AU2014253533A1 - Valuation indifferent non-capitalization weighted index and portfolio - Google Patents

Abstract

Abstract A passive investment system based on indices created from various metrics is disclosed. The indexes may be built with metrics other than market capitalization weighting, price weighting or equal weighting. These metrics may include, but are not limited to book value, 5 sales, revenue, earnings, earnings per share, income, income growth rate, dividends, dividends per share, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization, etc. Non financial metrics may also be used to build indexes to create passive investment systems. Additionally, a combination of financial non-market capitalization metrics may be used along with non-financial metrics to create passive investment systems. Once the index is 10 built, it may be used as a basis to purchase securities for a portfolio.; As the data underlying the indexes changes because of, e.g., economic activity, the index may be updated and may be used as a basis to rebalance the portfolio. Alternatively, the index can be rebalanced when a pre-determined threshold is reached. Specifically excluded are widely-used capitalization-weighted indexes and price-weighted indexes, in which the price of a security 15 contributes in a substantial way to the calculation of the weight of that security in the index or the portfolio. Valuation indifferent indexes of the present invention avoid overexposure to overvalued securities and underexposure to undervalued securities, as compared with conventional capitalization-weighted and price-weighted. Also specifically excluded are equal weighting weighted indexes. 20 (FIG. 1) IIJ > 0@0a0 cu .0 c LI <i \ID

