Instinet has been a constant driver for change. Set up using teletype machines, the cutting-edge technology of the day, its goal was to facilitate trading between investors, cutting out the costs of middlemen. But the brokerage found it tough going for years, until in the early 1980s it saw an opportunity on the US exchange Nasdaq for a technologically advanced agency broker to cut costs for investors.
That business now accounts for 80% of its revenues but it is under severe pressure from largely retail-focused electronic commission networks [ECNs] that were born out of a loophole in Securities & Exchange Commission regulations in 1997 and have put pressure on Instinet’s prices.
Access intelligence that drives action
To unlock this research, enter your email to log in or enquire about access
