Patent ID: 7552083

Claim:
A method of allocating orders for the purchase or sale of securities or derivatives in an exchange configured for trading securities or derivatives by a combination of electronic and open-outcry trading mechanisms, the method comprising: receiving an incoming electronic order at a trade engine of the exchange; matching and executing the incoming electronic order against an order resting on an electronic book if the order resting on the electronic book is from a public customer; receiving at least one remote electronic quote at the trade engine from at least one market participant positioned at a location remote from an open-outcry trading floor of the exchange; determining a first allocation percentage of a remainder of the incoming electronic order for each eligible market participant on the open-outcry trading floor of the exchange and at a location remote from the open-outcry trading floor, each eligible market participant having one of a quote or an order matching a price of the incoming electronic order, wherein the first allocation percentage comprises a participation component and a pro rata component and is calculated at the trade engine for all eligible market participants, wherein all eligible market participants comprises each eligible market participant on the open-outcry trading floor and each eligible market participant at a location remote from the floor of the exchange, according to the relation: allocation ⁢ ⁢ percentage = [ ⁢ 1 number ⁢ ⁢ of ⁢ ⁢ participants + participant ⁢ ⁢ quote ⁢ ⁢ size ∑ participant ⁢ ⁢ quote ⁢ ⁢ sizes 2 ] ; and allocating to each eligible market participant on the open-outcry trading floor of the exchange and at a location remote from the open-outcry trading floor a greater of the first allocation percentage or a predetermined second allocation percentage of the remainder of the incoming electronic order.