a dual parameter priority monitoring system could incorporate both a priority based on company stability and a priority based on return on investment, to be reviewed by two or more investment review committees according to two or more review schedules. Various committees could focus on different aspects of the investment, such as tax, environmental, legal, technology, or insurance issues.

The name and ID number of the investment are displayed as shown by text 1710. The team responsible for management deal is displayed in text window 1712. The initial investment date is shown in field 1714. The committed amount in millions is shown in field 1716, the amount funded to date in field 1718, the fully diluted ownership percentage in field 1720, unfunded commitment in field 1722, and the reserve in millions in field 1724.

Investment type and strategy section 1726 comprises investment type field 1728 and investment strategy field 1730. The hedge percentage field 1730 reflects the hedge percentage for the deal. Details regarding the securities and fundings in the deal are reflected in field 1736 and related fields.

Fields 1734-1750 are arranged in a horizontal row and contain the data related to one investment funding. Field 1734 shows the index number for the funding. For the investment deal shown in Figure 17 there is only one funding deal. Field 1736 shows a security type; field 1738 shows the net exposure in millions ; field 1740 shows the fair market value in millions ; field 1742 shows the number of shares held ; field 1744 shows the value per share; field 1746 shows the liquidity discount percentage; field 1748 shows the cost per share; and field 1750 shows the series of the stock held.

The investment profile object calculates totals for the security data. As shown in Figure 17, field 1752 reflects the total net exposure in millions of all the funding; field 1754 reflects the total fair market value in millions ; field 1756 reflects the total unrealized gain in millions ; and field 1758 reflects the total IRR.

Take away button 1760 opens the take away comments field shown in Figure 18; event log button 1762 opens the event log window shown in Figure 19; recommendations button 1764 opens the recommendations window; and footnotes button 1766 opens the footnotes window shown in Figure 20.

The take away comments field is shown in Figure 18. The take away comments field, designated 1800, incorporates a last month's comment field 1802, a this month's comment field 1804, a last month's comment date 1806, and this month's comment date 1808. These fields are used to store comments related to recent company developments. After entering the text, the user can copy using button 1810, clear using button 1812, proceed through the OK button 1814 or abort the process with cancel button 1816.

Figure 19 depicts an event log window generally designated 1900. Event log window 1900 incorporates a deal name display 1902, a deal ID display 1904, a note detail field 1906, a funding index column 1908, a funding comments column 1910, an'entered by'column 1912, and an entered on date column 1914. The add button 1916 adds an additional comment row to the list. The delete button 1918 deletes a selected comment from the list. The print button 1920 prints the list of comments. The apply button 1926 incorporates the changes entered by the user. The OK button 1922 enters the changes and proceeds back to the investment profile screen. The cancel button aborts the process and returns control to the investment profile screen.

Figure 20 displays a footnotes window generally designated 2000.

General footnotes window 2000 incorporates entry fields for initial investment date 2002, amount funded to date 2006, net exposure 2010, fair market value 2014, ownership percentage 2020, and miscellaneous footnotes field 2024.

Each of the entry fields has a corresponding comments field designated in Figure 20 by fields 2004,2008,2012,2016,2018, and 2022. After data entry, the user can select the OK button 2006 to proceed or the cancel 2028 to abort.

Figure 21 depicts a company profile window designated 2100. Company profile 2100 is opened by the use of the company profile tab 2102. The information in the company profile window 2100 is arranged into a contact information section 2104, a trading information section 2106, an industry information section 2110, and a company description 2144. The contact information section 2104 incorporates a headquarters radio button 2112 and other radio button 2114. These buttons are used to select whether the contact is at the headquarters or at another location of the company. The contact information section 2104 also incorporates a street address 2116, city 2118, state 2120, zip 2122, e-mail 2124, phone 2126, extension 2128, fax 2130, and country 2132.

