Report generator for allowing a financial entity to monitor securities class action lawsuits and potential monetary claims resulting therefrom   

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of copending U.S. application Ser. No. 12/562,406 filed Sep. 18, 2009, which, in turn, is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/545,799 filed Oct. 10, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,593,882, which, in turn, is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/641,578 filed Aug. 14, 2003, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,146,333. The entire disclosure of each of these patent applications are incorporated herein by reference.

Portions of the documentation in this patent document contain material that is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Many financial entities, such as investment companies and publicly and privately held investment funds have a fiduciary responsibility to manage their assets for the exclusive benefit of their shareholders or beneficiaries. One aspect of this duty is to take all reasonable steps to collect any money that the financial entity may be entitled to for securities that were purchased or acquired by the financial entity and that suffered a “market loss” which was determined to be compensable in a securities class action lawsuit (also, referred to as a “securities fraud class action”).

When a securities class action lawsuit is filed or concluded, no party in the lawsuit is required to identify all of the financial entities that suffered a market loss. When a securities class action lawsuit is concluded, a “settlement notice” is issued. Parties who believe that they are entitled to an award under the terms of the settlement notice (i.e., class members) must timely file a “proof of claim” with a claims administrator to receive monies from the settlement. The burden falls on the financial entities that suffered the loss to identify their eligibility to participate in the lawsuit and to receive a recovery award.

Hundreds of securities class action lawsuits are filed every year. Since securities class action lawsuits are typically pending for many years, there may be thousands of such lawsuits pending at any time. A large financial entity such as a public pension fund may hold thousands of securities at any one time, and may trade thousands of securities each year. To be eligible for a monetary award from a securities class action lawsuit, the security typically must have been purchased during the “class period” specified in the lawsuit. Sometimes, eligibility exists if the security was acquired (by other than a purchase) or sold during the class period.

It is a complex and monumental task for financial entities to monitor all significant securities class action lawsuits to (a) determine when a potential market loss exists for security that was purchased or acquired by the financial entity during the class period, (b) estimate the amount of loss, and (c) determine whether it is prudent to take measures to try to recover part of the loss. Accordingly, many financial entities take no measures to identify and seek recoveries despite the fiduciary responsibility to do so.

In instances where a financial entity suffered a significant estimated market loss, it may be prudent for the financial entity to play an active role in the lawsuit, such as by being a lead plaintiff or by filing an individual action. However, this decision will be forfeited if the financial entity fails to identify their estimated market loss early on in the lawsuit. If the estimated market loss only justifies a passive role for the financial entity, it is still necessary for the financial entity to monitor the lawsuit if a recovery is desired.

An automated management tool that allows a financial entity to receive reports which evaluate their position with respect to any given securities class action lawsuit and which track any identified potential market loss through the conclusion of a lawsuit would allow financial entities to more easily fulfill their fiduciary responsibility with respect to securities class action lawsuits without unduly burdening the financial entities with administrative tasks. The present invention fulfills such a need.

SUMMARY

In a first embodiment, the present invention provides a system and method that automatically creates reports to allow a financial entity to review and track potential monetary claims resulting from securities class action lawsuits for securities purchased or acquired by the financial entity. To create the reports, a first database of transaction activity for the financial entity is accessed. The transaction activity includes an identification of each security purchased or acquired, and the date of each purchase or acquisition. A second database of securities class action lawsuits is accessed. The second database includes for each lawsuit an identification of all securities associated with the class action lawsuit, and the class period of the lawsuit. The transaction activity of the financial entity is automatically compared with the securities class action lawsuits in the second database, and any securities purchased or acquired by the financial entity during the class period that are associated with an entered securities class action lawsuit are identified. The identified securities may provide a potential monetary claim for the financial entity. A report is then automatically created of at least the lawsuits that may provide a potential monetary claim for the financial entity based on the transaction activity of the financial entity. The report also includes estimated market loss and eligible loss information, as well as any actions recommended to be taken by the financial entity regarding the lawsuits.

