The Internet is driving that trend at cyberspeed. Investment is more democratic. The most important distinction between a broker and a client used to be that one had information and the other didn't. That distinction is fading rapidly. Almost half of Canadians with access to the Internet use it to do their own research, without relying on their broker.
Investment is more self-directed.
It used to be that the way you made a trade was to call your broker. Last year, according to the Investment Dealers Association of Canada, online trading accounted for about 40 per cent of all retail stock transactions in Canada. Changes in Canadian markets mirror changes around the world. As Chairman of the policy-making committee of the International Organization of Securities Commissions, I hear the same issues raised, in several different languages, from all parts of the globe. In a borderless world, all market institutions are grappling with the same underlying issues.