Patent ID: 8209255

Claim:
An options class allocation system for determining which market participants for an exchange are authorized to disseminate quotes on a trading facility for a particular options class, the options class allocation system comprising: a memory having an options class selection database, the options class selection database comprising a listing of a plurality of options classes available for trading on the trading facility, wherein each options class is associated with a ranking based on a trading parameter associated with the options class; a communication module configured for communicating with a trade engine of the exchange; and a processor in communication with the trade engine via the communication module and in communication with the memory, the processor configured to: receive a request to obtain a right to submit quotes in a subset of the plurality of available options classes from a market participant having an ownership interest in the exchange, wherein the ownership interest of the market participant is less than an amount necessary to obtain a right to submit quotes in all available options classes; automatically determine if a total value of trading rights associated with each of the available options classes in the subset of available options classes in the request is within a value of the ownership interest associated with the market participant, where each options class in the subset of the plurality of available options classes is assigned a trading rights value corresponding to the ranking in the options class selection database; and automatically transmit an approval of the request when the request is within the value of the ownership interest associated with the market participant.