US 2001/0034683 A1Published application

Method and system for online investment contests

OwnerWei Reninventor

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Abstract

A method and a system for a distributed electronic system in which remotely located contestants participate in investment contests through input/output devices connected to a central controller which manages contests and stores contest data. The method includes steps: 1) that rate and rank participants, taking into consideration of factors including investment returns, risk level, investment styles, and the duration of their participation, and their levels of knowledge in investment, finance and specific industries; 2) that runs the contests continuously such that it allows contestants to begin, withdraw from, and resume the contest anytime they choose, with their ratings being updated continuously; 3) that awards prizes and titles according to these ratings and other factors such as age; 4) that separate contestants with different skill levels according to these ratings into different leagues. The system includes software and hardware to implement the method. Contestants can participate either through Internet or other media such as phone, fax, and mail.

Claims1

Dependent claims

A method for rating and ranking participants in an online investment contest, comprising the steps of:

a. providing a central controller to store all data of said contest, including contestants' profiles, user IDs, passwords, and portfolios,
b. providing a character input/output means which is connected electronically to said central controller to allow each of said participants to input desired trading instructions for his portfolio, which are then transmitted to said central controller to update his portfolio data
c. determining a time unit, e.g. a day, as a performance measurement period,
d. computing and storing in said central controller the values of portfolios of said participants at the end of each said performance period,
e. computing and storing in said central controller the values of a numerical rating for each of said participants at the end of each said performance period, comprising the steps of
i. setting the value of said numerical rating at zero at the time of said participant enters said contest,
ii. updating the value of said rating according to one of the iterative algorithms detailed earlier in the description of the invention.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 09/796,501Filed 28 Feb 2001
Priority: 28 Feb 2000
Published: 25 Oct 2001
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification8 codes

G07F 17/32
Coin-freed apparatus for hiring articles; Coin-freed facilities or services: for games, toys, sports, or amusements
G06Q 40/00
Finance
G06Q 40/02
Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes: banking, e.g. interest calculation or account maintenance
G07F 17/3223
Hardware aspects of a gaming system, e.g. components, construction, architecture thereof: architectural aspects of a gaming system, e.g. internal…