Founded in 1602 by the Dutch East India Company, the Amsterdam Stock Exchange (currently called Euronext Amsterdam) is the world's oldest and first stock exchange. It was the first exchange of its kind to trade in securities instead of commodities.
What is the history of online trading?
- Online trading has evolved as a direct consequence of technological advancements in the discount brokerage industry. In 1984, Charles Schwab introduced The Equalizer, the industry's first DOS-based portfolio management and trading tool.
What is the history of Etrade?
- E*Trade was launched in 1992 as a pioneering online brokerage service provider. The company that initially began as a provider of back-office online processing services to discount brokerage firms such as Quick & Reilly, Charles Schwab and Fidelity soon embarked upon an aggressive pursuit of "direct-to-consumer" strategy.
How has online trading changed the brokerage industry?
- Since its advent five years ago, online trading exploded into growth and dramatically changed the dynamics of the brokerage industry. Today, there are an estimated 4 million Americans with active online stock trading accounts, representing 25% of all retail stock trades and approximately 15% of the volume on NYSE and NASDAQ.
What does the future of online trading look like?
- Going forward, the revenue flow model will be critical to determining the future success of these online trading firms. Already, Merrill Lynch has revealed that it will offer unlimited trades for a fixed annual fee of $1,500, attempting to attract high-volume, sophisticated investors.
The Amsterdam stock exchange is considered the oldest "modern" securities market in the world. It was shortly after the establishment of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) in 1602 when equities began trading on a regular basis as a secondary market to trade its shares.