Men and Money | The Stockbroker's World

Top hats, bowler hats and furled umbrellas abound in this fascinating portrait of the pre-Big Bang world of the stockbroker and the (now extinct) stockjobber. Cameras go onto the trading floor of the old Stock Exchange and watch some very courteous face-to-face trading in action (this has now been replaced by electronic dealing). Interviews with key figures explain the workings of this mysterious and club-like world with its own slang, uniforms and history. The programme is a remarkable record of the institutions, jobs and traditions that were wiped out by the Big Bang in 1986.

The world shown in this programme was changed for ever by the Big Bang on 27 October 1986. This was a series of deregulations of the rules and restrictions that governed the London Stock Exchange. These sweeping changes included the introduction of a computerised system that virtually wiped out face-to-face dealing, and the abolition of the division of members of the Exchange into jobbers and brokers. From this point onwards, one firm could carry out both roles and so act as a market maker, dealing with the public and trading on their behalf for a commission, while also buying and selling securities as a principal.