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Bakhru, Anjali and Brown, Ann
(2003).
URL: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/grant/docs/09On...
Abstract
The advent of online broking in the mid 1990s re-drew the map of the broking industry. New entrants included both established brokers and new firms attracted by the potential of reaching new customer segments drawn to the on-line brokerage business model. However, the rapidly growing on-line brokerage industry, estimated to include up to 150 firms in the United States, was soon faced with a different market environment. Following the downturn in technology stocks in May 2000, global stock markets remain weak. The once buoyant brokerage industry has been reeling from the decrease in market volumes at the end of a decade-long bull market, intensifying competition in a dwindling market. Investor confidence has been further eroded by a series of extraordinary events that include accountancy scandals and potential conflicts of interest in financial houses acting as advisors to companies whose shares they are also selling.