Securities auction system and method

• US 8,756,144 B2
• Filed: 11/29/2006
• Issued: 06/17/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/29/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: MuniBrokers LLC
• Original Assignee: Hartfield, Titus & Donnelly LLC
• Inventors: Caldas, Joseph J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Ebersman, Bruce I
• Application Number:
  US11/564,551
• Publication Number:
  US 20080126236A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,757 Days
• Field of Search: 705/35, 705/36, 705/37, 705/38, 705/39, 705/40
• US Class Current: 705/37
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange

Abstract

A system and method of conducting a securities auction through the use of a computer network including programs and databases to be accessed by participants through the Internet using a standard browser. The seller inputs bid requests through a website that may be accessed by bidders once they are logged into the host computer network. All bids are entered into the computer and are accessible to all bidders on a real time basis as the auction proceeds. Additionally the bids and their times of entry are updated automatically as the auction proceeds so that all bidders are aware of the prices and status of all bids and whether any trades have been executed.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method of conducting a secondary market securities auction, the method comprising:

providing, a computerized system comprised of;

(a) a plurality of client computers;

(b) at least one host computer;

(c) standard network apparatus;

(d) at least one database;

(e) a computer software application, for instructing said computerized system to perform the method, that is coded in a browser-supported programming language combined with a browser-rendered markup language and reliant on a common web browser to render said computer software application executable;

providing, a plurality of graphic user interfaces for a plurality of participants in said secondary market securities auction to interact with said computer software application, wherein the plurality of participants comprises;

bidders, sellers and observers of said secondary market securities auction;

providing, an auction detail graphic user interface comprising;

(a) a list of bids from the plurality of participants to purchase an individual specific lot of secondary market securities for which bids are sought by a potential seller thereof;

(b) a time which bids are due;

(c) a time bids are good until;

(d) a description of the individual specific lot of secondary market securities for which bids are sought by the potential seller thereof;

(e) a field indicating a current status of said secondary market securities auction;

(f) links to calculations;

(g) links to historical data;

(h) forms for submitting bids;

(i) forms for selling orders;

wherein substantially all information relevant to said secondary market securities auction and forms to accomplish any of a permissible action by the participants are available;

submitting into a database, using at least one of said plurality of client computers to access a first graphic user interface of said computer software application, the individual specific lots of secondary market securities for which bids are sought by a potential seller thereof;

performing a search of said database, using at least one of said plurality of client computers to access a second graphic user interface, wherein criteria is selected by at least one of the plurality of participants to identify the individual specific lots of outstanding secondary market securities to trade;

displaying results of the database search, using at least one of said plurality of client computers on a third graphic user interface of said computer software application;

submitting bids for the individual specific lots of outstanding secondary market securities, using at least one of said plurality of client computers to access said auction detail graphic user interface;

programmatically displaying immediately upon entry and dynamically updating for display on said auction detail graphic user interface, the bids for the individual specific lots of outstanding secondary market securities, such that the bids including a bid price thereof are available to be viewed by the participant immediately upon entry of the bids and throughout said secondary market securities auction;

executing a trade at the potential seller'"'"'s discretion on said auction detail graphic user interface, accessed using at least one of said plurality of client computers, for the individual specific lot of outstanding secondary market securities within a predetermined time frame, wherein data pertinent to the trade of the individual specific lot of outstanding secondary market securities is dynamically updated and displayed on said auction detail graphic user interface;

providing real-time dynamic updating, on said auction detail graphic user interface, of information pertaining to said secondary market securities auction whereby the participants have equal access to and knowledge of the bids and said current status of said secondary market securities auction to enable informed trading decisions.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

providing a program alert graphic user interface of said computer software application wherein criteria are selected for a notification of activity pertaining to said secondary market securities auction and overall market activity.

3. The method according to claim 2, further comprising:

displaying the notification of activity pertaining to said secondary market securities auction and overall market activity in an alert graphic user interface of said computer software application.

4. The method according to claim 2, further comprising:

displaying a system generated notification of activity pertaining to said secondary market securities auction and overall market activity in said alert graphic user interface of said computer software application.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

implementing a predetermined decision to automatically increase a bid for the individual specific lot of secondary market securities, by a first participant using said auction detail graphic user interface to enter a starting bid and a maximum bid for the individual specific lot of secondary market securities where the starting bid is greater than a current high bid plus a predetermined minimum increment wherein the maximum bid is not disclosed to any of the plurality of participants.

6. The method according to claim 5, further comprising:

systematically increasing the bid by said predetermined minimum increment up to the maximum bid, based on market competition from a bid submitted by at least a second participant.

7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

displaying on said auction detail graphic user interface at least one of an independent evaluation.

8. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

displaying a spread to an indicative yield curve for the bids in said secondary market securities auction on said auction detail graphic user interface.

9. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

storing, in said database, the criteria used by the participant in the search to identify the individual specific lot of secondary market securities to trade wherein the criteria are available for later retrieval by the participant.

10. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

updating and inserting the individual specific lots of secondary market securities for which a bid is desired by the potential seller thereof of into said database through a direct connection between at least one of said plurality of client computers and at least one said host computer.

11. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

updating and inserting bids for the individual specific lots of secondary market securities into said database through said direct connection between at least one of said plurality of client computers and at least one said host computer.

12. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

updating and inserting the selling orders for executing the trade of the individual specific lots of secondary market securities at the potential seller'"'"'s discretion into said database through said direct connection between at least one of said plurality of client computers and at least one said host computer.