Tradepoint challenges Stock Exchange

Tradepoint, the new challenger to the London Stock Exchange, begins trading today with 42 participants joining it from the outset. The membership list for the opening, which was announced yesterday, includes Cazenove, Hoare Govett Securities, ShareLink, Robert Fleming, Mercury Asset Management and Scottish Widows.

"I think we have a good mix of institutions both from the buying and selling side," said Stephen Wilson, Tradepoint's executive director. The Tradepoint Investment Exchange, set up by three former employees from the London Stock Exchange, offers a screen-based electronic trading system that is order-driven as opposed to the Stock Exchange's system which is quote-driven. Using Tradepoint, fund managers and broker dealers can trade directly with each other rather than submitting orders via market makers.