Access to the London Stock Exchange. London Stock Exchange LSE: trading mode, indices, reviews. Trading and listing opportunities on the exchange

The exchange has been in existence since 1570, and thus is the oldest in Europe. However, the official occurrence is considered from 1801. Since the beginning of its work and until 1773, the exchange attracted large capital. In those years, it already had 2,700 brokers and 800 dealers. By that time it was the largest exchange.

There were no special events in the history of the exchange until 1986, when at last most of the companies joined it. The expansion of the exchange was influenced by the liquidation of most brokerage firms, which as a result were taken over by the stock exchange. A huge number of privileges were received by foreign investors thanks to the new legislative framework.

The freedom to make deals has attracted investors from Japan and the US. Thanks to this approach, a new stage began in the history of the exchange, and there was a stratification of the exchange's activities into three directions. Three different markets: the official paper market, the unregistered securities market and the investment market. Large companies, whose shares have high quotes, were presented on the official market.

But this direction did not favor companies without a long history, so they formed a securities market by 1980. However, he did not cope with his functions and ceased to exist. The investment market was created in 1995 and was also designed for small companies.
In total, there are 22 stock exchanges in the United Kingdom (the largest of which are in London, Liverpool, Glasgow and Birmingham).

The London Stock Exchange is itself a joint-stock company whose shares are traded on it. There are about 117 companies listed on the London Stock Exchange.

The London Stock Exchange has also long been a group of companies. It includes the exchange infrastructure of the Italian market (Borsa Italiana exchange, technical and information infrastructure, central counterparty guarantee system, electronic trading system). In addition, the LSE includes the well-known news agency FTSE and a number of other companies.

It is thanks to the acquisition of the FTSE that the London Stock Exchange is now showing positive earnings results. In general, the financial position of the LSE in recent years left much to be desired - in 2004-2007, a number of attempts were made to purchase its controlling stake, which failed at the late stages of negotiations. Among the contenders for the LSE business were such stock exchange giants as the German Deutsche Borse and the American NASDAQ, which already has a significant stake in the London Stock Exchange.

The LSE has a market capitalization of around £2.66bn and posted a profit of £116.1m for the first half of 2012.

LSE, being an acronym for London Stock Exchange, is the third largest exchange in the world, based in the capital of Great Britain. Founded over 200 years ago, the LSE determines the quotes of the entire Old World, showing independence even from American trading floors. A lot of tools used in exchange activity appeared here.

Currently, the capitalization of companies traded on the London Stock Exchange exceeds 6 trillion. US dollars, and the total number of companies exceeds 4 thousand.

London Stock Exchange - London Stock Exchange

London Stock Exchange

Formally history London Stock Exchange began in 1801, in fact - 230 years earlier. In 1571 a financial adviser Thomas Gresham convinced the Queen of England to allow him to set up a platform where businessmen selling sheep's wool would meet. Gresham did not bring innovation, since at the beginning of the 16th century there was already a stock exchange in Antwerp on Hofstraat Street - sailors and diamond cutters communicated there.

Only representatives of the nobility and the court retinue were allowed to trade on the Royal Exchange, which is why the rootless merchants had to look for a place to meet. They, as in the case of NYSE EuroNext , became a coffee shop Jonathan's Coffee House - the first contracts for the supply of salt, matches, gunpowder, tulip bulbs were concluded there. Deferred delivery contracts became known as futures and options.

Thirty years later, in 1697, the English Parliament, in order to please the nobility, limited the number of traders to a hundred and introduced huge fines for brokers without a license. The result was a mass exodus of small traders on Exchange Alley (Trading Alley), and the formation in 1773 of the Stock Exchange on Sweeting Alley. Despite the opposition of the king, independent traders built their own exchange in 1801.

