A computer system for portfolio management investment functions

Claim 1

A computer system (1) comprising an operations computer (2) arranged to perform portfolio management investment functions, the operations computer (2) being connected via a communications network (10) to user interface devices (11,12), characterised in that:, the computer system (1) includes at least two operations computers (2); the operations computers (2) are connected by a cluster controller (3) to a cluster of fixed disk drives (5) and back-­up tape drives(6); the system (1) further comprises at least one control and development computer (20) connected to the operations computers (2) via the communications network (10) for controlling access of enquiries and inputs for portfolio management investment functions from the user interface devices (11,12) to a selected operations computer (2), for programming and updating stored processing values for portfolio investment operations of the selected operations computer, and for directing use of the or each other operations computer (2) for word processing or batch processing functions; the system (1) includes modulation and demodulation devices (18) operating on telecommunication lines (14) and connected directly to the selected operations computer (2) for reception of real-time information including current values of portfolio investment parameters, the modulation and demodulation devices (18) being arranged to receive said information automatically and to verify that the information is in a pre-defined format; and the selected operations computer comprises:- an input interface circuit for receiving (30,31)and storing (32) in random access memory said information; a comparator circuit for verifying (33) if values for all of a pre-defined list of parameters have been received; a processing circuit having means for estimating values (34) of parameters for which values have not been received based on a stored next previous value for that parameter and on current market indicators, and for storing (35) estimated values in random access memory, the processing circuit also comprising means for calculating (36) fund prices based on the parameter values stored in random access memory; and an output interface circuit for generating (37) a report for said fund prices and for automatically transmitting said report to the user interface devices via the communications network.