Brokers broken by tech advance
Güncelleme Tarihi:
by Elif Batu Yener - Referans
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mayıs 12, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL - As advanced technology starts to dominate the Turkish financial markets, brokers, who lived through a golden age during the ’stock rush’ era of the 1990s, are not in charge anymore. With slashed incomes and worsening work conditions, brokers see a real danger of an empty, symbolic trading floor at the Istanbul Stock Exchange
One of the most popular professions of the 1990s was being a broker. That is not the case anymore.
Since 2000, the number of brokers began to decline first to around 1,500, then to nearly 200 and today they are very worried for their future. They also are angry to feel so estranged to their jobs, which once provided so well. They are afraid all the experience, education and licensing they have obtained will be disregarded.
The fear is the product of a proposal for a new system for the stock market operations late last year. If and when the system shifts to "remote trading" as proposed by the Capital Markets Board, or SPK, every intermediary institution would be allowed to have just two brokers on the floor. The new system could leave many brokers who work at the exchange unemployed. Following a SPK announcement calling for the change to take place, brokers protested outside the Istanbul Stock Exchange, or IMKB, and refused to step onto the trading floor Nov. 7. The protests helped postpone the implementation of the system, which was supposed to be in effect as of Jan. 1.
"The [new arrangement] requires brokers to send orders from their own systems. Thus, there would be no need for session floors. IMKB is a bourse that can be reached from everywhere. But we still wanted to have a session floor for a minimum number of brokers," Hüseyin Erkan, president of the IMKB, said at the time. He also denied that hundreds of brokers might be laid off, claiming the number of brokers was already falling. But the possibility of a remote trading system continues to threaten the future of the brokers. It is unknown to many brokers whether they will be able to continue doing the job they have been doing for the past two decades. Besides the fear of losing the job they love, brokers are left feeling estranged and insignificant. On top of that they have to accept significantly declining incomes and dropping life standards.
High incomes no more
Being a broker used to be very appealing due to its high pay. That is a distant dream nowadays, as the average salary of a broker declined to about 2,000 Turkish Liras. The salary of those who work with smaller brokerages is around 800 liras. Abandoned brokers, who used to lead a high-end lifestyle, nowadays feel lucky if they manage to save for a summer vacation.
Many brokers have sold their cars, and started to bring lunch from home. Some brokerages have chosen not to pay for transportation and their brokers now take the public metrobus.
Two brokers, who are having a tough time trying top explain that they are not "computer screens," but human beings, opened up to business daily Referans, saying keeping up with the rest of the world should not just be in technology, but also in social rights.
Ayfer Çor and Mine Çökmez Ağacıklar, who started working at the IMKB in 1990s, witnessed many milestones at the bourse. "I began to work in 1991," said Çor. "I have worked in all departments including customer representation, equities, swaps, Treasuries and bonds. Then in 1997, I started working as a broker at the IMKB. That is what I have been doing since then. Back in the day the pay was much higher."
"We had a good life. Companies were gaining at the bourse. But then technology developed. Their gains began to decline and our incomes started to drop," said Çor, whose husband is also a broker. "With one of our salaries we used to go on an overseas vacation and with the other we used to get by just fine for a month," she said. "That is not the case anymore. We can only go on a vacation once a year during summer, but we have to take into consideration the economy. If we were to lose our jobs, I don’t know what is there to do after 40. Brokerages are downsizing and it is hard to find a job."
"I have been working at the IMKB since 1993. It used to be popular job. Very few people had certification and it wasn’t easy to get one. The business used to be more satisfying both spiritually and fiancially," said Ağacıklar. "I used to go abroad on vacation three to four times a year. Now I can’t do that. Vacations, healthcares, dinners, shopping É everything is limited now. Since the new year, I am not even sure if I actually have a job. I use to have a car. Well, not anymore. I take the shuttle."
Hurt by the treatment
"We have been through many depressions with [the SPK’s] declaration. I gave my entire life to this business. My husband worked at the day of our wedding. When I was about to give birth, my husband was again working. A friend took me to hospital. After all that self-sacrifice, it hurts to see how easily we were forgotten," said Çor.
"The executives at the company’s headquarters treat brokers very badly. I have done nothing to deserve such treatment. I have done everything they have asked from me. I went to training, got certificates, improved my foreign language skill and learned to use all systems they have asked from me," said Ağacıklar.