A few decades later, after the rise and fall of the empire of Napoleon Bonaparte, investors began to actively invest in the development of Latin America, and in the 1880s, after the advent of the telegraph, the first ticker was introduced on the stock exchange. During World War I, the London Stock Exchange stopped from 1914 to 1915, but in general, quotes fell. With the outbreak of World War II, the site was closed from 01 to 07 September 1939.

In the post-war years, the London Stock Exchange increased its trading volumes, and in 1972 a new building of 2.1 thousand m 2 was opened.

In 1973, a decision was made to merge 11 Scottish and Irish stock exchanges. In 1991, the name London Stock Exchange was introduced.

Perhaps the most key events of the LSE took place in

• 1986 - "Big Bang", which changed the conditions of trading and transferred them to a digital scoreboard
• 1995 - introduction of the Alternative Investment Market AIM
• 1997 - Introduction of the Electronic Trading Service SETS
• 2000 — the shareholders of the exchange voted to transfer the legal entity to the format of a Limited Liability Company.

Interesting thing. In 1872-1873, reporting letters were sent to investors about the fall in quotations of certain companies. This led to a serious redistribution of the market, but the LSE is silent in every possible way about who made a profit from this - who sold and how many shares, and who received how much. After 25 years, it turned out that the letters were fake, and it became the biggest scam of the time. At the time of its holding, there were no doubts about the authenticity - firstly, the telegraph was nationalized by the British Government, and secondly, every day the exchange introduced a new type of stamps, and in 1872-1873 the fakes absolutely corresponded to the originals.

Recent mergers

Mergers and acquisitions made by the London Stock Exchange have a huge impact on quotes. In June 2007, it merged with the Italian one, as a result of which it was formed London Exchange Group(LSEG), and the capitalization of the exchange reached 4 trillion. pounds sterling - about 6 trillion. USD. At the same time, the Italian site bought a corporation MBE Holdings.

In Italy, Borsa Italiana forms Mercato dei Titoli di Stato(MTS), which affects London in a positive way, and in 2009 the "old world lions" acquire a trading platform Turquoise established by nine investment banks. Despite the popularity of Turquoise (8% of all European trades go through it), quotes go down - the American crisis of 2008 and the general recession of the European economy are affecting.

The most notable action around the LSE took place in 2011, when the North American NASDAQ offered £2.4bn for the LSE (roughly 0.004% of its real capitalization). After the refusal, the Americans bought a controlling stake in Ameriprise Financial (the largest shareholder of the LSE) for 415 million pounds and offered to sell them 90% of the LSE. In response to yet another bid rejection, the NASDAQ is conducting an aggressive asset buying campaign and,

bringing the volume of ownership of the London Stock Exchange to 28.75%, offers to sell at least 50.1% - and again rejection. As a result, NASDAQ sold shares of the London Stock Exchange to the Arab site Borse Dubai in exchange for the formation of NASDAQ Dubai, and London became the loser in this war. On investors' expectations, the FTSE 100 Index fell from 6,000 to 5,000 basis points, which, translated into money, meant a loss of 400 billion pounds of capitalization.

Working hours

Trading on the London Stock Exchange takes place from 08:00 to 16:30, but differs in a number of specific features. So:

• 07:15 – 07:50 - advertising reporting companies;
• 07:50 – 08:00 - opening an auction, loading orders into trading programs;
• 08:00 – 16:30 - continuous trading;
• 16:30 – 16:35 - closing of trade, purchase and sale at a frozen price;
• 16:35 – 17:00 - ordering services for the input-output of money, information support;
• 17:00-17:15 - reporting advertising.

Trading is carried out in four main markets.

• Premium Listed Main Market(PLM) - includes companies with the largest capitalization
• Alternative Investment Market(AIM) - small cap
• Professional Securities Market(PSM) - the market for debt securities and depositary receipts
• Fund Specialist(SFM) - a market for complex instruments for institutional investors.

Analyzing the activities of the LSE, specialists see two types of markets - the main one - Premium (more than 1,500 thousand companies from 60 countries of the world), and the alternative - AIM (more than 3 thousand companies). There are a number of computer programs - SETS, SETSqx, SEAQ and EDX. It was built on Turquoise and includes trading in Russian and Scandinavian futures and options.