Description

- 1 Valuation Indifferent Non-Capitalization Weighted Index and Portfolio Background of the Invention Field of the Invention This invention pertains generally to securities investing and more specifically to 5 construction and use of passive portfolios and indexes. Related Art Any discussion of the prior art throughout the specification should in no way be considered as an admission that such prior art is widely known or forms part of common general knowledge in the field. 10 Conventionally, there are various broad categories of securities portfolio management. One conventional securities portfolio management category is active management wherein the securities are selected for a portfolio individually based on economic, financial, credit, and/or business analysis; on technical trends; on cyclical patterns; etc. Another conventional category is passive management, also called indexing, 15 wherein the securities in a portfolio duplicate those that make up an index. The securities in a passively managed portfolio are conventionally weighted by relative market capitalization weighting or equal weighting. Another middle ground conventional category of securities portfolio management is called enhanced indexing, in which a portfolio's characteristics, performance and holdings are substantially dominated by the characteristics, performance 20 and holdings of the index, albeit with modest active management departures from the index. The present invention relates generally to the passive and enhanced indexing categories of portfolio management. A securities market index, by intent, reflects an entire market or a segment of a market. A passive portfolio based on an index may also reflect the entire market or segment. Often every security in an index is held in the passive portfolio. 25 Sometimes statistical modeling is used to create a portfolio that duplicates the profile, risk characteristics, performance characteristics, and securities weightings of an index, without actually owning every security included in the index. (Examples could be portfolios based on the Wilshire 5000 Equity Index or on the Lehman Aggregate Bond Index.) Sometimes statistical modeling is used 5 to create the index itself such that it duplicates the profile, risk characteristics, performance characteristics, and securities weightings of an entire class of securities. (The Lehman Aggregate Bond Index is an example of this practice.) Indexes are generally all-inclusive of the securities within their defined markets or market segments. In most cases indexes may include each security in the proportion that its 10 market capitalization bears to the total market capitalization of all of the included securities. The only common exceptions to market capitalization weighting are equal weighting of the included securities (for example the Value Line index or the Standard & Poors 500 Equal Weighted Stock Index, which includes all of the stocks in the S&P 500 on a list basis; each stock given equal weighting as of a designated day each year) and share price weighting, in which share prices are 15 simply added together and divided by some simple divisor (for example, the Dow Jones Industrial Average). Conventionally, passive portfolios are built based on an index weighted using one ofmarket capitalization weighting, equal weighting, and share price weighting. Advantages of passive investing include: a low trading cost of maintaining a portfolio that has turnover only when an index is reconstituted, typically once a year; a low management 20 cost of a portfolio that requires no analysis of individual securities; and no chance of the portfolio suffering a loss - relative to the market or market segment the index reflects - because of misjudgments in individual securities selection. -2- -3 Advantages of using market capitalization weighting as the basis for a passive portfolio include that the index (and therefore a portfolio built on it) remains continually 'in balance' as market prices for the included securities change, and that the portfolio performance participates in (i.e., reflects) that of the securities market or market segment 5 included in the index. The disadvantages of market capitalization weighting passive indexes, which can be substantial, center on the fact that any under-valued securities are underweighted in the index and related portfolios, while any over-valued securities are over weighted. Also, the portfolio based on market capitalization weighting follows every market (or segment) 10 bubble up and every market crash down. Finally, in general, portfolio securities selection is not based on a criteria that reflects a better opportunity for appreciation than that of the market or market segment overall. Summary of the Invention According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a method of 15 constructing data indicative of a non-capitalization weighted portfolio of assets, the method being implemented in a computer system having at least one computer processor, the method comprising: (a) receiving in the computer system data gathered in regard to a plurality of assets; 20 (b) receiving data indicative of a selection of the plurality of assets to create data indicative of an index of assets, wherein said selection is selected based on an objective measure of scale other than market capitalization and share price; and (c) operating the processor thereby to weight each of said plurality of assets selected in the index based on an objective measure of scale of said each of said plurality of 25 assets, -3a wherein said weighting comprises: (i) weighting at least one of said plurality of assets; and (ii) weighting other than weighting based on at least one of market capitalization, equal weighting, or share price weighting. 5 According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided a system for constructing a non-capitalization weighted portfolio of assets, comprising: means for receiving in a computer system data gathered in regard to a plurality of assets; means for receiving, in the computer system, data indicative of a selection of a 10 plurality of assets to create an index of assets; and a computer processor for providing weighting means for weighting each of said plurality of assets selected in the index based on an objective measure of scale of said each of said plurality of assets, wherein said weighting means comprises: is means for weighting at least one of said plurality of assets; and means for weighting other than weighting based on at least one of market capitalization, equal weighting, or share price weighting. According to a third aspect of the invention there is provided a computer implemented non-capitalization weighted portfolio of assets construction system, 20 comprising: at least one analysis host processor; said processor being adapted to gather data about a plurality of assets; adapted to select a plurality of assets to create an index of assets; adapted to weight each of said plurality of assets selected in the index based on an objective measure of scale of said each 25 of said plurality of assets; adapted to weight at least one ofsaid plurality of assets; and - 3b adapted to weight other than based on at least one of market capitalization, equal weighting, or share price weighting. According to a fourth aspect of the invention there is provided a machine readable medium that provides instructions which when executed by a computing platform, causes 5 said computing platform to perform operations comprising a method of constructing a non capitalization weighted portfolio of assets, the method comprising: (a) gathering data about a plurality of assets; (b) selecting a plurality of assets to create the index of assets; and (c) weighting each of said plurality of assets selected in the index based on an 10 objective measure of scale of said each of said plurality of assets, wherein said weighting comprises: (i) weighting at least one of said plurality of assets; and (ii) weighting other than weighting based on at least one of market capitalization, equal weighting, or share price weighting. 