Systems Including a Hub Platform, Communication Network and Memory Configured for Processing Data Involving Time-Stamped/Time-Sensitive Aspects and/or Other Features

Abstract

Systems and methods involving a hub platform, communication network, and memory configured for processing data involving time-stamped/time-sensitive aspects and other features are disclosed. In one example, an illustrative system may comprise a hub computer platform and associated computing components configured to generate a plurality of portals including at least first and second portals, including aspects such as automatically updating information displayed therein in real-time between portals, automatically attaching and/or processing timestamps and identifier information that are attached to orders upon receipt and acceptance thereof, automatically generating and/or processing order book data, generating, updating and/or interactively displaying various tabular and/or graphical information such as order information that is automatically processed based on timestamps and/or other inputs and data, and/or generating other GUI features that, for example, may graphically display and automatically update level-of-involvement information.

1 .- 3 . (canceled) 
     
     
         4 . The computerized method of  claim 13 , further comprising: commencing secondary market trading of the new issue securities. 
     
     
         5 .- 12 . (canceled) 
     
     
         13 . A computer-implemented process for marketing, pricing and allocating new issue securities using one or more communications networks, a computer platform, at least one issuing entity, a plurality of broker-dealers, a plurality of investors, and at least one lead agent, the process steps comprising:
 conducting, via the computer platform, one or more new issue securities offerings, the computer platform comprising at least one processor and non-transitory computer readable media, the non-transitory computer readable media including computer-readable program instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform operations associated with the method;   providing, by said computer platform, real-time offering information to the plurality of investors and/or a general public via said one or more communications networks;   providing, by said computer platform, a plurality of secure electronic portals including a broker-dealer portal provided to at least one electronic order routing and management system associated with one or more broker-dealers, wherein the one or more broker-dealers use the broker-dealer portal when brokering the one or more new issue securities offerings;
 processing, by the computer platform, one more orders, from said broker-dealers submitted on behalf of said respective investors, relating to said one or more new issue securities offerings, and determining which of the one or more orders are acceptable for further processing as accepted orders; 
   based on real-time processing of the accepted orders by said computer platform, continually updating current indicative pricing of an associated new issue securities offering based on said accepted orders submitted by said broker-dealers;   closing, via said computer platform, an offering link on said broker-dealer portal after termination of a marketing period of at least one new issue securities offering, and after a preselected threshold has been met by the accepted orders submitted by said broker-dealers on behalf of said respective investors;   determining, after termination of said marketing period of the at least one new issue securities offering, by said at least one lead agent, an offering price for said at least one new issue securities offering;   disseminating, via said computer platform, said offering price to at least said plurality of investors;   calculating, by said computer platform, on a per-order basis, for the accepted orders associated with the at least one new issue securities offering, allocation information for said at least one new issue securities offering;   generating, by said computer platform, one or more final listings of securities allocation information based on the allocation information; and   providing, by said computer platform, at least one of the allocation information and/or the one or more final listings as output.   
     
     
         14 . (canceled) 
     
     
         15 . The process of  claim 13 , wherein said computer platform also operates as one of said at least one lead agents. 
     
     
         16 .- 18 . (canceled) 
     
     
         19 . The process of  claim 13 , further comprising one or both of:
 disseminating, via the computer platform, at least one of (i) a minimum offering metrics at or below which the offering will not be completed, and/or (ii) a maximum offering metrics above which the offering will not be increased; and/or   disseminating, via the computer platform, the at least one of the minimum offering metrics and/or the maximum offering metrics based on at least one of: a number of holders, an offering price, an amount of securities to be issued, an amount of assets collected, and/or an amount of cash proceeds realized by an issuing entity.   
     
     
         20 .- 22 . (canceled) 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising:
 connecting said computer platform with one or more of the at least one electronic order routing and management system, such that the computer platform is configured for direct communication with the one or more of the at least one electronic order routing and management system, using existing order routing and/or management protocols, for order submission and for communicating subsequent information regarding status of the accepted orders processed by the computer platform; and   wherein the existing order routing and/or management protocols include Financial Information eXchange protocols (FIX protocols).   
     
     
         24 .- 25 . (canceled) 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the one or more new issue securities offerings include at least one of an initial or follow-on securities offering in form of one or more of: collective investment securities, exchange traded funds, managed investment products, taxable debt, tax-exempt debt, equity IPOs, follow-ons, and/or equity offerings. 
     