In a second embodiment, the present invention provides a method of creating reports of noteworthy securities class action lawsuits customized to show potential monetary claims resulting from the lawsuits for securities purchased or acquired by one or more financial entities. The method operates as follows:

1. A database of securities class action lawsuits is maintained. 2. The lawsuit database includes a subset of securities class action lawsuits that are deemed to be noteworthy by the entity that administers the system. 3. A comparison is made for each financial entity of transaction activity of the financial entity with records in the database subset of noteworthy securities class action lawsuits to identify any securities purchased or acquired by the financial entity that are associated with a securities class action lawsuit in the lawsuit database and which may provide a potential monetary claim for the financial entity. 4. A report is created for each financial entity showing the noteworthy lawsuits. For the lawsuits that were identified as providing a potential monetary claim for the financial entity and which were deemed to be noteworthy, the report includes the potential monetary claim for the financial entity based on the transaction activity of the financial entity.

In the second embodiment, the present invention also provides method of creating watchlist reports of securities class action lawsuits of interest to financial entities customized to show potential monetary claims resulting from the lawsuits for securities purchased or acquired by one or more financial entities. The method operates as follows:

1. A database of securities class action lawsuits is maintained. 2. A watchlist database of lawsuits is maintained for each financial entity which includes a subset of lawsuits in the database that are identified by the financial entity as lawsuits of particular interest. 3. A comparison is made for each financial entity of transaction activity of the financial entity with records in the database subset of securities class action lawsuits to identify any securities purchased or acquired by the financial entity that are associated with a securities class action lawsuit in the lawsuit database and which may provide a potential monetary claim for the financial entity. 4. A watchlist report is created for each financial entity of the watchlist lawsuits. For the lawsuits that were identified as providing a potential monetary claim for the financial entity and which are on the watchlist, the watchlist report includes the potential monetary claim for the financial entity based on the transaction activity of the financial entity.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing summary, as well as the following detailed description of preferred embodiments of the invention, will be better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. For the purpose of illustrating the invention, there is shown in the drawings embodiments which are presently preferred. It should be understood, however, that the invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown.

In the drawings:

FIGS. 1-22 are screen shots and report printouts associated with a first embodiment of the present invention, implemented as a web-enabled service.

FIGS. 23-31 show additional reports that are available when using the system of the present invention in accordance with a first embodiment.

FIG. 32 is a database diagram of the report creation and accessing in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 33 shows a representation of transaction activity as obtained from the custodial records of a fictional financial entity in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 34 is a schematic diagram of the custodial record retrieval and storage process.

FIGS. 35-39 show sample input screens for entering lawsuits into a database and for tracking client data in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 40 shows the data associated with an estimated market loss calculation in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 41 shows the data associated with an eligible loss calculation in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 42A-42B and 43-45 are screen shots and report printouts associated with a second embodiment of the present invention, implemented as a web-enabled service.

FIG. 46 is a loss chart associated with a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 47 is a client summary report associated with a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 48 is a client transactions summary report associated with a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 49 is a retention value summary report associated with a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 50 is a report output that shows recent noteworthy cases associated with a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 51A-56 are additional report outputs associated with a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 57 is an entity relationship diagram of the database associated with a second embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Certain terminology is used herein for convenience only and is not to be taken as a limitation on the present invention. In the drawings, the same reference letters are employed for designating the same elements throughout the several figures.

This patent application includes an Appendix having a file named appendix601942-1U1.txt, created on Sep. 18, 2009, and having a size of 142,049 bytes. The Appendix is incorporated by reference into the present patent application. The Appendix is subject to the “Copyright Notice and Authorization” stated above.

One preferred embodiment of the present invention is described in the context of a service provided by Barrack, Rodos & Bacine, Philadelphia, Pa., a partnership including professional corporations. The service, referred to as BEAMS®, allows a financial entity to access various types of static reports via the Internet by logging onto a website. The service updates the reports on a periodic basis to reflect the most current information pertaining to the financial entity and the status of securities class action lawsuits tracked by the service.

Preferably, the service is provided to a plurality of financial entities or clients. (“Financial entities” and clients are referred to interchangeably herein.) Each financial entity has password protected access to receive only reports that pertain to their portfolio.

The financial entity may be any form of entity that has an identifiable investment portfolio. Therefore, the financial entity may be an investment company, a pension fund, a trust, an individual investor, or the like.

