The London Stock Exchange is situated in the city of London at Paternoster Square close to Saint Paul’s Cathedral and is one of the world’s oldest stock exchanges. Its history dates back more than 300 years, when trading began in the coffee houses of 17th century London. Since its founding in 1801, the London Stock Exchange has grown into the city’s most important financial institution. During this time, the market capital of the London Stock Exchange has expanded to over US$ 3.5 trillion with volumes close to US$ 2 trillion.
Today, the London Stock Exchange with all its indices is the fourth largest stock exchange in the world with many of its companies originating from other countries. There are now 56 companies from Africa, 41 from China, 29 from India and Bangladesh, 23 from continental Europe and 26 from Latin America.
The LSE also has the highest number of Emerging Markets Exchange Trade Funds as compared to any other exchange in the world. With a total of 158 ETFs, the LSE is the market leader by listed ETFs.
NYSE
Despite its prominence, the LSE will always be foreshadowed by the New York Stock Exchange which, with close to $50 trillion in dollar volume, remains the largest stock exchange in the world by both market capitalization and trade value. NYSE is the premier listing venue for the world’s leading large- and medium-sized companies.
Equity trading remains one of the most popular means of investing and stock brokers stand at ready to open new accounts and act as agents for traders, both new and old. However, online trading is so user-friendly these days that many investors opt to trade directly via an account they themselves set up and monitor, thereby avoiding the services that brokers provide.
Brokers, however, do serve an important function and many investors hesitate to leave the structured confines of a trusted brokerage house and the representatives that handle accounts there. Oftentimes, the experience and knowledge of a broker is worth the extra commissions or fees appropriated for their efforts towards their clients. Beginner investors especially feel more comfortable knowing that there is someone at the other end of his mobile that can help him when needed.
Trading online is a convenient way to trade stocks but it has its own complications and not everyone is capable of resolving them. This often leads to wrong trades, computer programs that crash in the middle of a trade, the ease with which an account can be hacked and the lack of anyone assuming responsible. Online trading leaves everything up to the individual investor and for this reason alone, it is not always the right choice for all traders.
Stock exchanges don’t pop up overnight and it would appear that the major exchanges existing today will continue to lead the way well into the future.