At a time when the Government and the market in general wants to encourage retail investors into the market, it is somewhat ironic that it is becoming increasingly hard for them to do so.
Those stockbrokers, which traditionally targeted such generally smaller-scale investors and which offered lower charges, are increasingly finding themselves overwhelmed by the sheer volume of business.
This, in turn, is forcing them to turn away new business reinforcing the status quo in what is one of the most rigid "old boys' networks" in business.
As usual, the surge in business together with the difficulty in getting staff leaves the consumer as the one paying the price. Talk of £5,000 or even £20,000 minimum investment thresholds will only concentrate share ownership in the hands of the institutions and the large investor, although it might just reduce volatility in the market marginally.
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