To generate the reports, the service performs the following functions, each of which is described in detail below:

1. Maintain a first database of transaction activity (e.g., trading records) for a financial entity. The transaction activity includes at least an identification of each security purchased or acquired, and the date of each purchase or acquisition.

2. Maintain a second database of securities class action lawsuits. The second database includes for each lawsuit at least an identification of all securities associated with the class action lawsuit, and the class period of the lawsuit.

3. Compare the transaction activity of the financial entity with the securities class action lawsuits in the second database.

4. Identify any securities purchased or acquired by the financial entity during the class period that are associated with an entered securities class action lawsuit. The identified securities may provide a potential monetary claim for the financial entity.

5. Calculate an estimated market loss for each of the identified securities, and upon settlement of the respective lawsuit, calculate the eligible loss.

In one preferred embodiment of the present invention, four different types of reports are generated, as follows:

1. Class Action Activity Filing Report (by company name or lead motion due date). This report shows all lawsuits in the second database, including any lawsuits that do not provide a potential monetary claim for the financial entity based on the transaction activity of the financial entity.

2. Pending Class Action Monitor Report (by company name or lead motion due date). This report shows only the lawsuits in the second database that provide a potential monetary claim for the financial entity based on the transaction activity of the financial entity.

3. Pending Claims Administration Report (by case name or claim deadline date). This report shows both the estimated loss and the eligible loss for the financial entity.

4. Claims Recovery Report (by company name or recovery forward date). This report estimated loss, eligible loss, and the recovery received.

One important feature of the present invention is the ability to present the reports described above to the financial entity. To illustrate the report capabilities and report accessing process, a sample instruction manual is provided below. In the sample, reports for an imaginary financial entity entitled “Nirvana Pension Fund” are shown. The reports are shown as screen shots and are also shown as they appear if printed out. The securities class action lawsuits shown in the reports are actual lawsuits. In the illustrated example, the client (Nirvana) accesses the reports via the Internet by using a browser to log onto a web site.

1. Go to www.barrack.com 2. Click on “Click here to enter main site,” which is below opening graphic 3. Click on the “Institutional log-on” button in the upper-right corner 4. A Network Password box, as pictured in FIG. 1, will prompt you to enter your User Name and Password information, which has been provided to you by Barrack, Rodos & Bacine (“BR&B”) 5. You are now on the Barrack, Rodos & Bacine/Nirvana\'s Report Links page (pictured in FIG. 2)

There are four types of reports, each of which is sorted in two ways. To run any of the eight reports listed below, click on the report name. Descriptions of these reports and how to use are described below in sections A-D.

What is the (?): When you click on the (?) next to the name of a report, a brief description of that report is displayed.

A. Class Action Activity Filings Report (sorted By Lead Motion Due Date) and Class Action Activity Filings Report (Sorted by Case Name) What Are These Reports: These reports provide an overview of securities class actions filed since (DATE). The report can be used to determine whether Nirvana had a position in any given case. If there were no transactions during a given class period, there is “no activity,” therefore Nirvana has no claim and no action is recommended. If, however, there are transactions during the relevant class period, calculations are made in order to determine whether Nirvana suffered a loss as a result. If Nirvana suffered a loss in a given case, that loss appears in the “Estimated Market Loss” column. Analysis is made as to the appropriate action to take, which is listed in the “Action Recommended” column. When a loss has been suffered, the case also appears on the Class Action Monitor Report. i. Trade Status Terms

ACT Activity during Class Period

ACTPFT Activity/Profit during Class Period

NACT No Activity during Class Period

ii. Action Recommended Terms

PLOCP Partial Loss Outside of Class Period/Possible md. Action

This is How it Works: When BR&B receives notice that a securities class action suit has been filed, BR&B searches your fund\'s transaction information for purchases of that particular stock during the reported class period. These reports will list the class actions that have been filed during a specific time period. For Nirvana, cases filed as early as (DATE) may be selected to be listed on this report. These reports will list the cases that have been filed during a specific time period listing the transaction results from the search. These reports include cases that BR&B has searched on behalf of your fund, noting whether or not it had activity during the class period or if the data is not available.

