Method and apparatus for facilitating transactions on a commercial network system

Claim 2

A computer based method for facilitating a secondary market transaction of shares of investment companies between at least one buyer, an intermediate, and a seller, comprising: receiving at the intermediate a sell order to sell in the secondary market shares of an investment company from the seller, binding the seller to said intermediate, said intermediate having a central controller including database storage; assigning a sell tracking identification, corresponding to said sell order and said seller; storing said sell order and sell tracking identification in said database; receiving a buy order from the buyer, assigning a buy tracking identification company to said buy order and said buyer; storing said buy order and buy tracking identification to said database; scanning the database for matching sell and buy orders; binding the buyer to the intermediate; executing trade upon a match; forwarding trade confirmation to a transfer agent; and forwarding confirmations of transaction to the buyer and the seller.

Claim 3

The method of claim 1 , wherein either the buyer or the seller stipulates a discount or premium off the NAV.

Claim 4

The method of claim 1 , wherein either the buyer or the seller stipulates a price for the shares they will trade.

Claim 5

The method of claim 1 , wherein the purchase stipulation is a commission or cancellation fee defined by the intermediate.

Claim 6

The method of claim 2 , wherein said buy or sell order further includes a settlement date.

Claim 7

The method of claim 2 , wherein the buy or sell order further comprises a quantity specifier.

Claim 8

The method of claim 6 , wherein the buyer or seller specifies additional conditions on the shares in the order.

Claim 9

The method of claim 6 , further comprising the step of authenticating by the central controller the identification and authority of the customer.

Claim 10

The method of claim 8 , wherein the step of authentication of the customer's identification is by comparing the customer's identification, with a customer identification stored in the central controller database.

Claim 11

The method of claim 8 , wherein the step of authentication of the customer's identity is by authenticating the customer's smart card with a smart card issuer.

Claim 12

The method of claim 8 , wherein the step of authentication of the customer's identification is by cryptographic means.

Claim 13

The method of claim 11 , wherein the to cryptographic means includes a symmetric or asymmetric key algorithm including one of DSA, DES, hash protocols and digital signatures.

Claim 14

The method of claim 8 , wherein the step of authentication of the customer's identification is by biometric means.

Claim 15

The method of claim 8 , wherein the step of authentication of the authority of multiple persons at a single customer is performed by cryptographic means.

Claim 16

The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of providing a payment to the seller.

Claim 17

The method of claim 15 , wherein the step of providing payment to the seller has an automatic payment management system.

Claim 18

The method of claim 8 , wherein the payment is currency.

Claim 19

The method or claim 8 , wherein the payment is barter.

Claim 20

The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of transferring said shares to the buyer.

Claim 21

The method of claim 1 , wherein communications between the buyer, intermediary, and the seller is conducted over an electronic network.

Claim 22

The method of claim 1 wherein the communication of buyer and seller with the central controller is achieved by the use of software agents.

Claim 23

The method of claim 1 , wherein communications between the buyer, intermediary, and the seller is conducted over a telecommunications network.

Claim 24

The method of claim 1 , further including the step of facilitating retrieval of buy or sell orders at said central controller by anyone having access to said central controller.

Claim 25

The method of claim 1 , wherein said investment company is a mutual fund.

Claim 26

The method of claim 1 , wherein said investment company is a hedge fund.

Claim 27

The method of claim 1 , wherein said buy or sell order is created by said intermediary.

Claim 28

The method according to claim 1 , wherein another buyer or seller stipulates derivatives on said shares.

Claim 31

A controller having stored programs for facilitating a secondary market transaction of shares of an investment company between a seller, a buyer, and an intermediate, the method steps comprising: means in said intermediate to act as one of a seller, an intermediate, and a buyer; means for receiving at the intermediate a sell order to sell in the secondary market shares of an investment company from the seller, binding the seller to said intermediate; means for assigning a sell tracking identification corresponding to said sell order and said seller; means for assigning said sell order and sell tracking identification in said database; means for receiving a buy order from the buyer, binding the buyer to said intermediate; means for assigning a buy tracking identification to said buy order; means for storing said buy order and buy tracking identification in said database; means for scanning the database for matching sell and buy orders; means for executing trade upon a match; means for forwarding trade confirmation to a transfer agent; and means for forwarding confirmations of transaction to the buyer and the seller.

Claim 32

A controller having stored programs for facilitating a secondary market transaction of shares of an investment company between a seller, a buyer, and an intermediate, the method steps comprising: means in said intermediate to act as one of a seller, an intermediate, and a buyer; means for receiving at the intermediate a sell order to sell in the secondary market shares of an investment company from the seller, binding the seller to said intermediate; means for assigning a sell tracking identification corresponding to said sell order and said seller; means for assigning said sell order and sell tracking identification in said database; means for receiving a buy order from the buyer, binding the buyer to said intermediate; means for assigning a buy tracking identification to said buy order; means for storing said buy order and buy tracking identification in said database; means for scanning the database for matching sell and buy orders; means for executing trade upon a match; means for forwarding trade confirmation to a transfer agent; and means for forwarding confirmations of transaction to the buyer and the seller.