Global Finance Beyond 2000: SWX Swiss Exchange’s Challenge

Abstract

In a number of years there will be one electronic order book for each publicly traded security in the world. Via the Internet, the influence and power of investors and issuers is becoming so potent that they will ultimately succeed in having their needs met. These investors and issuers want a simple means of obtaining the best possible price to be had, and this in a transparent, secure and well-supervised pool of global liquidity. But whether this pool of liquidity will be spread among five global securities exchanges or concentrated in a single, virtual ‘world exchange’ — or even whether this liquidity pool will be called an exchange — is an open question.