15 An exemplary embodiment of the present invention is directed to a new method, system and computer program product for passive investing that is based on indexes which are built with metrics other than market capitalization weighting, share price weighting or equal weighting. Among these metrics are various financial data of the company issuing securities, including but not limited to book value, sales, revenue, earnings, earnings per 20 share, income, income growth rate, dividends, dividends per share, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization, etc. In another exemplary embodiment, other nonfinancial and non-market capitalization metrics can be used as the basis for compiling an index, such as, e.g., but not limited to; an index of companies with chief executive officers (CEOs) having graduated front a particular university. A common element included in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, which is entirely missing from conventionally available forms of index construction, is that the 5 indexes of the present invention are "valuation-indifferent." That is, conventional indexes do not take account of classical valuation ratios, which causes the conventional indexes to create a natural tendency to over-weight the over-valued and under-weight the under-valued securities in the conventional indexes and portfolios based on them. While this cause also holds true for equal weighting, we exclude that as an already-extant (and trivial) exception. 10 The use of these non-market capitalization metrics according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, allows the construction of indexes and resulting passive portfolios that better reflect the economic scale and/or long-term growth potential of the individual securities within a market or market segment than do conventional capitalization weighting, share price weighting, or equal weighting. The non-market capitalization metrics 15 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, allow construction of indexes and resulting passive portfolios that offer to an investor who wishes to participate in a market or market segment a choice of passive portfolio alternatives with different risk characteristics. The indexes and portfolios based on them according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, also provide these additional advantages while maintaining the conventional benefits 20 of passive investing. In historical testing, these non-market capitalization metrics are found to outperfonn the conventional capitalization-weighted indexes over extended periods of time, with similar or lower portfolio risk. -4- Overall, the availability of non-market capitalization indexes, and the passive and enhanced index portfolios based on them, have the potential to reduce investment costs through more widespread use of low-cost passive and enhanced-index investing. The present invention has the potential to improve investment returns versus the securities markets through the use of a 5 securities weighting framework which is not subject to a natural tendency to overemphasize over-valued securities and underemphasize under-valued securities. The present invention also has the potential to reduce portfolio volatility through the use of securities weighting criteria that are less reflective of 'irrational exuberance.' An exemplary embodiment of the present invention also has the potential to offer 'customized' passive portfolios as each metric may have 10 its own specific performance and risk characteristics. An exemplary embodiment of the present invention sets forth a system, method, and computer program product for constructing a non-capitalization weighted portfolio of assets. In an exemplary embodiment, the method may include: (a) gathering data about a plurality of assets; (b) selecting a plurality of assets to create the index of assets; and (c) weighting each of 15 the plurality of assets selected in the index based on an objective measure of scale of each of the plurality of assets, wherein the weighting may include: (i) weighting at least one of the pluality of assets; and (ii) weighting other than weighting based on market capitalization, equal weighting, and/or share price weighting. In one exemplary embodiment, (c) may include weighting each of the plurality of assets, 20 where each of the assets may include a stock; a commodity; a futures contract; a bond; a mutual fund; a hedge fund; a fund of fumds; an exchange traded fund (ETF); a derivative; or a negative weighting on any asset -5S- In one exemplary embodiment (c) may include weighting each of the plurality of assets, where each of the assets may include a stock. In one exemplary embodiment, (c) may include weighting each of the plurality of assets, where each of the assets may include a commodity. 5 In one exemplary embodiment (c) may include weighting each of the plurality of assets, where each of the assets may include a fixtures contract. In one exemplary embodiment, (c) may include weighting each of the plurality of assets, wherein each of the assets may include a bond. In one exemplary embodiment, (c) may include weighting each of the plurality of assets, 10 where each of the assets may include a mutual fund. In one exemplary embodiment (c) may include weighting each of the plurality of assets, where each of the assets may include a hedge fund. In one exemplary embodiment, (c) may include weighting each of the plurality of assets, where each of the assets may include a fund of funds. 15 In one exemplary embodiment, (c) may include weighting each of the plurality of assets, where each of the assets may include an exchange traded fund (ETF). In one exemplary embodiment, (c) may include weighting each of the plurality of assets, where each of the assets may include a derivative. In one exemplary embodiment, (c) may include a negative weighting on any asset. -6- In one exemplary embodiment, the negative weighting may be performed for purposes of establishing, or measuring, performance for any security, a portfolio of assets, a hedge fund, and/or a long/short position. In one exemplary embodiment, (c) may include weighting based on the objective 5 measure of scale, where the objective measure of scale may include a measure of company size associated with each of the plurality of assets. In one exemplary embodiment, the measure of company size may include one or more of: gross revenue, sales, income, earnings before interest and tax (EBIT), earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), number of employees, book value, 10 assets, liabilities, and/or net worth. In one exemplary embodiment, (c) may include weighting based on the objective measure of scale, where the objective measure of scale includes a measure relating to an underlying asset itself. In one exemplary embodiment, the asset may include a municipality, a municipality 15 issuing bonds, or a commodity. In one exemplary embodiment, the objective measure of scale associated with the asset may include one or more of: revenue, profitability, sales, total sales, foreign sales, domestic sales, net sales, gross sales, profit margin, operating margin, retained earnings, earnings per share, book value, book value adjusted for inflation, book value adjusted for replacement cost, 20 book value adjusted for liquidation value, dividends, assets, tangible assets, intangible assets, -7fixed assets, property, plant, equipment, goodwill, replacement value of assets, liquidation value of assets, liabilities, long term liabilities, short term liabilities, net worth, research and development expense, accounts receivable, earnings before interest, taxes, dividends, and amortization (EBITDA), accounts payable, cost of goods sold (CGS), debt ratio, budget, capital 5 budget, cash budget, direct labor budget, factory overhead budget, operating budget, sales budget, inventory method, type of stock offered, liquidity, book income, tax income, capitalization of earnings, capitalization of goodwill, capitalization of interest, capitalization of revenue, capital spending, cash, compensation, employee turnover, overhead costs, credit rating, growth rate, tax rate, liquidation value of company, capitalization of cash, 10 capitalization of earnings, capitalization of revenue, cash flow, and/or future value of expected cash flow. In one exemplary embodiment, (c) may include weighting each of the assets in the index based on the objective measure of scale, where the objective measure may include a ratio of any combination of the objective measures of scale of the asset other than ratios based on weighting 15 the assets based on market capitalization, equal weighting, or share-price weighting. In one exemplary embodiment, the ratio of any combination of the objective measures of scale may include one or more of: current ratio, debt ratio, overhead expense as a percent of sales, and/or debt service burden ratio. In one exemplary embodiment, the objective measure of scale may include a 20 demographic measure of the asset.

