Day One Trader by John Sussex Book Review
Day One Trader by John Sussex is the story of one guys story about the Liffe exchange, the characters and then the demise of the open outcry system it all as advancements in technology made it obsolete. It’s a great story and an important part of the financial history in the City of London starting with the opening of the Liffe (London International Financial Futures Exchange) and the open outcry system modelled on the US stock exchanges. The story takes us through the ages as John learns the tricks and tactics of the various larger than life characters on the trading floor. If you’ve ever watched some of the films showing the traders in the 80s, you know the ones I’m talking about.. brightly coloured jackets waving their arms frantically and looking extremely stressed to say the least! The story takes us right into the heart of it all… characters such as Nick Leeson, Marc Rich etc are mentioned and some of the big trading names that you hear about today cut their teeth in this era. John climbed up through the ranks, setting up his own company and hiring some of these traders and also became a Liffe board member. John’s honest account talks about how his company went under and also how technology killed off the open outcry system 10 years later leaving many traders who had honed in their skills trading this way with skills that were completely obsolete.
I really enjoyed this book and if you are interested in this era of trading in the City of London or even work there, I recommend this.