This is where the listing requirements come in. To access the Premium market, you must have a market maker who is ready to support the shares financially, at least 3 years of constant stable income, a minimum free fleet of 25% of the shares and a capitalization of 700 thousand pounds sterling. AIM only needs a NOMAD financial advisor and compliance with UK law .

When trading under SEAQ (Stock Exchange Automated Quotation), which includes small cap companies, all participants are required to constantly display the BID and ASK, that is, the bid and offer price for their shares. This is necessary for the admission of individual investors to trading and the overall openness of the market. Securities must be backed by at least two market makers.

London Stock Exchange Indices

The London Stock Exchange has a group of stock indices - (Financial Times Stock Exchange). This not only symbolizes loyalty to traditions, but is also an export item: there are at least 300 indicators based on it in the world.

The FTSE index is broken down into the following categories:

• FTSE 100- 100 largest companies registered in the UK. These are "blue chips" that have been selected based on such indicators as liquidity and capitalization. This includes BP, Marks & Spencer, Astra Zeneca and many other companies.
• FTSE 250— 250 medium-sized companies with market liquidity and capitalization slightly lower than hundreds of blue chips. These are the companies Evraz Group, Greggs, Hays other.
• FTSE Small Cap- companies with a small market capitalization that are not included in the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250. These are companies such as Thomas Cook Group, Hardy Oil and Gas, Mothercare.
• FTSE Russia IOB- an index that is formed on the basis of the calculation of quotations of the 15 largest companies in the Russian Federation by market capitalization. Among them Gazprom, Tatneft, Megafon.
• FTSE All-Share provides the most accurate assessment of the London Stock Exchange market as a whole.
• AIM Index. Trading results on AIM are measured using the following AIM indices:

— FTSE AIM 50 UK index (an index of the 50 largest companies by capitalization, registered in the UK, included in the AIM listing);
— FTSE AIM 100 index (an index of the 100 largest companies by capitalization included in the AIM listing);
— FTSE AIM All-Share index (an index of all companies included in the AIM listing);
- FTSE AIM All-Share Supersector Index (an index of all companies included in the AIM listing, built on the basis of industry classification).

Each index has specific selection criteria related to overall liquidity and free float requirements.

10 Paternoster Sq, London EC4M 7LS, United Kingdom

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One of the oldest and rightfully the largest stock markets in Europe is the London Stock Exchange - the London Stock Exchange. The trading platform is located in the capital of Great Britain London and currently includes about 4 thousand shares in the listing, which provide a capitalization of over 6 trillion dollars. In addition, about 1000 shares of companies located in 46 developed and developing countries of the world are represented on the London Stock Exchange. That is why the LSE exchange is very popular among traders and investors around the world.

• It has a high capitalization, being on the third position according to this criterion in the global chart (after NYSE and NASDQ);
• is international, providing access to shares of foreign companies;
• includes an extensive list of listed companies;
• is independent of the American and European stock markets.

Do you want to make money on stocks of super-companies such as Google, Apple, MicroSoft, FaceBook? Invest in them with the most reliable stock broker -.

History of the London Stock Exchange

The history of the London Stock Exchange begins in 1571, although the official birth date of the LSE is 1801. In 1571, the British royal financier Thomas Gresham obtained permission from the queen to build an exchange floor, which, in his opinion, must be present for the development of trade and relations. Initially, the financial consultant planned to unite businessmen and merchants of sheep wool, but subsequently sellers of a wide variety of goods appeared on the stock exchange. It is noteworthy that the initiator did not ask for a penny from the British Queen and built the exchange entirely at his own expense. Of course, Gresham was not the discoverer of the stock exchange and not even the founder of the first stock market in England, since at that time there was already a stock exchange on the Hofstraat in Antwerp, where seafarers and diamond miners, cutters, etc. gathered.

countries are listed

place in the world by capitalization

For years, the exchange was located in the surrounding coffee houses

For a long period, the exchange floor was occupied exclusively by brokers of the commodity section, and only since 1695 did state and corporate securities begin to appear in circulation.

