Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-06-04
THE LONDON BROKER.
His Life as Pleasant as Any CONNER
cial Career.
From the Century.

From the Century.
Comparatively speaking, a London brok-
er's life is a happy one. He has more
or less pleasant offices, and, If he is In
dustrious he is to be found there from 10
to or o'clock every day of the year ex-
cept stock exchange holidays and his
months vacation in the summer. The
stock exchange opens at 10 O'Clock, and
shuts at 4, but official business hours are
from II to 3 O clock. Bargains before or
after these hours cannot be officially re-
corded on the marking boards. The invest
ment broker, therefore, does not deal till
II o'clock, when he goes into the house,
walking round the market, collecting prices
and cleaning information while he does
his bargains. After that he returns TO his
office where. If times are slack, he can
write his letters and read the papers and
mediate how to provide his clients with
what they all WANT per cent investments
with government security. The lie or q
broker with a good investment business
is about as pleasant any commercial
career can be. He walks between his office
and the stock exchange several times day.
and his occupation is neither sedentary
nor fatiguing. He is Brought into contact
only with his own clients, and in the house
he can select the jobbers he chooses to
deal with
about the differences between brokers and
jobbers. If a man has money to invest
and desires to buy certain securities he
must employ a broker He cannot deal
direct with a jobber The broker will give
his advice if asked for, and, on receiving
instructions to invest, say $4,000 in consols.
he will walk into the house to the consol
market select a dealer, and ask for
price on five consols. The dealer makes
a price, wide" or close as the state
of the market will permit, say 99-99h.
which means that he is ready to buy at
80 and sell at 99A. The broker replies
that he buys at 99A, returns to his office
and delivers a written contract to the
client. The dealer steps into the center
of his particular market and challenges
that some other broker has been selling
consols at 90 to another dealer; the two
dealers meet and the stock changes hands
at 99Is, both jobbers getting one-eighth OF
1 per cent on the market turn. This Is the
theory and if all business could be con-
Quoted on such quiet and respectable terms
the stock exchange would be very nice
place for jobberS. AS matter of fact,
the market often goes against them ana
they cannot undo their business except at
a loss. The broker gets his commission
ANYWAY and his life is much less wearing.
A jobber with a large capital at his dis
posal generally makes money much more
rapidly than a broker, unless the latter is
in touch with high finance. There Is an
enormous mass of investment business
transacted in the stock exchange In Lon
don. far more than in any other money
market of the world. but there are good
MANY brokers to do ii, and the member
ship of the house would show rapid re-
duction If speculative business were dimin-
ished A member of the public. II he
broker, bucket shop keeper" but the
man who does this would buy gold brick
at sight Ninety times out or q hundred
he would lose his money.