A computer-based system for trading financial instruments alerts a
computer operated by a financial advisor at points where a client
interacts with the system. Specifically, in response to the client
entering an order to trade a financial instrument, a first alert is
transmitted in real-time to the financial advisor's computer including
information pertaining to the trade. In the case of validation, in
response to the first alert, the user of the financial advisor computer
can, in real-time, take action regarding the validated trade prior to
execution of the trade. On the other hand, in the case of non-validation,
a second alert is transmitted to the financial advisor's computer, and
the user of the financial advisor computer can, in real-time, again take
action regarding the non-validated trade prior to execution of the trade.