     
         27 .- 29 . (canceled) 
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising:
 updating an order file with the accepted orders, wherein the order file contains information regarding orders processed by the computer platform, the orders processed by the computer platform being associated with the one or more new issue securities offerings;   providing a lead agent portal, in the plurality of portals, to at least one computer associated with the at least one lead agent, wherein the at least one computer associated with the at least one lead agent includes a first graphical user interface, and wherein the computer platform generates and transmits information that causes the first graphical user interface to display:
 at least one order depth table corresponding to an associated new issue securities offering of the one or more new issue securities offerings, the at least one order depth table being continually updated via information transmitted from the computer platform based on real-time updates of the accepted orders;
 wherein, for a plurality of price levels, the at least one order depth table comprises one or both of limit prices and/or cumulative number of shares or bonds or units; and 
 wherein the lead agent portal provides price sensitivity information indicating investor demand, at specific price levels, for the associated new issue securities offering; 
 
   providing an informational portal, in the plurality of portals, to the plurality of investors and/or the general public for publishing, based on the real-time updates of the accepted orders, offering information regarding the one or more new issue securities offerings including the associated new issue securities offering, the offering information comprising at least one of an offering name and current indicative pricing;
 wherein the current indicative pricing is market-derived pricing, derived from user interface (UI) information depicting demand contained in the at least one order depth table and/or the order file that are updated in real-time based on the accepted orders, such that the current indicative pricing thereby reflects current demand during the marketing of the one or more new issue securities offerings; 
   responsive to the real-time processing of the accepted orders, continually updating the order file and/or the at least one order depth table, and publishing updates of the current indicative pricing, based on the continually updating, at the broker-dealer portal, the lead agent portal and the informational portal, until the marketing of the associated new issue securities offering concludes;
 wherein publishing of the offering information including the current indicative pricing, based on the continually updating, reflects current market pricing and current market value, to thereby publish demand discovery information and the current indicative pricing to the general public via the informational portal; and 
   determining, by the computer platform, for at least one new issue securities offering of the one or more new issue securities offerings, subsequent to termination of marketing of the at least one new issue securities offering, and during closing of the at least one new issue securities offering, a clearing price and/or an offering size of the at least one new issue securities offering.   
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising one or more of:
 continually publishing, on an informational portal, one or more of a specified target pricing range, the current indicative pricing, a quantity of offering units subscribed for, a quantity of holders represented by the accepted orders, time remaining in the marketing of the associated new issue securities offering, a clearing price, and/or the offering price;   providing the broker-dealer portal, in the plurality of portals, to the one or more broker-dealers during the marketing of the one or more new issue securities offerings and the closing of the one or more new issue securities offerings, wherein the broker-dealer portal further comprises a table of orders, wherein, for each order in the table of orders, the table of orders further comprises data fields including two or more of a limit price, a number of shares, an order value, account information, and a timestamp generated for each order by the computer platform; and/or   continually publishing, on the broker-dealer portal, a summary profile for the associated new issue securities offering until the marketing of the associated new issue securities offering concludes;
 wherein the summary profile includes one or more of a specified target pricing range, the current indicative pricing, time remaining in the marketing of the associated new issue securities offering, quantity of shares or bonds or units subscribed for, and/or quantity of holders represented by the accepted orders. 
   
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising one or more of:
 performing, by the computer platform, demand discovery, including establishing level of investor interest for the associated new issue securities offering, at specific price levels, by automatically generating information, in real-time by the computer platform, and updating the level of investor interest at the specific price levels based on the real-time processing of the accepted orders;   performing, by the computer platform, price discovery, including establishing a market-derived offer price associated with the associated new issue securities offering via identifying, the current indicative pricing of the associated new issue securities offering, continually publishing updates of the current indicative pricing, and subsequently, during closing of the associated new issue securities offering, determining an associated clearing price for setting the market-derived offer price, based on the associated clearing price;   receiving, via the broker-dealer portal, the one or more orders communicated directly from the one or more broker-dealers;   determining, by the computer platform, that at least one of the one or more orders is disruptive, manipulative or unreliable; and/or   excluding, by the computer platform, one or more of the one or more orders determined to be disruptive, manipulative or unreliable.   
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising one or both of:
 providing, via the computer platform, a lead agent portal to one or more lead or managing agents that manage an issuer's offering, act as an advisor and/or act as a marketing agent, wherein the at least one lead agent is one of the one or more lead or managing agents; and/or   generating, via the computer platform, a plurality of portals including a first portal provided to the at least one electronic order routing and management system associated with the one or more broker-dealers and a second portal provided to at least one computer associated with the at least one lead agent;
 wherein the first portal provides a plurality of electronic portals, including the broker-dealer portal, to the at least one electronic order routing and management system associated with the one or more broker-dealers; and 
 wherein the second portal provides a plurality of electronic portals, including the lead agent portal, to at least one computer associated with the at least one lead agent. 
   