The following information is listed on this report: Lead Motion Due Date, Company/Case Name; Ticker; Cusip/ISIN; Class Begin Date; Class End Date; Expanded Class Begin; Expanded Class End; Trade Status; Estimated Market Loss; Profit; Action Recommended (by BR&B).

How to Run The “Activity Filings” Reports: When you click on the report name, a screen, pictured in FIG. 3 is displayed.

“Start Date”—“End Date” boxes require dates. The dates that are being requested are the Case Filed dates. For example, you may want to see the class action cases that were filed during the time period of Jan. 1, 1998 through Aug. 1, 2003 in which BR&B searched Nirvana\'s transactional information. The dates should be entered as displayed above. Click OK.

The report will appear on your screen as pictured in FIG. 4.

You may: (a) view this entire report on the web; (b) print the report; (c) download the report to an Excel spreadsheet; or (d) search for a particular item.

Search Feature: You may enter the name of any company, ticker symbol, cusip number in the search box field, and a window will be displayed with the search results. To Print this Report: Select “Printer-Friendly” above and “Download”. The Report will be displayed as pictured in FIG. 5. Choose File and Print (remember that all reports should be printed in “landscape”.) (Note: full printouts of the “Activity Filings” reports are shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7.) To Download to Excel: Choose the Excel option and “Download”.

What Are These Reports: These reports serve as a monitoring tool to assist the Nirvana\'s board and staff in monitoring cases in which Nirvana has a loss position. When losses are incurred which exceed Nirvana\'s thresholds for consideration of lead plaintiff status, BR&B will analyze the case and make a recommendation as to the appropriate action, providing a copy of such analysis to Nirvana\'s General Counsel. As settlement notices occur in the future, such notices will be monitored and appropriate action will be recommended. Typically, the case will be moved to the Claims Administration Report. If, however, we determine the settlement is inappropriate in some way, other action (such as opting out or objecting) may be recommended.

This is How it Works: When BR&B receives notice that a securities class action suit has been filed, BR&B searches your fund\'s transactional information for its purchases in that particular stock during the reported class period. This report will list only those class actions for which BR&B has performed a search for Nirvana and for which Nirvana has suffered a loss.

Listed on this report is the following information for each case: Lead Motion Due Date, Company/Case Name; Ticker; Cusip/ISIN; Class Begin Date; Class End Date; Expanded Class Begin; Expanded Class End; Trade Status; Estimated Market Loss; Action Recommended (by BR&B).

How to Run The “Monitor” Reports: When you click on the report name, a screen, pictured in FIG. 8, is displayed: “Start Date”—“End Date” boxes require dates. The dates that are being requested are the Case Filed dates. For example, you may want to see the class action cases that were filed during the time period of Jan. 1, 1998 through Aug. 1, 2003 in which BR&B searched Nirvana\'s transactional information and Nirvana has suffered a loss. The dates should be entered as displayed above. Click OK.

The report will appear on your screen as pictured in FIG. 9.

You may: (a) view this entire report on the web; (b) print the report; (c) download the report to an Excel spreadsheet; or (d) search for a particular item. Search Feature: You may enter the name of any company, ticker symbol, cusip number in the search box field, and a window will be displayed with the search results. To Print this Report: Select “Printer-Friendly” above and “Download”. The Report will be displayed as pictured in FIG. 10. Choose File and Print (remember that all reports should be printed in “landscape”.) (Note: full printouts of the “Monitor” reports are shown in FIG. 11 and FIG. 12.) To Download to Excel: Choose the Excel option and “Download”.

What Are These Reports: These reports monitor the status of Nirvana\'s securities class action claims in cases settled from (DATE) forward (in both passive cases and those in which Nirvana may choose to take a more active role). It is an excellent tool for Nirvana and its Board to insure that it is complying with its fiduciary duty to collect all claims to which it is entitled. Cases listed on this report include both those cases in which Nirvana suffered a loss during the class period and those cases in which Nirvana could potentially have a claim (if part of the class period precedes the data baseline, further investigation needs to be made prior to the claim filing deadline). As notice of recovery is received by BR&B from your custodial bank, the case (and the amount received) will be moved from this report to the Claims Recovery Report.