Only representatives of the court retinue and the nobility had access to the Gresham exchange platform, and ordinary merchants and resellers were not able to trade on this exchange. Then rootless merchants began to gather in a coffee shop near the stock exchange to conclude deals for the sale of salt, gunpowder, tulip bulbs, matches and other goods that were popular at that time. The story happened in a similar way with the organization of the NYSE stock exchange in New York. British businessmen gathered at the Jonathans Coffee House.

In 1697, the British government decided to limit the number of traders on the stock exchange to 100 and introduce significant fines for traders who operate without the necessary licenses. Naturally, this led to a drop in trading on the official exchange, since most of the brokers relocated to the Exchange Alley. Gradually, more and more places like a coffee shop and an alley began to appear, and more and more merchants and representatives of industry and production began to gather on open unregulated exchange floors than on the official exchange floor. In 1773, another stock exchange was organized on Sweeting Alley and, despite the prohibitions of the kingdom, traders built a building for the exchange in 1801. It is this date, or rather March 3, 1801, that is considered the beginning of the functioning of the London Stock Exchange, because it was this building that became her home.

Also in 1801, the official registration of all brokers was introduced and the primary set of rules for trading on the exchange was published, which turned the London Stock Exchange into one of the first localized regulated markets in Europe. Now control was established on the stock exchange and only registered participants could carry out transactions, and not, as it was before, all those who paid a membership fee. By 1812, the official regulations of the exchange were prepared, which spelled out in detail all the previously established rules, obligations and guarantees of the parties to the participants in exchange transactions. Private representatives could only carry out transactions exclusively through brokerage agents.

The following years of the nineteenth century were the era of the first ascent for the London Stock Exchange, since this time also saw the rapid development of steel, railway, mining and oil companies, as well as conglomerates in the construction, financial and insurance sectors. Accordingly, all these companies turned to the stock exchange to sell shares and generate additional profit. Such excitement required the corresponding development of the exchange in technical terms, which cost a lot of money. But the management successfully coped with this task, modern telegraphs were installed, communication was established with the stock exchanges of the USA and Europe, and the number of trading places was also increased. At the beginning of the 1900s, the London Stock Exchange became one of the most sought-after and popular in Europe, with more than 3 thousand companies listed on the site.

However, a period of growth quickly gave way to a period of decline in connection with the outbreak of the First World War in Europe. Since the summer of 1914, the London Stock Exchange has been closed for almost half a year, and in early 1915, in order to limit possible losses, the organizers of the LSE introduced an impressive set of restrictive measures for all participants in exchange transactions. This course of events, combined with the general depressing state of affairs in Europe due to the war, led to a strong outflow of participants and, accordingly, capital on the LSE exchange. According to analytical calculations, it was at this moment in its history that the London Stock Exchange lost its weight as the most influential figure in the global stock market.

The outbreak of World War II in Europe also affected the activities of the LSE - trading was suspended from 1 to 7 September 1939. In the post-war years, the organizers of the LSE began a program of active expansion and development of the site, which was implemented by the mid-60s. From this period, the LSE began active promotion again and by 1972 another building with an area of ​​2.1 thousand square meters was built, which was called the Exchange Tower. Also this year, they were able to implement the automation of exchange processes, and in 1973 the LSE joined 11 stock exchanges of the Scottish and Irish location.

October 27, 1986 is referred to in LSE history as Big Bang or Explosive Monday. On this day, the conditions for trading for brokers, dealers and brokers have changed significantly on the London Stock Exchange, the order of commission fees has been revised, and the transition to electronic trading has been implemented instead of voice trading.

