The existence of the brokers as part of the system prevailing in the
Stock Exchange is justified, not only by the fact that they are
experienced in making the best terms with the jobbers, and by the fact
that they are able to go direct to the market and the man who will at
once buy or sell any one of the thousands of securities ranging from
Consols down to Klondyke mining shares, but also by the fact that they
perform many services of a somewhat intricate and technical nature
connected with the buying and the selling. Transfers of inscribed stock
have to be explained, and the client has to be identified at the bank,
share certificates have to be obtained and delivered, arrangements have
to be made for carrying over shares when a client does not desire to pay
for them at the time of settlement, other detailed duties of the kind
have to be performed, and, above all, the broker is frequently called
upon to give expert advice as to investments and speculations, and to
keep the client informed as to when to buy or sell. It may take days of
watchfulness and inquiry to execute a single order when the client fixes
a limit, that is, when he gives an order to purchase not above a certain
price, or to sell not below a certain price.
For all this the broker receives a commission which must not be less
than a scale laid down by the Committee. In the case of British and
India Government securities, the scale is 2_s._ 6_d._ per cent. on the
nominal value of stock bought or sold; for Bank of England and Bank of
Ireland stock it is 5_s._ per cent. on the actual money paid or
received; for British and other Corporation stocks and Colonial
Government securities and for American and foreign railroad bonds, 5_s._
per cent. on the nominal value; for foreign Government bonds the rate is
2_s._ 6_d._ on the nominal value; for railway ordinary and deferred
ordinary stocks the rate varies from 1/16 per cent. on the nominal value
when the price is under £25 to 1 per cent. on the nominal value when the
price is over £200; for other registered stocks the rate is 1/2 per
cent. on the money. In the case of shares, the commission varies from
1-1/2_d._ to 2_s._ 6_d._ per share, according to the nominal value of
each share, when the value is less than £25; for shares of the nominal
value of £25 each or over, the rate is 10_s._ per cent. on the actual
money. In the case of transactions over £1,000 the broker may charge
half these rates. All these, of course, are minimum rates. There is
nothing to prevent the broker charging more, if he can get it, but in
practice the minimum has become the recognised scale.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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