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein one or more of:
 the allocation information calculated on the per-order basis is calculated based on one or more of: an order price, an order time, an order size, and/or a pro-rata basis;   the one or more orders comprise new orders, order amendments and order cancellations; and/or   the one or more orders are comprised of two or more of: at least one new order, at least one order amendment, and/or at least one order cancellation.   
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising one or more of:
 utilizing, by the computer platform, existing order routing and/or management protocols to transmit, via at least one of the plurality of portals, electronic data regarding new issue securities offering information associated with the one or more new issue securities offerings;   connecting the computer platform with at least one existing order routing and management system of at least one of the one or more broker-dealers;   attaching, automatically via the computer platform, upon receipt of the one or more orders, timestamp information to a plurality of the one or more orders;   calculating the allocation information for a plurality of the accepted orders including giving priority to the accepted orders having timestamps denoting earlier receipt, such that the accepted orders having earlier timestamps are eligible for allocation at a greater percentage (fill rate) or proportion (fill amount) of an order amount than the accepted orders having later timestamps; and/or   automatically updating timestamp information of the accepted orders that are modified by the computer platform per request by respective corresponding amending orders such that the timestamp information reflects the time of acceptance of the respective corresponding amending orders.   
     
     
         36 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising one or more of:
 terminating, by the computer platform, marketing of the at least one new issue securities offering, either automatically by the computer platform based on preselected criteria or as initiated by the at least one lead agent;   publishing, by the computer platform, prior to termination of the marketing of the associated new issue securities offering, one or more pre-closing notices; and/or   publishing, by the computer platform, via at least one of the plurality of portals, a notice informing the one or more broker-dealers and/or the general public that the marketing of the at least one new issue securities offering has ended.   
     
     
         37 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising one or both of:
 providing, by the computer platform, one or more of the at least one allocation information and/or the one or more final listings as output to the broker-dealer portal and/or a lead agent portal based on a final list of the accepted orders; and/or   generating, as an output of the computer platform, an indication of an amount of cash proceeds obligated to be delivered to an issuer of the at least one new issue securities offering during settlement.   
     
     
         38 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising one or both of:
 transmitting, by the computer platform, during the closing of the at least one new issue securities offering, to respective ones of the one or more broker-dealers having one or more of the accepted orders, the allocation information that is firm-specific to each respective one of the one or more broker-dealers; and/or   generating, by the computer platform, the allocation information to be firm-specific, wherein the allocation information further comprises investor order information, based upon the accepted orders submitted by each of the respective ones, indicating to which investor, associated with the respective ones, each allocation of the allocation information is to be distributed.   
     
     
         39 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein, for the associated new issue securities offering, the offering information further comprises one or more of:
 a current number of shares or bonds or units associated with the accepted orders, where said accepted orders have a limit price at or higher than the current indicative pricing; a current cumulative number of shares or bonds or units associated with the accepted orders per specific price levels; a current number of holders associated with the accepted orders where said accepted orders have a limit price at or higher than the current indicative pricing; a current number of holders associated with the accepted orders per the specific price levels; a current amount of market value of the accepted orders, where said accepted orders have a limit price at or higher than the current indicative pricing; and/or an amount of time remaining until termination of the marketing of the associated new issue securities offering.   
     