The trading information section 2106 incorporates a trading type field 2134, trading symbol field 2136, and trading exchange field 2138. Investment stage information is entered in field 2108. Industry information section 2110 incorporates industry field 2140 and niche field 2142 to reflect the company's market position or emphasis within the larger market. Company description is entered in field 2144.

Figure 22 depicts a company and transition background window generally designated 2200. Background window 2200 is opened through the use of

background tab 2202. The background window 2200 incorporates set of sequence number fields such as 2204 and 2216, a set of comment fields such as 2206 and 2218, and a set of print option fields such as 2208 and 2220. The background window further incorporates an insert above button 2210, an insert below button 2212, and a delete button 2214. The insert above button opens a clear entry field above the selected field. The insert below button 2212 inserts an empty comment entry field below the current comment field. The delete button 2214 deletes the currently selected comment field.

Figure 23 depicts a recent company development window designated 2300. Company development window 2300 is opened through the use of company development tab 2302. Company development window 2300 incorporates sequence numbers such as those designated 2304 and 2306, a list of comments such as those designated 2308 and 2310, and a list of print option fields such as those designated 2312 and 2314. Company development window 2300 incorporates an insert above button 2316, an insert below button 2318, and a delete button 2320. The insert above button 2316 inserts a blank comment entry field above the currently selected comment field. The insert below button opens a clear comment entry field below the currently selected comment field. The delete button deletes the currently selected comment field.

Figure 24 shows an industry developments and trends window designated 2400. Industry developments and trends window 2400 is opened through the use of industry trends tab 2402. Industry developments and trends window 2400 incorporates a set of sequence numbers such as those designated 2404 and 2406, a set of comments such as those designated in Figure 24 by 2408 and 2410 and a set of print control switches such as those designated in Figure 24 as 2412 and 2414. Industry trends window 2400 incorporates an insert above button 2416, an insert below button 2418, and a delete button 2420. The insert

above button 2416 inserts a clear comment entry field above the currently selected comment field. The insert below button 2418 opens a comment entry field below the currently selected comment field. The delete button deletes the currently selected comment field.

Figure 25 depicts a key issues and action plan window designated 2500.

Key issues and action plan window 2500 is opened through the use of issues and plan tab 2502. Key issues and action plan window 2500 incorporates sequence numbers as those designated in Figure 25 by 2504 and 2506, comments fields such as those designated 2508 and 2510 and print switches designated in Figure 25 by 2512 and 2514. Key issues and action plan window 2500 incorporates an insert above button 2516, an insert below button 2518, and a delete button 2520 each having the same functionality as in Figures 23 and 24.

Figure 26 is a financial screen generally designated 2600. Window 2600 incorporates deal name 2602 and deal date 2604. Window 2600 incorporates financial data type 2606 and a set of financial data rows designated 2608 through 2622. Financial data rows include revenue 2608, operating expense 2610, EBITDA 2612, percent of sales 2614, D&A 2616, EBIT 2618, interest expense 2620, and EBT 2622. The financial data is arranged in rows designated in Figure 26 as 2624 through 2634. As shown in Figure 26, the data columns include year-to-date column 2624 for the prior year, year-to-date column 2626 for the current year, current yearly plan column 2628, current yearly projection column 2630, subsequent year projection column 2632, and two years out projection column 2634.

Figure 27 depicts an operating performance screen generally designated 2700. Operating performance screen 2700 incorporates a driver option field 2702 with drop down button 2704, and a create new driver option button 2706.

Screen 2700 incorporates projection basis display 2708, fiscal year ended display 2710, and funding selection 2712. The actual and estimated performance of the deal is recorded in columns 2714,2716,2718, and 2720.

The columns record quarterly data while the rows such as are designated 2722 and 2724 organize the data yearly. The actual/estimate switch such as is designated by 2726 reflects whether the number in the corresponding field is an actual number or an estimate of future performance. The add button 2738 facilitates an addition of newfinancial data to the record. The delete button 2714 deletes financial information from the record. The print button 2742 prints the data displayed in the screen 2700. The data in columns 2728,2730,2732, 2734, and 2736 are calculated by the system based on the data entered in columns 2714 through 2720. Of particular interest is the data in column 2736, reflecting the system's analysis of the performance of the investment to date.