In one exemplary embodiment, the demographic measure of scale may include one or more of: employees, floor space, office space, location, and/or other demographics of an asset. In one exemplary embodiment, the measure of company size may include one or more demographic measure of the asset. 5 In one exemplary embodiment, the demographic measure of the asset may include one or more of a non-financial metric, a non-market related metric, a number of employees, floor space, office space, and/or other demographics of the asset. In one exemplary embodiment, (c) may include weighting based on the objective measure of scale, where the objective measure of scale may include a geographic metric. 10 In one exemplary embodiment, the geographic metric may include a geographic metric other than gross domestic product (GDP) weighting. In one exemplary embodiment, the method may include a passive investing method that may include: constructing the portfolio of assets according to the index. In one exemplary embodiment, the portfolio of assets may include one or more of: a 15 fund; a mutual fund; a fund of funds; an asset account; an exchange traded fund (ETF); a separate account, a pooled trust; and/or a limited partnership. In one exemplary embodiment, the method may fTuther include: selecting a plurality of assets for trading according to the index; and trading one or more of said plurality of assets based on said weighting of the index. -9- In one exemplary embodiment, the trading may include: rebalancing the portfolio based on the index. In one exemplary embodiment, rebalancing may include: rebalancing on a periodic basis. In one exemplary embodiment, rebalancing may include: rebalancing based on the assets 5 reaching a threshold, In one exemplary embodiment, the method may further include applying rules associated with the index. In one exemplary embodiment, the method of constructing the non-market capitalization weighted portfolio may be used for one or more of: investment management, and/or 10 investment portfolio benchinarking. In one exemplary embodiment, the method may include an enhanced index investing method. The method may include constructing the portfolio of assets in a fashion in which at least one of holdings, performance, or characteristics, are substantially similar to the index. In one exemplary embodiment, the method may be a computer-implemented method and 15 (a) may include: gathering data using computerized databases. In one exemplary embodiment, (c) may include weighting based on a non-market capitalization financial metric associated with each of the plurality of assets, and a non-financial metric associated with each of said plurality of assets. - 10 - In another exemplary embodiment, a system for constructing a non-capitalization weighted portfolio of assets may include: means for gathering data about a plurality of assets; means for selecting a plurality of assets to create the index of assets; and weighting means for weighting each of said plurality of assets selected in the index based on an objective measure of 5 scale of said each of said plurality of assets, wherein said weighting means may include: means for weighting at least one of said plurality of assets; and means for weighting other than weighting based on at least one of market capitalization, equal weighting, or share price weighting. In yet another exemplary embodiment, a non-capitalization weighted portfolio of assets 10 construction system, may include: a processor adapted to gather data about a plurality of assets; adapted to select a plurality of assets to create the index of assets; adapted to weight each of the plurality of assets selected in the index based on an objective measure of scale of the each of said plurality of assets; adapted to weight at least one of the plurality of assets; and adapted to weight other than based on at least one of market capitalization, equal weighting, or share price 15 weighting. In another exemplary embodiment a machine readable medium that provides instmetions which when executed by a computing platform, cause the computing platform to perfonn operations may include a method of constructing a non-capitalization weighted portfolio of assets, the method may include: (a) gathering data about a plurality of assets; 20 (b) selecting a plurality of assets to create the index of assets; and (c) weighting each of said plurality of assets selected in the index based on an objective measure of scale of said each of said plurality of assets, wherein said weighting comprises: (i) weighting at least one of said - 11 - - 12 plurality of assets; and (ii) weighting other than weighting based on at least one of market capitalization, equal weighting, or share price weighting. Further features and advantages of the invention, as well as the structure and operation of various embodiments of the invention, are described in detail below with 5 reference to the accompanying drawings. Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout the description and the claims, the words "comprise", "comprising", and the like are to be construed in an inclusive sense as opposed to an exclusive or exhaustive sense; that is to say, in the sense of "including, but not limited to". 10 Brief Description of the Drawings The foregoing and other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following, more particular description of exemplary embodiments of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, like reference numbers generally indicate identical, functionally similar, and/or structurally similar 15 elements. The drawing in which an element first appears is indicated by the leftmost digits in the corresponding reference number. A preferred exemplary embodiment is discussed below in the detailed description of the following drawings: FIG. 1 is a deployment diagram of an index generation and use process in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; 20 FIG. 2 is a process flow diagram of an index generation process in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and FIG. 3 is a process flow diagram of an index use process in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description of Exemplary Embodiments of the Presen Invention Various exemplary embodiments of the invention are discussed in detail below including a preferred embodiment. While specific implementations are discussed, it should be understood that this is done for illustration purVoses only. A person skilled in the relevant ait can recognize 5 that other components and configurations may be used without parting from the spirit and scope of the invention. FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary deployment diagram of an index generation and use process in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. According to the exemplary embodiment an analyst may use a computer system to generate an index. The analyst 10 may do so by using analysis software to examine data about entities offering