SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR REQUESTING A RESERVATION FOR A SET OF CONTRACT RIGHTS INSTRUMENTS
A method and system for the determination of optimal pricing and allocation of securities in an open, competitive environment. The method and system may also be used in developing pre-markets of other items that are difficult to price and allocate in a competitive manner, such as the underwriting/securitization of contracts for property; future revenue/earning streams from an asset and/or group of assets; underwritten insurance portfolios, intellectual property and other goods and services. The system of price optimization and allocation is accomplished by interactive feedback of information using a display and including competitive participation of individual members of the public (and/or their agents) or institutional buyers over a data network e.g., the Internet, uncovering the nature and identification of demand in a self-organizing fashion. Demand emerges through participants' interaction with the system and with each other, via a graphically-supported, interactive reservation process.
1 . A computer-implemented method for requesting one or more reservations for a set of contract rights to be offered by an issuer for later sale comprising the steps of:
(a) transmitting, from one or more computers, to one or more servers a first request to obtain information relating to a contract rights offering, the contract rights offering comprises a plurality of units of a contract rights offering of one or more types at one or more prices that are available for reservation, wherein
(i) each of the units of the contract rights offering is intended to be offered as contract rights for later sale to potential contract rights purchasers, and
(ii) for at least one of the types having at least one of the prices, a plurality of units is available for reservation;
(b) receiving, at the one or more computers from the one or more servers, at a first time, first status information comprising at least information that identify
(i) units of the contract rights offering for each type at each price that are available for reservation as of the first time, including the type, price, and number of units available for reservation, and
(ii) one or more sets of units of the contract rights offering that have been reserved as of the first time, including the type, price, and number of units that have been reserved;
(c) transmitting, from the one or more computers, to the one or more servers, a second request to reserve a first group of one or more of the units of the contract rights offering; and
(d) receiving, at the one or more computers from the one or more servers, at a second time, second status information comprising at least information that identify
(i) units within said plurality of units of the contract rights offering that are yet available for request for reservation as of the second time, including the type, price, and number of units available, and
(ii) one or more sets of units of the contract rights offering that have been reserved, including the type, price, and number of units reserved as of the second time, wherein the one or more sets of units that have been reserved include at least a first set of units within the first group that were available for reservation.
2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of receiving at the one or more computers from the one or more servers, at a third time, third status information comprising at least information that identify
(i) units within said plurality of units of the contract rights offering that are yet still available for request for reservation as of the third time, including the type, price, and number of units available,
(ii) the one or more sets of units of the contract rights offering that have been reserved, including the type, price, and number of units reserved as of the third time, wherein the one or more sets of units that have been reserved include at least the first set of units within the first group and a second set of units.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein a threshold price for requests for reservations is set.
4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the number of units of a particular type of the contract rights offering available at a particular price is limited to fewer units than the total number of units of the contract rights offering.
5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the contractual rights comprise revenue streams from one or more contracts.
6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the contractual rights are for goods.
7 . The method of claim 6 , wherein the goods are commodities.
8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the contract rights are for services.
9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the contractual rights are used to hedge risk.
10 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the method used to hedge risk is insurance.
11 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the contractual rights are to real property.
12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the contractual rights are to used property.
13 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the contractual rights are to intellectual property.
14 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more types comprise contractual rights of a series.
15 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more types comprise contractual rights having the same maturity.
16 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more types comprise contractual rights having the same price.
17 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more types comprise contractual rights available for reservation by a predetermined potential contract rights purchaser class.
18 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the predetermined potential contract rights purchaser class comprises one or more institutional potential contract rights purchasers.
19 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the predetermined potential contract rights purchaser class comprises one or more retail potential contract rights purchasers.
20 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the contract rights for the predetermined potential contract rights purchaser class have a predetermined price.
21 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the number of units of contract rights for the predetermined potential contract rights purchaser class is fixed.
22 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the contract rights for the predetermined potential contract rights purchaser class have one or more prices calculated based on the prices of other reservations outside the predetermined potential contract rights purchaser class.
23 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first set of units comprises all of the units of the first group.
24 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first set of units comprises fewer than all of the units of the first group.