For the deals shown in Figure 27, both 1998 and 1999 were years in which the investment deal performed at below its planned performance. The results of this analysis are fed back into the priority status of the deal to determine the level of scrutiny that is appropriate for this investment deal. For the investment deal displayed in window 2700, a high priority and corresponding high level of scrutiny is likely to be generated by the system in light of the continued below plan performance of this investment deal.

Figure 28 depicts an investment summary report generally designated 2800 and displayed on the computer screen. Investment summary report 2800 incorporates investment profile 2802, company profile 2804, deal name 2808, deal ID 2810, and financial information 2806. This report can bring together a summary of all the information entered through the investment profile management objects. This report is used by investment deal management professionals to guide them in decisions as to the future of these investments.

Figure 29 shows the capital structure and leverage screen generally designated 2900. Capital structure and leverage screen 2900 incorporates the balance sheet month 2902 and year 2904 and incorporates a capital structure 2906 and leverage section 2908. Capital structure 2906 is divided into debt section 2914, equity section 2916, and option section 2942. Capital structure data is organized generally in columns including capital structure type 2918, leverage calculation switch 2920, series 2922, amount 2924, percent of capital 2926, number of shares 2928, ownership percentage 2930, cost per unit 2932, dividend or interest rate 2934, cash PIK 2936, investors 2938, and comments 2940. Number of shares 2928, ownership percentage 2930, and cost per unit 2932 are not included in the debt section 2914, as they do not apply to debt investments.

The system calculates debt subtotals for amount and percent of capital in row 2944. The system calculates equity subtotals for amount, percent of capital, number of shares, and ownership percentage in row 2946. The system calculates option subtotals for amount, percent of capital, number of shares, and ownership percentage in row 2914. The system calculates grand totals for amount, percent of capital, number of shares, and ownership percentage in row 2950. The system can be set to use capital structure to calculate leverage through the use of radio buttons 2910 and 2912. If radio button 2910 is set, then the system will use the capital structure data found in section 2906 to calculate the leverage in 2908. If radio button 2912 is set then capital structure data found in section 2906 will not be used to calculate the leverage in section 2908.

Additionally, each individual capital structure item in section 2906 can be selected or deseleced through the use of switches in column 2920 for inclusion into the leverage calculations. Leverage section 2908 includes entries for EBITDA 2952, debt 2954, equity 2956, debt and sum 2958, book leverage percent 2960, cash flow leverage ratio 2962, and a comments section 2964.

Screen 2900 includes a print button 2972 for printing the data, an OK button 2966 for entering changes and proceeding, a cancel button 2968 for aborting changes, and an apply button 2970 for entering changes.

Figure 30 depicts an investment team management screen generally designated 3000. Screen 3000 incorporates a management credit section 3002 and an investment team section 3004. Management credit section 3002 includes a department field 3006, a sub department field 3008, a percent credit field 3010 and an amount field 3012. It also includes a total net exposure field 3014 and a total percent credit field 3016. Investment team section 3004 includes a team member column 3018, a team member function column 3020 and a board member observer column 3022. Each of these columns incorporates a set of drop down fields for rapid data entry. Screen 3000 incorporates an OK button 3024 and a cancel button 3026.

Figure 31 depicts a board member summary screen generally designated 3100. Screen 3100 incorporates a deal name display 3102, deal ID display 3104, a board member section 3106, and a board observer section 3108. Board member section 3106 incorporates a name column 3110, a title column 3112, a company column 3114, a board member type column 3116, and a phone number column 3118. Board observers section 3108 incorporates a name column 3120, a title column 3122, a company column 3124, and a board member type column 3126. Screen 3100 also incorporates a print button 3128 and an okay button 3130.

Figure 32 depicts a strategic partners window generally designated 3200.

