Methods and Apparatus for Formulation, Initial Public or Private Offering, and Secondary Market Trading of Risk Management Contracts

Abstract

Key features of these methods, apparatus, and designs include (but are not limited to) innovations and implementations of futures securities; the notion of Type I, Type II, and Type III futures contracts custom tailored to specific clienteles; the notion of tickets and coupons as tradable futures contracts; the notion of bifurcation; the notion of redeemable bundles; and notion of realization of the futures market on the Internet; the apparatus of an Internet-based trading interface and engine; the notion of cookie-cutter futures electronic Internet-based futures markets for each security; the feature of maximal reliance on the Internet; and the business concept of “profitability without the need for high trading volume.”

That which is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of conducting business comprising the steps of:
 establishing a computer-network based contract trading system electronically accessible by traders, said trading system including a plurality of trading accounts, each trader on the trading system being associated with at least one of the trading accounts; and   establishing, on said trading system, a plurality of separate contracts within contract bundles, each contract bundle paying off an aggregate fixed monetary sum at maturity, the aggregate fixed monetary sum at maturity known when the contract bundles are established, and wherein each contract bundle comprises at least two separate contracts.