At the end of the 18th century the well-known Russian historian Karamzin, noting the international significance of British capital, wrote: “The Englishman reigns in parliament and on the stock exchange; in the first he gives laws to himself, and in the second - to the whole trading world.

At the beginning of the 21st century the situation has not changed much: the London Stock Exchange still dictates many financial rules to the global business community, despite the active development of stock exchanges in all regions.

The emergence and development of the London Stock Exchange

The official founding date of the London Stock Exchange is considered to be 1801, when it became the first strictly regulated exchange in the world after a major reorganization and the introduction of new trading rules. It began its history in the middle of the 16th century, when the Dutchman Thomas Gresham, who arrived in England, suggested that the queen build a special building for transactions, similar to the first stock exchanges in Belgium and Holland.

In 1571, with the help of the British government and local merchants, an exchange was opened, where transactions for the purchase and sale of goods were made. After 100 years, a large trading gallery of the stock exchange provided private individuals with 200 premises for rent, goods were stored in the basements: sheep wool, salt, gunpowder, matches, flowers, etc.

In 1695, the exchange began to conduct operations with government and corporate securities. In 1698, the stock market players, for various reasons, separated from the official Royal Exchange and moved to other non-specialized buildings. This year, for the first time, they began issuing price lists for traded securities. This is where the terms "bulls" and "bears" originated.

Historians cite several possible reasons for the division of exchanges:

• only representatives of the nobility were allowed to the Royal Exchange, rootless merchants had to gather in other places;
• introduction of mandatory licensing of participants and heavy fines for non-compliance with this requirement;
• too noisy exchange sessions of brokers during stock trading

V 1801 traders of the stock exchange independently, having united in a professional society, built and opened the building of their exchange. Only registered participants, subject to strict rules, could trade on it. At the same time, the first ticker was introduced - a code for denoting shares. In 1812, the charter of the exchange was adopted, which determined its activities for the entire 19th century. Activity was observed in transactions with papers of railway and steamship companies. In 1876, all participants became shareholders of the exchange.

After the First World War, the British stock exchange lost ground to the American stock exchange. But after World War II, it became the center of European financial activity, demonstrating stability and reliability. This was facilitated by the complete self-management of the modern exchange after the liquidation in 1986 of state control over operations. Since this period, the stock activity of national and foreign companies has sharply increased, and there is an ever more complete transition to electronic trading.

The recent life of the London Stock Exchange in the 21st century is marked by a number of major mergers and acquisitions:

2007: Merged with Borsa Italiana to form London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG), the largest diversified group;

2008: Strategic partnership with Oslo Børs, including trading services for its shares, fixed income and derivatives markets;

2009: Acquisition of India's MillenniumIT, a leading provider of technology solutions serving global capital markets;

2009: Acquisition of a majority stake in Turquoise and launch of a pan-European trade partnership with global investment banks;

2011: The European Central Bank approves the largest and only Central Securities Depository in the Eurozone, MonteTitoli, to participate in the first wave of Target2-Securities;

2012: acquisition of a majority stake in LCH Clearnet Group Limited;

2013: Purchase of a majority stake in the Italian-British technology firm Gatelab;

2013: Merger of FTSE Group and fixed income TMX Group into new venture FTSE TMX Global Debt Capital Markets

2014: Acquired by Frank Russell et al.

Key features of the London Stock Exchange

London Stock Exchange (LSE) is an open joint stock company that is part of the diversified transnational market structure London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG). Together with the London Metal Exchange, which determines the price of gold, and other 20 national exchanges, it manages to maintain independence and stability.

The London Stock Exchange is now the third largest in the world in terms of capitalization, turnover and listing (after the NYSE and NASDAQ) and the first in terms of transactions in bonds, options and futures contracts. There are 2,158 companies operating on the LSE from 57 countries with a total value of over £4 trillion. About 70% of the shares of world companies are traded here, which makes the exchange truly international.