different kinds of securities that may be traded by investors. An example of an entity that may be offering securities may be a publicly held company whose shares trade on an exchange. However, the present invention also applies to any entity that may have any type of security that may be traded where information about the entity and/or its security is available (or capable of being made 15 available) for analysis. In an exemplary embodiment, once an index has been generated by an analyst using the entity date, the index may be used to build investment portfolios. An investor, advisor, manager or broker may then manage the purchased securities as a mutual fund for a plurality of individual and institutional investors. Alternatively, the purchased securities may be managed for one or 20 more investors. In the latter case, securities may be purchased based on the index for inclusion in an individual or an institutional investor's portfolio. -13- FIG. 2 depicts an exemplary process flow diagram of an index generation process in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. In an exemplary embodiment, to generate an index, an analyst using analysis software may access entity data about various entities that have securities that are traded. For example, publicly traded 5 companies must disclose information about certain financial aspects of their operations. This information may be aggregated for a plurality of entities. Market sectors and corresponding indices may then be identified and generated using the aggregate data. In slightly more detail, an index may be generated by normalizing entity data for a particular non-market capitalization metric. The normalized entity data may be used to generate 10 a weighting function describing the contribution of each entity to a business sector as defined by the metric, in an exemplary embodiment. An index may be generated using the weighting function. Once an index is generated, according to an exemplary embodiment, the index may be used to track the business sector defined by the metric or to create a portfolio of securities offered by the entities whose information was used to generate the index. 15 For example, in an exemplary embodiment of the invention a method of constructing a non-capitalization weighted portfolio of assets may include, e.g., gathering data about various assets; selecting a group of assets to create the index of assets; and weighting each of the group of assets selected in the index based on an objective measure of scale of each member of the group of assets, where the weighting may include weighting all or a subset of the group of 20 assets, and weighting based on other than market capitalization, equal weighting, or share price weighting. - 14- In one exemplary embodiment, the weighting of each member of the group of assets, may include weighting assets of any of various types. Examples of various types of assets may include, e.g., but not limited to, a stock type; a commodity type; a futures contract type; a bond type; a mutual fund type; a hedge fund type; a fund of funds type; an exchange traded fund 5 (ETF) type; and a derivative type assets. The weighting may also include, e.g., but not limited to, a negative weighting on any of the various types of assets. According to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, the index may be weighted based on an objective measure of scale, where the objective measure of scale may include a measure relating to an underlying asset itself The asset may include a municipality, a 10 municipality issuing bonds, or a commodity, An objective measure of scale associated with the asset may include any combination of: revenue, profitability, sales, total sales, foreign sales, domestic sales, net sales, gross sales, profit margin, operating margin, retained earnings, earnings per share, book value, book value adjusted for inflation, book value adjusted for replacement cost, book value adjusted for liquidation value, dividends, assets, tangible assets, 15 intangible assets, fixed assets, property, plant, equipment, goodwill, replacement value of assets, liquidation value of assets, liabilities, long term liabilities, short term liabilities, net worth, research and development expense, accounts receivable, earnings before interest, taxes, dividends, and amortization (EBITDA), accounts payable, cost of goods sold (CGS), debt ratio, budget, capital budget, cash budget, direct labor budget, factory overhead budget, operating 20 budget, sales budget, inventory method, type of stock offered, liquidity, book income, tax income, capitalization of earnings, capitalization of goodwill, capitalization of interest, capitalization of revenue, capital spending, cash, compensation, employee turnover, overhead - 15 costs, credit rating, growth rate, tax rate, liquidation value of company, capitalization of cash, capitalization of earnings, capitalization of revenue, cash flow, and/or future value of expected cash flow. Ratios too may be used. In an exemplary embodiment, the weighting of assets in the 5 index based on objective measures of scale, may include a ratio of any combination of the objective measures of scale of the asset other than ratios based on weighting the assets based on market capitalization, equal weighting, or share-price weighting. For example, the ratio of any combination of the objective measures of scale may include, e.g., but not limited to, current ratio, debt ratio, overhead expense as a percent of sales, or debt service burden ratio. 10 In an exemplary embodiment, the portfolio of assets may include, e.g., but not limited to, one or more of, a fund; a mutual fund; a fund of funds; an asset account; an exchange traded fund (ETF); a separate account, a pooled trust; or a limited partnership. In an exemplary embodiment, a measure of company size may include one of, or a combination of one or more of gross revenue, sales, income,earnings before interest and tax 15 (EBIT), earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), number of employees, book value, assets, liabilities, or net worth. In one exemplary embodiment, the measure of company size may include a demographic measure of the asset. The demographic measure of the asset may include, e.g., one of, or any combination of one or more of a non-financial metric, a non-market related inetric, a number of 20 employees, floor space, office space, or other demographics of the asset. -16- In an exemplary embodiment, weighting may be based on the objective measure of scale, where the measure may include a geographic metric. The geographic metric in an exemplary embodiment may include a geographic metric other than gross domestic product (GDP) weighting. 