Abstract: A method and system of conducting a participation award auction is provided. In a participation award based auction, a portion of a winning bid is distributed among one or more of the bidders engaged in the auction. A seller utilizing a participation award based auction may define the portion of the winning bid distributed among the bidders as well as the rules used to determine which bidders receive a portion of the winning bid. Providing bidders the opportunity to share in a portion of a winning bid may stimulate interest in a given auction and as a result increase the winning bid received by the seller.

Abstract: A method and computer program product for defining one or more investor portfolio preferences for a user. The one or more investor portfolio preferences are compared to one or more attributes of a security. An interest score for the user relative to the security is generated.