The Investment Industry
The investment industry is composed of a wide variety of firms. The
main players include independent full line brokerage firms, investment bank
subsidiaries of chartered banks, and discount brokers. Independent full line
brokerage firms offer a wide range of services, including underwriting, trading
of stocks, advice and research. In essence, the full service brokerage
subsidiaries of chartered banks offer the same services, however, banks'
brokerage firms may have a larger pre-established clientele. Finally, the
discount brokers are basic stock brokers that perform trades for clients who do
not want investment advice. Usually, this service is targeted toward the
sophisticated investor who does his/her own research to incur minimal commission
fees.
Banks entered the investment industry in 1987, whereby they took over
full-service brokerages, introduced mutual funds to the banking industry and
became part of discount brokering. From this time on, chartered banks have
expanded their dominance in the industry by acquiring key players in the
industry or branching off into full brokerage services. For example, the
brokerage firms for CIBC, Royal Bank, Toronto Dominion Bank, Bank of Nova Scotia
and Bank of Montreal are Wood Gundy, RBC Dominion, Evergreen, Scotia McLeod and
Nesbitt Burns respectively. In addition, the aforementioned chartered banks have
also branched into the discount brokerage sector.
As of December 1994, the Securities Industry as a whole included 158
firms, directly employs over 24,000 people, has operating revenue of $5.1
Billion and operating profit of $1.2 B ...