5 FIG. 3 depicts an exemplary process flow diagram of an index use process in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. An index may be received from an index generation process and may be used to determine the identity and quantity of securities to purchase for a portfolio, according to an exemplary embodiment. The securities may be purchased from an exchange or other market and may be held on account for an investor or 10 group of investors. The index may be updated on, e.g., but not limited to, a periodic basis and may be used as a basis to rebalance the portfolio, according to an exemplary embodiment According to another exemplary embodiment, the portfolio can be rebalanced when, e.g., a pre determined threshold is reached. In this way, a portfolio may be created and maintained based on a non-market capitalization index. 15 Rebalancing can be based on assets reaching a threshold condition or value. For example, but not limited to, rebalancing may occur upon reaching a threshold such as, e.g., 'when the portfolio of assets increases in market value by 20%,' or 'when the assets on a sub category within the portfolio exceed 32% of the size of the portfolio,' or 'when a U.S. President is elected from a different party than the incumbent,' etc. - 17- The present invention, in an exemplary embodiment may be used the non-market capitalization weighted portfolio may be used for investment management, or investment portfolio benchmarking. An exemplary embodiment of the invention may be implemented on a computing 5 device(s), processor(s), computer(s) and/or communications device(s). The computer, in an exemplary embodiment, may comprise one or more central processing units (CPUs) or processors, which may be coupled to a bus. The processor may, e.g., access main memory via the bus. The computer may be coupled to an input/output (I/O) subsystem such as, e.g., but not limited to, a network interface card (NIC), or a modem for 10 access to a network. The computer may also be coupled to a secondary memory directly via bus, or via a main memory, for example. Secondary memory may include, e.g., but not limited to, a disk storage unit or other storage medium. Exemplary disk storage units may include, but are not limited to, a magnetic storage device such as, e.g., a hard disk, an optical storage device such as, e.g., a write once read many (WORM) drive, or a compact disc (CD), or a magneto 15 optical device. Another type of secondary memory may include a removable disk storage device, which may be used in conjunction with a removable storage medium, such as, e.g. a CD ROM, or a floppy diskette. In general, the disk storage unit may store an application program for operating the computer system referred to commonly as an operating system. The disk storage unit may also store documents of a database (not shown). The computer may interact with the 20 1/0 subsystems and disk storage unit via bus. The bus may also be coupled to a display for output, and input devices such as, but not limited to, a keyboard and a mouse or other pointing/selection device. - 18 - In this document, the terms "computer program medium" and "computer readable medium" may be used to generally refer to media such as, e.g., but not limited to removable storage drive, a hard disk installed in hard disk drive, and signals, etc. These computer program products may provide software to computer system. The invention may be directed to such 5 computer program products. References to "one embodiment," "an embodiment," "example embodiment," "various embodinents," etc., may indicate that the embodiment(s) of the invention so described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but not every embodiment necessarily includes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Further, repeated use of the phrase "in 10 one embodiment," or "in an exemplary embodiment," do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment although they may. In the following description and claims, the terms "coupled" and "connected," along with their derivatives, may be used. It should be understood that these terms are not intended as synonyms for each other. Rather, in particular embodiments, "connected" may be used to 15 indicate that two or more elements are in direct physical or electrical contact with each other. "Coupled" may mean that two or more elements are in direct physical or electrical contact However, "coupled" may also mean that two or more elements are not in direct contact with each other, but yet still co-operate or interact with each other. An algorithm is here, and generally, considered to be a self-consistent sequence of acts or 20 operations leading to a desired result. These include physical manipulations of physical quantities. Usually, though not necessarily, these quantities take the form of electrical or -19 magnetic signals capable of being stored, transferred, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated. It has proven'convenient at times, principally for reasons of common usage, to refer to these signals as bits, values, elements, symbols, characters, terms, numbers or the like. It should be understood, however, that all of these and similar terms are to be associated with the 5 appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels applied to these quantities. Unless specifically stated otherwise, as apparent from the following discussions, it is appreciated that throughout the specification discussions utilizing terms such as "processing," "computing," "calculating," "determining," or the like, refer to the action and/or processes of a computer or computing system, or similar electronic computing device, that manipulate and/or 10 transform data represented as physical, such as electronic, quantities within the computing system's registers and/or memories into other data similarly represented as physical quantities within the computing system's memories, registers or other such information storage, transmission or display devices. In a similar manner, the term "processor" may refer to any device or portion of a device 15 that processes electronic data from registers and/or memory to transform that electronic data into other electronic data that may be stored in registers and/or memory. A "computing platform" may comprise one or more processors. Embodiments of the present invention may include apparatuses for performing the operations herein. An apparatus may be specially constructed for the desired purposes, or it may 20 comprise a general purpose device selectively activated or reconfigured by a program stored in the device. -20- While various embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only, and not limitation. Thus, the breadth and scope of the present invention should not be limited by any of the above described exemplary embodiments, but should be defined only in accordance with the following 5 claims and their equivalents. While this invention has been particularly described and illustrated with reference to a preferred embodiment it will be understood to those having ordinary skill in the art that changes in the above description or illustrations may be made with respect to formal detail without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. -21-