TBV Claim To Be Verified with Settlement Administrator This is How it Works: When a securities class action case is settled and settlement has been approved by the Court, BR&B will determine whether Nirvana has or may have suffered a loss in connection with the case. If Nirvana has suffered a loss in a settled case for which it may receive compensation, the case will appear on the Pending Claims Administration Report. Once a recovery has been received (and BR&B has been notified of the amount received) or it has been determined that Nirvana is not eligible to participate in the claims recovery for the case, the case will be removed from this report.

Listed on this report is the following information for each case: Company/Case Name; Ticker; Cusip/ISIN; Class Begin Date; Class End Date; Claim Deadline Date; Claims Administrator; Date Claim Filed; Claim Status; Trade Status; Estimated Market Loss; Eligible Loss.

How to Run The “Claims Administration” Reports: When you click on the report name, a screen, pictured in FIG. 13, is displayed: Click on “Continue to the report” Special Note: The Claims Administration reports are NOT date generated reports. Settled cases in which Nirvana is eligible or may be eligible to receive a recovery will be displayed on this report. Once a recovery is received by Nirvana, and BR&B has been notified of receipt, that particular case will be moved to the Recovery Reports.

The report will appear on your screen as pictured in FIG. 14.

You may: (a) view this entire report on the web; (b) print the report; (c) download the report to an Excel spreadsheet; or (d) search for a particular item. Search Feature: You may enter the name of any company, ticker symbol, cusip number in the search box field, and a window will be displayed with the search results. To Print this Report: Select “Printer-Friendly” above and “Download”. The Report will be displayed as pictured in FIG. 15. Choose File and Print (remember that all reports should be printed in “landscape”.) (Note: full printouts of the “Claims Administration” reports are shown in FIGS. 16 and 17.) To Download to Excel: Choose the Excel option and “Download”.

What Are These Reports: These reports will list proceeds received by Nirvana per Nirvana\'s custodial information provided to BR&B. This is How it Works: When BR&B has been notified that Nirvana has received notice of a recovery check from a claims administrator representing Nirvana\'s pro rata share of a settlement fund, (which was the result of a claim filed by your custodial bank) BR&B will keep track of these recoveries received by date of recovery with the amount of each recovery.

Listed on this report is the following information for each case: Company/Case Name; Ticker; Cusip/ISIN; Claims Administrator; Recovery Forward Date; Recovery Amount Received; Estimated Market Loss; Eligible Loss.

How to Run The “Recovery” Reports: When you click on the report name, a screen, pictured in FIG. 18, is displayed.

“Start Date”—“End Date” boxes—require dates. The dates that you are being prompted to enter are the Recovery Forward Dates. For example, you may want to see all recoveries that BR&B has recorded for Nirvana for the time period of Jan. 1, 2003 through Aug. 1, 2003. The dates should be entered as displayed above. Click OK.

The Report will appear on your screen as pictured on FIG. 19. You may: (a) view this entire report on the web; (b) print the report; (c) download the report to an Excel spreadsheet; or (d) search for a particular item. Search Feature: You may enter the name of any company, ticker symbol, cusip number in the search box field, and a window will be displayed with the search results. To Print this Report: Select “Printer-Friendly” above and “Download”. The Report will be displayed as pictured on FIG. 20. Choose File and Print (remember that all reports should be printed in “landscape”.) (Note: full printouts of the “Recovery” reports are shown on FIGS. 21 and 22.) To Download to Excel: Choose the Excel option and “Download”. Note: The recovery information listed on the sample/draft Claims Recovery reports attached hereto contain claims recovery information that Nirvana and/or its custodial bank has furnished to BR&B.

FIG. 23 shows another example of an Activity Filings Report (all inclusive, by company) for a second client.

FIGS. 24-31 shows a full set of reports similar to those shown in FIGS. 6-7, 11-12, 16-17 and 21-22 for a third client.

To illustrate the feature wherein potential market losses are identified, the Class Action Activity Filings Reports show a disproportionate percentage of lawsuits where the financial entity has a potential market loss. For a typical financial entity, most of the entries in this report would show a trade status of NACT (no activity), and thus no estimated market loss.