     
         40 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising one or both of:
 processing, by the computer platform, secondary securities comprised of all or part of at least one first investor's existing investment holdings, wherein the secondary securities are related to the one or more new issue securities offerings and submitted through the broker-dealer portal and/or a lead agent portal to offer to other investors along with the one or more new issue securities offerings, such that the one or more new issue securities offerings thereby include the secondary securities; and/or   processing, by the computer platform, orders submitted for a broker-dealer's and/or a lead agent's own account, as principal orders of the one or more orders, wherein the principal orders include an identifier marking the principal orders as principal.   
     
     
         41 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising one or more of:
 establishing, by the computer platform, the current indicative pricing as an indicative clearing price, wherein the indicative clearing price is one price level, of specific price levels, at which at least a minimum threshold of offered shares or bonds or units of the associated new issue securities offering can be sold at time of establishing the indicative clearing price;   establishing, by the computer platform, a clearing price as a market demand and market-derived price, at which at least a minimum threshold of offered shares or bonds or units of the associated new issue securities offering can be sold; and/or   establishing the offering price as a price that is more attractive than the clearing price, by either receiving the offering price from the at least one lead agent or as automatically determined by the computer platform.   
     
     
         42 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein at least one of the accepted orders is a good-until-canceled order eligible for further processing by the computer platform unless the computer platform receives and accepts a cancellation order associated with the good-until-canceled order, wherein the cancellation order is rejected as not acceptable, by the computer platform, if the cancellation order is not received prior to a deadline for submitting the cancellation order. 
     
     
         43 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising one or more of:
 providing, by the computer platform, information to the one or more broker-dealers, one or more investors and/or the general public via one or more media outlets and/or financial websites such that the one or more broker-dealers, the one or more investors and/or the general public that already use said one or more media outlets and/or financial websites can also use said one or more media outlets and/or financial websites to attain the offering information;   providing, by the computer platform, information to the general public, via the one or more media outlets and/or financial websites, wherein the information to the general public further includes one or more of: (a) a total number of bids and amount of securities that were bid for at each price level, (b) a total number of bids and amount of securities bid for at or above the offering price, and/or (c) a number of originating broker-dealers;   conducting, by the computer platform, the one or more new issue securities offerings via only processing transactions from participants that submit their orders through the one or more broker-dealers and/or the at least one lead agent, to thereby preserve, for the participants, investor protection benefits that are part of an existing, regulated industry in which the one or more broker-dealers and/or the at least one lead agent are regulated representatives; and/or   coupling the computer platform and at least one market maker computer via said plurality of portals to provide for direct communication therebetween, wherein the at least one market maker computer, via the computer platform, communicates and works with a plurality of broker-dealer computers and at least one lead agent computer to create new issues securities against a lead agent order list that has been created based on at least one final listing.   
     
     
         44 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the one or more new issue securities offerings comprise new issue securities fund offerings, including exchange traded funds (ETFs), with at least one of the new issue securities fund offerings having a market value that is based upon securities that underlie said at least one new issue securities fund offerings, wherein the indicative pricing is an estimate of an interim net asset value of the securities that underlie said at least one new issue securities fund offerings, and wherein the clearing price is based on a value of the securities that underlie said at least one new issue securities fund offerings, and
 wherein the estimate of the interim net asset value is calculated on a periodic basis and provided by a market data provider.   
     
     
         45 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising:
 comparing, by the computer platform, prior to acceptance, each of the one or more orders against an amount, size, condition, and/or requirement established as a threshold by the at least one lead agent;   rejecting, by the computer platform, any of the each of the one or more orders that fail to meet the threshold, as not acceptable for further processing by the computer platform; and/or   rejecting, by the computer platform, any of the each of the one or more orders where the threshold comprises a maximum amount of the one or more orders' size.   
     
     
         46 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein at least one order received at the computer platform from the at least one electronic order routing and management system includes one or more identifiers containing origination data. 
     
     
         47 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising one or both of:
 providing a first graphical user interface to at least one computer associated with the at least one lead agent, wherein the first graphical user interface includes an order depth table and/or an order depth graph; and/or   providing a second graphical user interface to at least one computer associated with the one or more broker-dealers, wherein the second graphical user interface comprises a user interface button, selection of which suspends one or more orders associated with a financial advisor, suspends one or more orders associated with a particular offering, or suspends all orders associated with a particular offering.   
     
     
         48 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein one or both of:
 the broker-dealer portal is a secure electronic portal that allows the one or more broker-dealers to access its respective data and information securely; and/or   a lead agent portal is a secure electronic portal that allows the at least one lead agent to access its respective data and information securely.   
     