Claims (19)

1. A method of constructing data indicative of a non-capitalization weighted portfolio of assets, the method being implemented in a computer system having at least one computer processor, the method comprising: 5 (a) receiving in the computer system data gathered in regard to a plurality of assets; (b) receiving data indicative of a selection of the plurality of assets to create data indicative of an index of assets, wherein said selection is selected based on an objective measure of scale other than market capitalization and share price; and 10 (c) operating the processor thereby to weight each of said plurality of assets selected in the index based on an objective measure of scale of said each of said plurality of assets, wherein said weighting comprises: (i) weighting at least one of said plurality of assets; and 15 (ii) weighting other than weighting based on at least one of market capitalization, equal weighting, or share price weighting.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein said (c) comprises weighting each of said plurality of assets, wherein said each of said assets comprises at least one of a stock; a commodity; a futures contract; a bond; a mutual fund; a hedge fund; a fund of funds; an 20 exchange traded fund (ETF); a derivative; or a negative weighting on any asset.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein said (c) comprises weighting each of said plurality of assets, wherein said each of said assets comprises a derivative. - 23

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein said (c) comprises a negative weighting on any asset.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein said negative weighting is performed for purposes of at least one of establishing, or measuring, performance for at least one of any 5 security, a portfolio of assets, a hedge fund, or a long/short position