The main instruments traded on the LSE are:

• stock;
• bonds;
• depositary receipts;
• – index security (more than 2,000);
• futures;
• options

Foreign and Russian companies on the LSE

This is how the top twenty largest companies represented on the London Stock Exchange online (www.londonstockexchange.com/statistics/companies-and-issuers/companies-and-issuers.htm) and forming a group of international companies look like:

London Stock Exchange. TOP-20

These are the world-famous industrial and trading giants Shell, Toyota, Boeing, HSBC, BP, General Electric, Tobacco, BASF, Unilever, etc. Interestingly, the most the old G-20 was listed on the stock exchange before World War II.

In addition, depositary receipts of 28 largest Russian companies are traded on the London Stock Exchange: Lukoil, Magnit, VTB, Novatek, Akron, Gazprom, Megafon, Norilsk Nickel, Roshydro ”, Tatneft, Rosneft, Sberbank, etc. The mining and manufacturing industry includes 15 companies, energy - 4, transport - 3, telecommunications - 3, financial - 2, trading - 1. The first placement took place back in 1996.

Receipts of Russian shares on the London Stock Exchange

London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG)

Trading and risk management services are an important part of LSEG's business operations. It operates a wide range of international equity, bond and derivatives markets, including:

• the London Stock Exchange;
• Borsa Italiana;
• MTS, Europe's leading fixed income bond market;
• the Turquoise marketplace for pan-European MTF shares;
• news agency FTSE;
• global operator CCP, LCH Group;
• the Italian clearing house CC & G;
• Monte Titoli, European T2S settlement business;
• globeSettle, a newly formed CSD group in Luxembourg.

The leading role of the LSE is explained by the importance of its functions as the largest regulator:

• formation of FTSE stock indexes;
• regulation of the global capital market;
• regulation of the listing procedure;
• management of the UK stock market, etc.

LSEG has a permanent staff of about 4,700 people, including more than 30 participating organizations in the UK, USA, Italy, France, etc. London Stock Exchange Group PLC (LSE) has been listed on the London Stock Exchange for the last 15 years (2003-2018) showed excellent results of about 2000% with reinvestment. At the same time, the quotes of the group from the peak of the end of 2007 fell by March 2009 by almost five times.

FTSE Indices

The London Stock Exchange maintains the FTSE Index Group, which offers a variety of options for measuring and comparing global markets.

Indices and their quotes on the London Stock Exchange today are easy to find on the official website https://www.londonstockexchange.com/exchange/prices-and-markets/stocks/indices/ftse-indices.html. The main indices are presented in the chart below:

The most indicative European stock indicator is the index FTSE 100 Index(Financial Times Stock Exchange Index). The total value of 100 companies included in it is more than 80% of the total index of the exchange. It can be called a barometer of the European economy.

Indexed companies are included in the calculation according to strict criteria:

• listing on the stock exchange;
• the value of assets is estimated in pounds or euros;
• belongs to the established state;
• shares are liquid and have a high free float
  

This chart shows current and historical FTSE quotes. A special index is formed for Russian companies - FTSE Russia IOB Index. It takes into account the stock prices of the companies listed above and 9 more companies registered in offshore zones, but operating in the Russian Federation.

Trading and listing opportunities on the exchange

On the London Stock Exchange, market trading and placement options are divided into several categories that can be considered separate markets:

1. the main market (Main Market / Premium Listing Market, PLM) provides the world's leading companies with all trading services with access to large pools of securities and the maximum portfolio of exchange services;

2. The Alternative Investments Market (AIM) is intended for small companies that are not yet ready for listing on the main market and need investments to expand their business. Appeared in 1995;

3. the professional securities market (Professional Securities Market, PSM) facilitates capital raising through the issuance of debt securities and depositary receipts for professional investors;

4. international securities market (International Securities Market, ISM), intended for institutional investors and issuers.