1. Platform

a. The platforms used in the Barrack Rodos & Bacine reporting system are: Windows NT/2000/XP, Microsoft SQL Server and Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS).

b. Programming languages are Transact-SQL, Perl, XML and XSLT.

2. User authentication

a. Users (clients) i. A user visits the site and is redirected to a login page. The user enters username and password, which is compared to information in the database. If the user logs in correctly, the system creates a session ID in the database associated with the user, and stores a cookie on the user\'s browser containing the session id. Subsequent visits during this session are authenticated using this session id. ii. Users are associated with clients in the database. The system uses this relationship to determine what information to show a user. iii. The user is taken to the reporting home page, which is customized for each client with a list of available reports relating to securities cases. The user selects a report and is asked to provide any requisite parameters (e.g. a range of dates for the report), and is taken to the report itself The user can also choose to download the report as a spreadsheet or view the report in a printable format. Since the user is associated with a given client in the database, he or she can only view that client\'s reports. iv. Reports access the “transactions”, “claim_file_dates”, “claim_stats” and “claims_admin” tables in the database. Each report uses a unique client identifier to identify information for a particular client.

b. Users (Administrators) i. An administrative user has the same login and session maintenance as a client user. However, an administrative user is not associated with a client, but rather is a member of an administrator\'s group. As a member of this group, an administrator can view any client\'s reports and can add and edit clients as well as add and edit users.

3. Database diagram—See FIG. 32.

4. Computer code for report generation. The Appendix provides source code associated with the reports for the first embodiment of the present invention described above.

The report generating software is periodically executed, such as once every hour, so that the reports are current when accessed by the clients. The reports themselves are static information and are uploaded to a server site for 24 hour client access.

The reports of FIGS. 1-22 reflect the transaction activity of the Nirvana Pension Fund. FIG. 33 shows a representation of transaction activity as obtained from the custodial records of the Nirvana Pension Fund. For illustration purposes only, the portfolio of this fund generally purchases a block of shares at the beginning of each year and sells the shares after five years. One exception is the shares of Guidant Corporation which were purchased and sold within a six week period.

The transaction activity correlates with the reports. For example, referring to FIGS. 6 and 33, Nirvana purchased 60,000 shares of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals on Jan. 2, 2003 and the class period for the Regeneron lawsuit is for any purchase from Mar. 28, 2000 to Mar. 30, 2003. Thus, Nirvana had an estimated market loss for this security. Nirvana had no transaction activity for Stellent, Inc. so the report shows no estimated market loss for this record. Likewise, there were no lawsuits filed for Home Depot during the search dates of the report, so there is no entry for Home Depot in the report even though Home Depot stock was purchased during the report period.

In one preferred embodiment of the present invention, the first database of transaction activity for a financial entity is obtained from the custodial records of each financial entity. The custodial records include trade data that allows a determination to be made as to whether a financial transaction falls within the class period for a given lawsuit. The manner in which custodial records are accessed, stored, filtered and maintained will depend upon recordkeeping practices and data storage formats of the custodian and the service provider (here, Barrack, Rodos & Bacine). Each custodian may store and download their custodial data in a different format and may have a different availability of historical data (e.g., one month of data, one year of data). The service provider will typically need to develop and maintain its own database of transaction activity since custodians usually cannot provide historical data for the financial entities, especially in immediate downloadable electronic form. Thus, the service provider may need to log onto the custodial records once per month, download the latest month of transaction data, and append it to its own database of past transaction data for the financial entity. In this manner, the service provider will always have a full set of transaction data for the financial entity. Thus, if five years from now, a lawsuit is filed for a class period that covers 2003, the service provider will already have the transaction activity for 2003 in its database. If a custodial bank always allows access to a complete historical database of transaction activity, then it may not be necessary to perform the piecemeal downloading and appending process to build the database of historical data.

Custodians provide transactional data in unpredictable and inconsistent formats. Accordingly, data must be retrieved and converted (parsed) into a unified format and the converted data placed into a common repository. The service provider uses the converted data to determine, for any given security, the client\'s holdings through a range of dates, detailed information about each transaction in the subject security, and the client\'s losses on those transactions, if any, during a specified time period.