| abstract |
The disclosed invention is a new method and mechanism for a marketplace ofnbuyers and sellers of any asset, and in particular financial instruments. The inventionnincludes a user specified, computer-aided control over the visibility and matching of buynand sell orders. In a marketplace, particularly one with illiquid assets, a participant wantsnhis order to be shown to potentially interested participants such that a trade can takenplace. However, the participant wants this order treated with discretion, so that hisntrading information does not get into the hands of non-interested parties who may takenadvantage of the information, thus causing adverse price movement. The mechanism andnbusiness method disclosed herein allow the user to enter a buy or sell order along withnparameters, including a visibility group, which guide a computer program to distributeninformation about this order to desired parties. The mechanism can be used for thentrading of any financial asset, including but not limited to, bonds, stocks, foreignnexchange, commodities, futures, and options. |