Participant voting system and method for creating a diversified investment fund

• US 20030046207A1
• Filed: 12/04/2000
• Published: 03/06/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 12/04/2000
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Efounders
• Original Assignee: Efounders
• Inventors: Shah, Samir, Torre, Andrew, Wada, Bashir
• Application Number:
  US09/729,910
• Publication Number:
  US 20030046207A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/36
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/02 Banking, e.g. interest calculation or account maintenance credit or loans G06Q40/03
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/06 Asset management; Financial planning or analysis

Abstract

A voting system and technique is disclosed for determining a selected subset of participants from a plurality of candidates wherein each of the participants receive an equitable ownership interest of an item in exchange for a contribution. According to the present invention, the voting system and its method is used to select investors to participate in an investment vehicle, wherein the investment vehicle characteristically has a potentially high venture capital-type ROI (“return on investment”). The system and method optimizes asset diversification to meet the needs of holders of large blocks of private equity.

Claims

1. A voting system for determining a selected subset of participants from a plurality of candidates, each of the participants having an equitable ownership interest of an item to exchange for a contribution associated with each participant, the system comprising:

a plurality of candidate inputs configured to receive into the voting system a plurality of preferences associated with each of the plurality of candidates;

a plurality of parametric inputs configured to receive a plurality of parameters; and

logic to determine the participants according to the plurality of preferences and the plurality of parameters.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising logic to determine a respective amount of the contribution by each of the participants according to the plurality of preferences and the plurality of parameters.

3. The system of claim 1, further comprising at least one parametric processor, the parametric processor coupled to receive at least one of the plurality of parameters to generate a parametric output based upon the plurality of preferences and the at least one of the plurality of parameters.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein at least one of the parametric processors further comprises a vote accumulator, the vote accumulator configured to receive a tentative subset of participants and at least one of the plurality of parameters, wherein the vote accumulator includes logic to determine and to provide a strength score for each of the plurality of candidates.

5. The system of claim 4, where the strength score of each of the plurality of candidates is a total number of votes cast by a plurality of other candidates.

6. The system of claim 3, wherein at least one of the parametric processors further comprises a mutual respect determinator, the mutual respect determinator configured to receive a tentative subset of participants and at least one of the plurality of parameters, wherein the mutual respect determinator includes logic to determine and to provide a mutual respect score between each of the participants relative to each of the other participants.

7. The system of claim 6, where mutual respect between candidates is a number of votes mutually cast between each of the participants relative to each of the other participants.

8. The system of claim 1, further comprising a participant selector, the participant selector configured to receive a plurality of outputs from the plurality of parametric processors and a plurality of selector parameters, wherein the participant selector includes logic to determine and to provide the selected subset of participants having equitable ownership in the item.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the participant selector is further configured to provide a tentative subset of participants.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein at least one of the plurality of selector parameters is a weighting factor.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein at least one of the plurality of selector parameters is a maximum number of participants.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein at least one of the plurality of selector parameters is a maximum number of votes available to each of the plurality of candidates.

13. The system of claim 8, further comprising an ownership determinator configured to receive a plurality of ownership determinator parameters and configured further to exchange information with the participant selector, wherein the ownership determinator includes logic to determine and to provide the pro rata equitable ownership interest of each of the number of participants, where each pro rata interest associated with each of the number of participants is within a diversification range.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the plurality of ownership determinator parameters include a maximum ownership share limit and a minimum ownership share limit.

15. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of preferences include a plurality of votes cast by each of the plurality of candidates for each of a plurality of other candidates.

16. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of preferences include a desired contribution amount which each of the plurality of candidates are to exchange if selected to participate.

17. The system of claim 16, further comprising a plurality of escrow accounts, wherein each of the plurality of escrow accounts are associated with the desired contribution from each of the plurality of candidates

18. The system of claim 1, wherein the item is an investment fund comprising shares of equitable ownership in stock.

19. The system of claim 1, wherein the item is real property comprising shares of equitable ownership in real estate.

20. The system of claim 1, wherein the item is a business venture comprising shares of equitable ownership in a business entity.

21. The system of claim 1, wherein the contribution by each of the number of participants includes shares of private equity.

22. The system of claim 1, wherein the contribution by each of the number of participants includes an intellectual property right.

