The Big Apfel
CHANGE and action, I was saying last week, must be on their way to the Stock Exchange's overloaded settlement systems — unable to cope with the new sharehol- ders conjured up in the name of popular capitalism. They have now arrived, from New York, in the person of Robert Apfel. Writing in The Spectator's financial issue five months ago, Mr Apfel, who as a consultant specialises in such systems, fore- cast what would go wrong and why: 'To- day's markets were originally designed to service a small number of wealthy indi- viduals and institutions. The market still relies on the physical movement of en- graved certificates every time a bargain is made, much as was the case 200 years ago.' Now the Stock Exchange has engaged Mr Apfel to tell it how to jump the 200 years — asking for an answer in three weeks! I expect him to urge the Exchange to enlist the banks and brokers. Instead of pushing the paper around, they should hold on to it, keeping automated records of their customers' holdings, and sending out state- ments, just as they do for bank accounts. As for the Exchange's own plans for a computerised settlement system — well, one of the best-known reasons for hiring a consultant is to give you an independent authority for changing your mind.
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