Patent ID: 7606753

Claim:
A computer-implemented method for determining a cost basis associated with a plurality of shares of a security, comprising the steps of: entering, into a computer system, information identifying an issuer associated with the security, a purchase date of the security, and a number of shares of the security purchased on the purchase date; determining a purchase price per share of the security on the purchase date; retrieving from a database, in response to the information identifying the issuer, the purchase date and a sale date, a list of capital events that occurred in connection with the security between the purchase date and the sale date, wherein the list of capital events includes at least one event selected from the group consisting of a distribution reinvestment, a spin-off event, a merger event and a split event, and wherein the database stores past price per share information and capital events for a plurality of different securities associated with different issuers; retrieving from a database multiple shares held adjustment ratios, wherein each of the shares held adjustment ratios corresponds to at least one of the capital events that occurred in connection with the security between the purchase date and the sale date; determining a current cost basis associated with the security by applying each of the shares held adjustment ratios to an initial basis of the security, including: assigning an intermediate cost basis equal to the current cost basis; adjusting the current cost basis by applying a further shares held adjustment ratio to the intermediate cost basis; and repeating the steps of assigning an intermediate cost basis equal to the current cost basis and adjusting the current cost basis until each further shares held adjustment ratio retrieved from the database has been used to adjust the current cost basis of the security, wherein each further shares held adjustment ratio retrieved from the database has an event date associated therewith and is applied in a chronological order such that a shares held adjustment ratio associated with a latest event date is applied in a final iteration of the step of adjusting the current cost basis; and storing information relating to the current cost basis in a memory.