Window 3200 incorporates a deal name display 3202, a deal ID display 3204, a funding selection

Figure 32 depicts a strategic partner screen generally designated 3200.

Strategic partner screen 3200 incorporates a deal name 3202, deal ID 3204, funding selection 3206, GE/GECS strategic partners field 3208 and fund co- investment partners field 3210.

GE/GECS Strategic Partners field 3208 incorporates a pair of radio buttons 3212 and 3214 to indicate whether there are GE/GECS co-investors.

Field 3208 further includes GE/GECS business identification column 3216, amount invested 3218, ownership percentage of company column 3220, GE Equity Books column 3222, and comments column 3224. Field 3208 also includes a total row 3226 which totals the numbers in column 3218 and in column 3220.

Fund co-investment partners field 3210 incorporates radio buttons 3228 and 3230 to indicate whether or not there are fund co-investors. Fund co- investment partners field 3210 further includes a fund name column 3232, an amount invested column 3234, an ownership percentage of company column 3236, and a comments column 3238. Fund co-investment partners field 3210 incorporates a totals row 3240 which calculates the totals of columns 3234 and 3236. The screen 3200 also incorporates a print button 3242, an OK button 3244, a cancel button 3246 and an apply button 3248.

Portfolio Management Module User Interface Figure 33 depicts a graph selection window generally designated 3300 within a portfolio management screen. The graph selection window 3300 incorporates point in time and trend over time radio buttons 3302 and 3304. The radio button 3302 and 3304 select whether the draft to be made is to reflect a discreet point in time or a trend over a selected period of time. As shown in

Figure 33 with radio button 3302 selected, entry fields 3308,3360, and 3312 are grayed out. If radio button 3304 is selected, entry fields 3308,3312, and 3360 become active. Entry field 3308 is the initial date of the period to the graphed by the system. Entry field 3360 is the ending date for the period to be graphed by the system. Entry field 3312 reflects the interval on which data points are to be retrieved for graphing. Window 3300 incorporates a cancel button 3362 to abort and an OK button 3364 to proceed. The portfolio management screen incorporates file menu header 3314, edit menu header 3316, maintenance menu header 3318, graphs menu header 3320, reports menu header 3322, window menu header 3324, and help menu header 3326. The tool bar of the portfolio management system incorporates a policy 6.0 button 3328, an equity dashboard button 3330, an MD dashboard button 3332, an industry dashboard button 3334, an operating performance button 3336, a reports button 3338, a PQR reports button 3340, a market data button 3342, a priority button 3344, a PQR close button 3346, an intranet button 3348, a maintenance button 3350, a report writer button 3352, a calendar button 3354 and an external data button 3356. Each of these menu headers and buttons provides access to one or more functionalities of the portfolio management system as are described in the following figures.

Figure 34 depicts a graph display window designated 3400. Window 3400 incorporates a graph space 3402 on which is graphed a net exposure bar 3404, a fair market value bar 3406, and a value created bar 3408. The graph additionally incorporates a date marker 3410, a legend 3412, and a title 3434.

The graph in the display window 3400 is active, allowing the user to click on the graph objects and drill down to display additional data.

The screen shown in Figure 34 incorporates a graph selection window 3436. Graph selection window 3436 incorporates tabs for equity portfolio 3414, change of period 3416, MD portfolio 3418, and industry portfolio 3420. As

shown in Figure 34, several options under the equity portfolio tab 3414 are displayed. The icons shown in window 3436 under equity portfolio tab 3414 reflect separate graphs that can be generated by the system. Examples include the unrealized gain icon 3422, the operating performance icon 3424, the realized return icon 3426, the geography icon 3428, and the industry icon 3430. Through the use of scrolling tool 3432, additional icons can be brought on screen for selection.

Figure 35 depicts a portfolio analysis graph generally designated 3500.

The graph 3500 depicts a breakdown of the investment portfolio by industry.