For some companies, there is a limited regime of operations "access only to trading" (Admission to trading only, ATT). It is intended for those who have been listed on other exchanges but are interested in trading on the London Stock Exchange. There are also situations when there are any national or international restrictions, restructuring, etc. in relation to them. The annual volume of trading in shares on the stock exchange exceeds 2 trillion. $.

To be listed on the main market of the exchange, a company must meet the following criteria:

• open financial, accounting, management and commercial information;
• the cost of fixed capital is not less than £700 thousand;
• at least 25% of the shares are classified as free-float, i.е. belong to private investors and are freely traded on the stock exchange;
• the maximum share of the investor does not exceed 30%;
• signed an agreement with a market maker (broker company) ready to act as a sponsor for newcomers and major operations;
• stable income for at least 3 years;
• FCA pre-screening;
• UKLA approval dealing with listing of companies
  

To be placed on an alternative investment market, the following is required:

• annual revenue of at least £40,000;
• revenue and profit growth over the past 3 years;
• IFRS reporting for at least 2 years;
• an agreement with an official financial consultant NOMAD;
• contract with a market maker

Large international auditors, including from among the "", not only give opinions on the financial statements of companies, but also provide consulting services, including preparation for the company's entry into the stock exchange.

Opening hours and access to the exchange

In order for a Russian trader to gain access to carry out operations with securities of the London Stock Exchange, there are the following possibilities. First, you can ask major Russian brokers (BCS, Otkritie, Finam) whether they currently provide access to the LSE. This method is good for Russian-speaking support and payment of taxes by the broker, but it will require the status of a qualified investor and an initial deposit of 10,000 dollars or euros.

Another option would be to use a European broker cooperating with the Russians - examples of such brokers would be Saxobank and less reliable in my opinion. Or there is a variant of Cypriot subsidiaries of Russian brokers like BCS Cyprus. In all these cases, communication in Russian is possible and the status of a qualified investor is not needed, but you will have to pay taxes yourself. The input threshold is approximately the same as in the previous case - but sometimes less.

In my opinion, the best option is an American broker with access to European exchanges - a deposit with such a broker receives maximum protection, and the entry threshold can be lower than $10,000. An example would be Broker, which is Interactive Brokers' Introducing Broker. The account is thus opened with the latter, and the entry threshold starts from only 2,000 euros. Commissions are quite low - in addition, you can open an account with Interactive Brokers and directly.

Technology and information services

The London Stock Exchange is a leading developer of high performance trading platforms and stock market software for clients worldwide.

Due to the constant demand for new functionalities and highly automated exchange trading, LSEG is investing in expanding services. Through the acquisition of MillenniumIT in 2009 (about Sri Lankan-based information technology company specializing in electronic trading systems) has a flexible, efficient, in-house technology development capability to serve more than 30 different companies in the capital markets around the world.

The Group offers a full range of PostTrade services to manage risk and improve efficiency for traders. Based in Italy, CC&G provides clearing services to marketplaces. Following the completion of the acquisition of a majority stake in LCH Clearing House in May 2013, LSEG now owns a majority stake in clearing services in the UK, Continental Europe and the US.

LSE provides clients with a wide range of real-time products and reference data:

• SEDOL - security identifier numbering system;
• UnaVista - transaction matching and reconciliation service;
• RNS is a regulatory news service.

In addition, it provides real-time prices, trading data and analytical charts, creating the transparency and liquidity required by market users.

In addition to channels directly to customers, information is also distributed through vendors such as Bloomberg and Thomson Reuters. They, along with other data, sell it to trading firms, investors and institutions around the world.

Benefits of the London Exchange

The exchange is experiencing a growing demand for its services, which is explained by a number of beneficial advantages:

• legislation limits the influence of financial organizations in protecting the interests of investors;
• strict listing conditions to select wealthy companies;
• simplified system of trading and settlement procedures;
• a thorough check by the exchange of financial statements and the fulfillment of their obligations by companies;
• huge liquid investment capital;
• the most international exchange with world-class giant companies;
• a wide range of financial instruments to maximize profits in terms of risk diversification