     
         49 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising:
 establishing levels of investor interest and/or non-partisan pricing for the one or more new issue securities offerings by one or more of:
 (i) providing, via the broker-dealer portal, during the marketing of the one or more new issue securities offerings, equal access to offerings and information to the one or more broker-dealers; 
 (ii) providing, via the one or more communications networks, during the marketing of the one or more new issue securities offerings, equal access to offerings and information to entities accessing an informational portal; 
 (iii) establishing, via the broker-dealer portal, a communication channel between the computer platform and the one or more broker-dealers, wherein the communication channel uses protocols that connect broker-dealers to existing stock exchanges for secondary market trading orders to also provide for participation in new issue offerings, to thereby expand infrastructure used for secondary market trading orders to further include distribution of the one or more new issue securities offerings; 
 (iv) continually publishing, on a real time basis, updates of the current indicative pricing via the plurality of portals, to thereby provide price discovery information equally to the one or more broker-dealers, the plurality of investors and the general public; and/or 
 (v) generating the allocation information on a non-partisan (equal) basis based on one or more of order price, order time, order size, and/or pro-rata. 
   
     
     
         50 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising performing processing, by the computer platform, that performs three or more of:
 (i) providing equal access to the offering information to participating investors, via the one or more communications networks, on a real-time basis, during the marketing of the one or more new issue securities offerings;   (ii) providing, to the participating investors via the one or more broker-dealers, equal opportunity to place, amend and/or cancel each of the participating investors' own orders of the one or more orders;   (iii) providing the allocation information on a non-partisan (equal) basis based on one or more of order price, order time, order size and/or pro-rata; and/or   (iv) providing the broker-dealer portal and a lead agent portal as secure communication channels over which confidential information is securely transmitted and/or accessed via the at least one electronic order routing and management system associated with the one or more broker-dealers and at least one computer associated with the at least one lead agent;   such that the participating investors are thereby involved in the one or more new issue securities offerings in a manner wherein equal access to all of the participating investors as well as fair, transparent and open participation and distribution of allocations, of the at least one new issue securities offering are achieved.   
     
     
         51 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising performing processing, by the computer platform, that performs three or more of:
 (i) providing, on a real-time basis via the broker-dealer portal, equal access among the one or more broker-dealers to engage in brokering of the one or more new issue securities offerings;   (ii) providing the broker-dealer portal to subscribing ones of the one or more broker-dealers, such that respective investors of subscribing ones of the one or more broker-dealers are provided equal access, to the one or more new issue securities offerings, as all other investors of the subscribing ones, and thereby enabling participation in the one or more new issue securities offerings in a manner that is non-partisan and non-bundled;   (iii) configuring the computer platform to allow the subscribing ones to maintain, with the respective investors of theirs, direct relationships, in which the computer platform will not interfere, and thereby maintain suitability, appropriateness and other investor protection; and/or   (iv) transmitting information including allocations, of the at least one new issue securities offering based upon orders accepted from each of participating investors, and associated investor distributions from the computer platform by a secure channel to each respective one of the subscribing ones for distribution to the participating investors to yield transparent, non-partisan new issue pricing, allocation and distribution;   such that the subscribing ones are involved in the one or more new issue securities offerings in a manner that affords equal access to all of the subscribing ones and respective investor clients of the subscribing ones, such that fair, transparent and open offerings are thereby provided in a non-partisan manner to all of the respective investor clients.   
     
     
         52 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising:
 processing, by the computer platform, individually/without bundling, investor orders received from one or more of at least one computer associated with the at least one lead agent via the plurality of portals, such that the one or more orders include the investor orders and thereby, as a function of the one or more orders being processed individually including generating the allocation information on the per-order basis, the computer platform provides equal access to the one or more new issue securities offerings to one or more investors.   
     
     
         53 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the one or more orders received via the plurality of portals for processing, individually/without bundling, by the computer platform include orders received from the one or more broker-dealers and/or the at least one lead agent;
 wherein the method further comprises:
 processing orders individually by the computer platform, such that, as a function of the computer platform processing orders individually including generating the allocation information on the per-order basis, the computer platform provides equal access to the one or more new issue securities offerings to one or more investors.