System and method for processing securities trading instructions and communicating order status via a messaging interface

Abstract

A system allowing traders, etc. to use instant messaging (IM) (or other non-FIX based) communications to input trading instructions directly into a broker's Order Management System (OMS) for managing/executing trades. Accordingly, trading instructions may be provided electronically directly from a buy-side trader, and directly to a sell-side broker's/brokerage's OMS, without the need for the sell-side broker to manually re-key the order into the sell-side firm's OMS. Further, trading instructions are provided in electronic format directly to the broker's OMS without the need for the buy-side trader to have an expensive FIX based OMS or associated FIX connection, which is also expensive, thereby allowing relatively smaller investment houses/buy-side organizations to enjoy the benefits of electronic delivery of trading instructions directly to brokers' OMS.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A method comprising:
 generating a receipt of an inbound communication;   scanning the inbound communication for an instruction;   when the inbound communication does not include the instruction, forwarding the inbound communication to an intended recipient; and   when the inbound communication does include the instruction, parsing one or more trade parameters from the inbound communication.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the instruction is a trading instruction. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the instruction is a buy order. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 performing a protected login procedure for the inbound communication.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the instruction includes a keyword selected from the group of buy, sell, limit, edit, cancel, or any synonym thereof. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the instruction includes a volume weighted average price (VWAP) or time weighted average price (TWAP) algorithm. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 logging the inbound communication according to a compliance procedure.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the trade parameter includes a side, a quantity, a ticker, an order type, and an amount. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 generating an outbound communication in response to a missing parameter.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising:
 receiving a second inbound communication included data indicative of the missing parameter in response to the outbound communication.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 displaying a window having a boundary defining a perimeter of the window, the window comprising a plurality of distinct display areas disposed internal to said boundary, the plurality of display areas comprising:   a first display area configured to display a first chat text corresponding to a first chat session via a first instant messaging (IM) network; and   a second display area configured to display a second chat text corresponding to a second chat session via a second IM network, the second IM network being different from the first IM network.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 converting the one or more trade parameters from the inbound communication to a predetermined protocol.   
     
     
         13 . An apparatus comprising:
 a network interface device for communicating via a communications network and configured to receive an inbound communication;   a processor configured to scan the inbound communication for an instruction,   the processor further configured to, when the inbound communication does not include the instruction, forwarding the inbound communication to an intended recipient, and   the processor further configured to, when the inbound communication does include the instruction, parsing one or more trade parameters from the inbound communication.   
     
     
         14 . The apparatus of  claim 13 , wherein the instruction is a trading instruction. 
     
     
         15 . The apparatus of  claim 13 , the processor further configured to log the inbound communication according to a compliance procedure. 
     
     
         16 . The apparatus of  claim 13 , wherein the one or more trade parameters include a side, a quantity, a ticker, an order type, or an amount. 
     
     
         17 . The apparatus of  claim 13 , the processor further configured to generate an outbound communication in response to a missing parameter. 
     
     
         18 . The apparatus of  claim 17 , the network interface device further configured to receive a second inbound communication included data indicative of the missing parameter in response to the outbound communication. 
     
     
         19 . The apparatus of  claim 13 , further comprising:
 a display device configured to display a window having a boundary defining a perimeter of the window, the window comprising a plurality of distinct display areas disposed internal to said boundary, the plurality of display areas comprising:   a first display area configured to display a first chat text corresponding to a first chat session via a first instant messaging (IM) network; and   a second display area configured to display a second chat text corresponding to a second chat session via a second IM network, the second IM network being different from the first IM network.   
     
     
         20 . The apparatus of  claim 13 , the processor further configured to convert the one or more trade parameters from the inbound communication to a predetermined protocol.