23. The system of claim 1, wherein the contribution by each of the number of participants includes real property.

24. A method for selecting a subset of participants from a plurality of candidates and a respective amount of a contribution associated with each participant, where the respective amount of the contribution is exchanged for an equitable ownership interest of an item by each of the subset of participants, the method comprising:

receiving a plurality of preferences associated with each of the plurality of candidates;

receiving a plurality of parameters; and

choosing the subset of participants, wherein the subset of participants are determined according to the plurality of preferences and the plurality of parameters.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein choosing the subset of participants further comprises:

defining an objective having a value representing an optimal combination, the optimal combination representing a best solution;

determine a first fitness value associated with a first possible combination; and

evaluating the first fitness value against the objective value to determine whether the first possible combination associated with the first fitness value is the optimal combination.

26. Method of claim 25, further comprising:

generating a population of a number of possible combinations of subset participants;

selecting the first and a second possible combinations from the population;

forming a new combination from the first and the second possible combinations by crossing-over a first portion from the first possible combination and a second portion from the second possible combination;

evaluating a new fitness value against the objective value to determine whether the new possible combination associated with the new fitness value is the optimal combination,

wherein a fitness value is based upon the strength score and the mutual respect score of the associated combination.

27. Method of claim 26, wherein generating the new combination from the first and the second possible combinations further comprises mutating either of the first or the second possible combinations.

28. A voting system for determining a selected subset of participants in an investment fund, each participant having an equitable ownership interest of the investment fund in exchange for a contribution of stock, the system comprising:

a plurality of candidate computing devices associated with at least one of a plurality of candidate investors configured to communicate a plurality of preferences of each of the plurality of candidate investors;

a networked communication system configured to convey the plurality of candidate computing devices for communicating the plurality of preferences; and

a processing platform configured to communicate via the networked communication system with the plurality of candidate computing devices, the processing platform including a fund manager computing device, a fund manager server and a fund manager database, where the fund manager computing device, the fund manager server and the fund manager database are cross-coupled to each other,

wherein the processing platform selects participants to form the investment fund based upon the plurality of preferences and at least one of the parameters and maintains and updates a plurality of accounts comprising the investment fund in response to an event.

29. The system of claim 28, further comprising an escrow server, wherein the escrow server maintains data representing a number of stock shares is configured to transfer all or less than the number of stock shares to the processing platform after the processing platform selects participants in the investment fund.

30. A method of selecting a subset of participants in an investment fund from a plurality of candidate investors, each of the plurality of candidate investors associated with a contribution, wherein the method employs a voting system comprising at least one candidate computing device associated with at least one of the candidate investors electronically coupled to a fund manager processing platform via a networked communication system, the method of selecting participants comprising:

presenting a plurality of options to each of a plurality of candidate computing devices associated with each of a plurality of candidate investors;

entering a plurality of preferences into the at least one candidate computing device by the at least one of the plurality of candidate investors;

communicating the plurality of preferences between each of the plurality of candidate computing devices and the fund manager processing platform via the networked communication system;

receiving the plurality of preferences into the fund manager processing platform;

providing a plurality of parameters to the fund manager processing platform to govern which of the plurality of candidate investors are to be included in a subset of investment fund participants;

generating the investment fund, the fund including a combination of the contributions from each of the subset of investment fund participants, where each of the subset of investment fund participants receives an equity ownership interest in exchange for the contribution,

wherein the plurality of preferences and the plurality of parameters are used to select which of the plurality of candidate investors are to be included in the subset of investment fund participants and to determine a pro rata equitable ownership interest for each of the subset of investment fund participants.

31. The method claim 30, wherein generating the investment fund further comprising determining a degree of strength associated with each one of the candidate investors, wherein the degree of strength is based upon a number of votes each one of the candidate investors receives from each of a plurality of the other candidate investors.

32. The method claim 30, further comprising determining a degree of mutual respect associated with each of the plurality of the candidate investors selected to participate, wherein the degree of mutual respect between each of the plurality of the candidate investors selected to participate is based upon a number of votes exchanged between two or more of the participant investors.

33. The method claim 30, further comprising determining a degree of diversity associated with each of the plurality of the candidate investors amongst the plurality of the other candidate investors, wherein the degree of diversity is based upon a diversification range having a minimum share level and a maximum share level, where each level is expressed as a percentage of a total fund value.