Granted Patent B1

US 8,032,433 · App. 11/096,928 · Granted Oct 4, 2011

Assignee: Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC

Abstract

Claims (48)

1. A computer implemented method of facilitating investments, comprising:

receiving a transfer of ownership of a first asset having a value from an investor in exchange for a first contract to repay the value of the first asset plus a target rate of return in accordance with a schedule;

exchanging the first asset for a second asset;

investing the second asset in an investment fund, the investing step performed by a computer that invests the second asset in the investment fund;

receiving at least one return on investment from the investment fund, the receiving step performed by the computer that receives the return on investment from the investment fund;

satisfying the first contract with the investor from the at least one return of the investment fund;

determining, by the computer, that the at least one return on investment from the investment fund exceeds the target rate of return; and

transferring additional funds to the investor, wherein the transferring of additional funds is accomplished via a second contract.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first asset comprises a commodity.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second asset comprises a liquid asset.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the step of the satisfying the first contract includes transferring the liquid asset to the investor.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of transferring additional funds to the investor includes the steps of:

receiving a transfer of ownership of a third asset from the investor in exchange for the second contract, wherein the second contract comprises a contract to repay the value of the third asset plus an additional payment to the investor; and

satisfying the second contract with the additional funds.

6. A system for facilitating investments, comprising:

a processor;

a memory connected to the processor and storing instructions to control the operation of the processor to perform the steps of

receiving a transfer of ownership of a first asset from an investor in exchange for a first contract to repay the value of the first asset plus a target rate of return in accordance with a schedule;

exchanging the first asset for a second asset;

investing the second asset in an investment fund;

receiving at least one return on investment from the investment fund;

satisfying the first contract with the investor from the at least one return of the investment fund;

determining that the return on investment from the investment fund is higher than the target rate of return; and

transferring additional funds equal to the higher return to the investor, wherein the transferring of additional funds is accomplished via a second contract.

7. A computer implemented method for facilitating private equity investments, comprising:

receiving a transfer of ownership of a commodity from an investor in exchange for a first contract to repay the value of the commodity plus a target rate of return in accordance with a schedule;

exchanging the commodity for a liquid asset;

investing the liquid asset in an investment fund, the investing step performed by a computer that invests the second asset in the investment fund;

receiving a return on investment from the investment fund, the receiving step performed by the computer that receives the return on investment from the investment fund;

satisfying the first contract with the investor from the return of the investment fund;

determining, by the computer, that the return on investment from the investment fund exceeds the target rate of return;

receiving a transfer of ownership of a third asset from the investor in exchange for a second contract to repay the value of the third asset plus an additional payment to the investor; and

satisfying the second contract with additional funds, wherein the additional funds are based on the difference between the return on investment from the investment fund and the target rate of return.

8. A computer program product having stored therein a set of instructions that when executed cause a computer to implement a process for facilitating private equity investments, which process comprises the steps of:

receiving a transfer of ownership of a commodity from an investor in exchange for a first contract to repay the value of the commodity plus a target rate of return in accordance with a schedule;

exchanging the commodity for a liquid asset;

investing the liquid asset in an investment fund;

receiving return on investment from the investment fund;

satisfying the first contract with the investor from the return of the investment fund;

determining that the return on investment from the investment fund exceeds the target rate of return;

receiving a transfer of ownership of a third asset from the investor in exchange for a second contract to repay the value of the third asset plus an additional payment to the investor; and

satisfying the second contract with additional funds, wherein the additional funds are based on the difference between the return on investment from the investment fund and the target rate of return.

9. The computer program product of claim 8 , wherein the first asset comprises a commodity and the second asset comprises a liquid asset.

10. The system of claim 6 , wherein the memory further stores instructions to control the operation of the processor to perform the step of transferring additional funds to the investor by storing instructions to control the operation of the processor to perform the steps of:

receiving a transfer of ownership of a third asset from the investor in exchange for the second contract, wherein the second contract comprises a contract to repay the value of the third asset plus an additional payment to the investor; and

satisfying the second contract with the additional funds.

11. The method of claim 7 , wherein the first asset comprises a commodity and the second asset comprises a liquid asset.

12. The system of claim 6 , wherein the first asset comprises a commodity and the second asset comprises a liquid asset.

Assignments (8)

Continuity (1)