The graph shown in Figure 35 is a pie type graph. The pie is composed of separate slices such as are designated by 3502,3504, and 3506. Each slice has an attendant note such as those designated 3510 and 3512, each displaying the title of the slice, the percentage of the pie it comprises and its total dollar value. Graph 3500 also incorporates a title 3508 and has similar drill down functionality as the graph in Figure 34.

Figure 36 depicts a portfolio analysis graph according to asset type generally designate 3600. Graph 3600 incorporates a title block 3602 and a pie comprised of slices, such as slice 3604. Each slice has a corresponding tag displaying further information about the slice. For slice 3604, the corresponding tag comprises the subject matter of the slice 3622, total dollar amount of the slice 3620, and the percentage of the pie taken by that slice 3606. Through the use of the scrolling tools such as 3608 a different set of graph icons has been brought on the screen from that displayed in Figure 35. As shown in Figure 36, the graph icons currently displayed comprise the portfolio mix icon 3610, the asset type icon 3612, the stage icon 3614, the portfolio quality icon 3616, and the group analysis icon 3618. This graph incorporates the same drill down functionality as the other graphs above described.

Figure 37 depicts a portfolio analysis graph broken up by groups generally designated 3700. Graph 3700 comprises a title 3708 and a pie 3702 comprised of multiple slices such as that designated 3704 in Figure 37. As with the graphs shown in figures 36 and above each pie slice has a corresponding note comprising a title 3710, a dollar amount 3712, and a percentage 3706.

Figure 38 is a report selection screen allowing the user to view various reports analyzing the portfolio. The report selection screen, generally designated 3800, incorporates a drill down tree 3802 having reports grouped in one or more groups as a designated 3804 in Figure 38. Under each group are one or more report types such as shown in Figure 38 as 3806 and 3808. The report selection screen incorporates a period selection window 3810 including a current date entry field 3812 and prior date entry field 3814. The window further includes an OK button 3816 and an exit button 3818.

Figure 39 depicts a portfolio management system report generally designated 3900. In addition to the standard portfolio management tool bar, this screen incorporates an additional set of tool buttons comprising a print button 3902, a set up page button 3904, a sort button 3906, a filter button 3908, a zoom button 3910, a prior page button 3912, a next page button 3914, and a save as button 3916. The data in report 3900 is organized in multiple columns including country column 3918, region column 3920, company column 3922, MD column 3924, net exposure column 3926, amount funded column 3928, and fair market value column 3930. The data in this report is additionally organized in rows by country as can be seen in rows 3932 and 3934. Row 3932 reflects some of the financial data for all the investment deals in Argentina. Row 3934 reflects the sum of the financial data for all deals in Australia.

Figure 40 depicts a market indicator graph of the Dow Jones stock index generally designated 4000. Graph 4000 incorporates a title 4002 a set of bars such as are indicated by 4004 and 4006 indicating financial performance across a range of time. In the graphs shown in Figure 40 the data is graphed on a quarterly interval. The graph 4000 incorporates a legend 4008. The market indicators window 4010 contains icons for other graph types that can be accessed from this object including the Dow World Stock icon 4012 the Dow US Industry icon 4014 the Standard & Poor's Price to Earnings Ratio graph 4016 the Exchange Rate icon 4018 and the Equity Funds Flow icon 4020. Other icons can be brought up through the use of the scrolling tool 4022.

Figure 41 depicts a graph of Standard & Poor's 500 Sector Price to Earnings ratio over time. The graph is generally designated 4100. Graph 4100 includes title 4102 and trend lines such as are designated 4104 and 4110 connecting data points such as are designated 4106 and 4112. The graph depicted. in Figure 41 has been plotted on a quarterly interval and incorporates a legend 4108.

While this invention has been described in reference to illustrative embodiments, this description is not intended to be construed in a limiting sense.

Various modifications and combinations of the illustrative embodiments, as well as other embodiments of the invention, will be apparent to persons skilled in the art upon reference to the description. It is therefore intended that the appended claims encompass any such modifications or embodiments.