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein said (c) comprises weighting based on said objective measure of scale, wherein said objective measure of scale comprises a measure of company size associated with each of said plurality of assets.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein said (c) comprises weighting based on 10 said objective measure of scale, wherein said objective measure of scale comprises a measure relating to an underlying asset itself

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein said asset comprises at least one of: a municipality, a municipality issuing bonds, or a commodity.

9. The method according to claim 7 or claim 8, wherein said objective measure of 15 scale associated with said asset comprises at least one of: revenue, profitability, sales, total sales, 20 foreign sales, domestic sales, net sales, gross sales, - 24 profit margin, operating margin, retained earnings, earnings per share, 5 book value, book value adjusted for inflation, book value adjusted for replacement cost, book value adjusted for liquidation value, dividends, 10 assets, tangible assets, intangible assets, fixed assets, property, 15 plant, equipment, goodwill, replacement value of assets, liquidation value of assets, 20 liabilities, long term liabilities, short term liabilities, net worth, research and development expense, 25 accounts receivable, -25 earnings before interest, taxes, dividends, and amortization (EBITDA), accounts payable, cost of goods sold (CGS), debt ratio, 5 budget, capital budget, cash budget, direct labor budget, factory overhead budget, 10 operating budget, sales budget, inventory method, type of stock offered, liquidity, 15 book income, tax income, capitalization of earnings, capitalization of goodwill, capitalization of interest, 20 capitalization of revenue, capital spending, cash, compensation, employee turnover, 25 overhead costs, -26 credit rating, growth rate, tax rate, liquidation value of company, 5 capitalization of cash, capitalization of earnings, capitalization of revenue, cash flow, or future value of expected cash flow.

10 10. The method according to claim 1, wherein said (c) comprises weighting each of said assets in the index based on said objective measure of scale, wherein said objective measure comprises a ratio of any combination of said objective measures of scale of the asset other than ratios based on weighting the assets based on market capitalization, equal weighting, or share-price weighting. 15

11. The method according to claim 7, wherein said objective measure of scale comprises a demographic measure of the asset.

12. The method according to claim 6, wherein said measure of company size comprises at least one of a demographic measure of the asset. 20

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein said demographic measure of the asset comprises at least one of: a non-financial metric, a non-market related metric, - 27 a number of employees, floor space, office space, or other demographics of the asset. 5

14. The method according to claim 1, wherein said (c) comprises weighting based on said objective measure of scale, wherein said objective measure of scale comprises a geographic metric.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the method comprises a passive investing method comprising: 10 constructing the portfolio of assets according to the index.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the portfolio of assets comprises at least one of a fund; a mutual fund; a fund of funds; Is an asset account; an exchange traded fund (ETF); a separate account, a pooled trust; or a limited partnership. 20

17. A system for constructing a non-capitalization weighted portfolio of assets, comprising: means for receiving in a computer system data gathered in regard to a plurality of assets; -28 means for receiving, in the computer system, data indicative of a selection of a plurality of assets to create an index of assets; and a computer processor for providing weighting means for weighting each of said plurality of assets selected in the index based on an objective measure of scale of said each 5 of said plurality of assets, wherein said weighting means comprises: means for weighting at least one of said plurality of assets; and means for weighting other than weighting based on at least one of market capitalization, equal weighting, or share price weighting. 10

18. A computer-implemented non-capitalization weighted portfolio of assets construction system, comprising: at least one analysis host processor; said processor being adapted to gather data about a plurality of assets; adapted to select a plurality of assets to create an index of assets; adapted to weight each of said 15 plurality of assets selected in the index based on an objective measure of scale of said each of said plurality of assets; adapted to weight at least one of said plurality of assets; and adapted to weight other than based on at least one of market capitalization, equal weighting, or share price weighting.

19. A machine readable medium that provides instructions which when executed by a 20 computing platform, causes said computing platform to perform operations comprising a method of constructing a non-capitalization weighted portfolio of assets, the method comprising: (a) gathering data about a plurality of assets; (b) selecting a plurality of assets to create the index of assets; and - 29 (c) weighting each of said plurality of assets selected in the index based on an objective measure of scale of said each of said plurality of assets, wherein said weighting comprises: (i) weighting at least one of said plurality of assets; and 5 (ii) weighting other than weighting based on at least one of market capitalization, equal weighting, or share price weighting.