Method and Apparatus for Enabling Individual or Smaller Investors or Others to Create and Manage A Portfolio of Securities or Other Assets or Liabilities on a Cost Effective Basis

Abstract

Smaller investors can create and manage on a cost-effective basis a complex portfolio of securities using a mechanism that enables the investor to provide to the system the investor's preferences regarding his portfolio, to generate a portfolio, including fractional shares, that reflects the investor's preferences. The system then permits aggregation of the orders, and netting of orders, generated by multiple investors at various times during the day for execution. In addition, the structure of the computer-based system of the present invention allows its cost to be based on access to or usage of the system (such as a monthly fee) as opposed to by securities orders entered into the system as per common brokerage. The result is that the investor can create a portfolio of directly owned securities with athibutes, such as diversification, similar to a mutual fund.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system comprising:
 a) a server comprising a communications interface configured to be connected to a plurality of user stations over a network;   b) a database comprising information relating to a plurality of market tradable assets or liabilities;   c) a trading system;   wherein the server is configured to:
 i) receive over the network from each of a plurality of investors a set of preferences for an investment portfolio; 
 ii) for each of the plurality of investors, select a plurality of market tradable assets or liabilities to be in such investor's portfolio based on such investor's preferences and manage such investor's portfolio in accordance with market changes and changes in such investor's preferences; 
 iii) receive over the network a plurality of trading orders from among the plurality of investors, including an order for an odd lot of a market tradable asset or liability and an order for a single share of a market tradable asset or liability; 
 iv) hold a plurality of received trading orders, including said order for an odd lot and said order for a single share, for aggregation; 
 v) aggregate the held plurality of trading orders, prior to execution of any of said held plurality of trading orders, into a single order for each market tradable asset or liability among the held plurality of trading orders; and 
 vi) electronically forward the aggregated trading orders for execution to the trading system; and 
   wherein said server is configured to manage a plurality of investment portfolios holding an odd lot or a single share of a market tradeable asset or liability after execution of said aggregated trading orders.