"When I first began working, we used to have much closer ties with customers. They used to trust us more and take our advice more seriously. They sometimes sent us flowers. With the electronic system they began to evaluate us just based on our speed. Personal ties got detached. They now think we are computers," said Çor.
"Live bourses are more suitable for Turkish people. Unlike in Europe, in Turkey it is hard to find investors that trade at the bourse via the Internet. We are constantly told to keep up with the European and the U.S. bourses. But our customs are very different. We like to touch, talk and bargain while buying and selling. We are the underdeveloped brokers of an underdeveloped bourse. It is hard to adapt to their customs. If that is the case then we should also be given the same salary and social rights as well," said Ağacıklar.
"Of course technology is a good thing. But one should calibrate the dosage. If we want to keep our bourse alive, the only way is to protect bourse floors," said Çor. "I understand that there may not be 1,500 brokers anymore, however, a system should be adopted to keep the existing brokers as active as possible," she said.
Since 2000, the number of brokers began to decline first to around 1,500, then to nearly 200 and today they are very worried for their future. They also are angry to feel so estranged to their jobs, which once provided so well. They are afraid all the experience, education and licensing they have obtained will be disregarded.
The fear is the product of a proposal for a new system for the stock market operations late last year. If and when the system shifts to "remote trading" as proposed by the Capital Markets Board, or SPK, every intermediary institution would be allowed to have just two brokers on the floor. The new system could leave many brokers who work at the exchange unemployed. Following a SPK announcement calling for the change to take place, brokers protested outside the Istanbul Stock Exchange, or IMKB, and refused to step onto the trading floor Nov. 7. The protests helped postpone the implementation of the system, which was supposed to be in effect as of Jan. 1.
"The [new arrangement] requires brokers to send orders from their own systems. Thus, there would be no need for session floors. IMKB is a bourse that can be reached from everywhere. But we still wanted to have a session floor for a minimum number of brokers," Hüseyin Erkan, president of the IMKB, said at the time. He also denied that hundreds of brokers might be laid off, claiming the number of brokers was already falling. But the possibility of a remote trading system continues to threaten the future of the brokers. It is unknown to many brokers whether they will be able to continue doing the job they have been doing for the past two decades. Besides the fear of losing the job they love, brokers are left feeling estranged and insignificant. On top of that they have to accept significantly declining incomes and dropping life standards.
High incomes no more
Being a broker used to be very appealing due to its high pay. That is a distant dream nowadays, as the average salary of a broker declined to about 2,000 Turkish Liras. The salary of those who work with smaller brokerages is around 800 liras. Abandoned brokers, who used to lead a high-end lifestyle, nowadays feel lucky if they manage to save for a summer vacation.
Many brokers have sold their cars, and started to bring lunch from home. Some brokerages have chosen not to pay for transportation and their brokers now take the public metrobus.
Two brokers, who are having a tough time trying top explain that they are not "computer screens," but human beings, opened up to business daily Referans, saying keeping up with the rest of the world should not just be in technology, but also in social rights.
Ayfer Çor and Mine Çökmez Ağacıklar, who started working at the IMKB in 1990s, witnessed many milestones at the bourse. "I began to work in 1991," said Çor. "I have worked in all departments including customer representation, equities, swaps, Treasuries and bonds. Then in 1997, I started working as a broker at the IMKB. That is what I have been doing since then. Back in the day the pay was much higher."
"We had a good life. Companies were gaining at the bourse. But then technology developed. Their gains began to decline and our incomes started to drop," said Çor, whose husband is also a broker. "With one of our salaries we used to go on an overseas vacation and with the other we used to get by just fine for a month," she said. "That is not the case anymore. We can only go on a vacation once a year during summer, but we have to take into consideration the economy. If we were to lose our jobs, I don’t know what is there to do after 40. Brokerages are downsizing and it is hard to find a job."
"I have been working at the IMKB since 1993. It used to be popular job. Very few people had certification and it wasn’t easy to get one. The business used to be more satisfying both spiritually and fiancially," said Ağacıklar. "I used to go abroad on vacation three to four times a year. Now I can’t do that. Vacations, healthcares, dinners, shopping É everything is limited now. Since the new year, I am not even sure if I actually have a job. I use to have a car. Well, not anymore. I take the shuttle."
Hurt by the treatment
"We have been through many depressions with [the SPK’s] declaration. I gave my entire life to this business. My husband worked at the day of our wedding. When I was about to give birth, my husband was again working. A friend took me to hospital. After all that self-sacrifice, it hurts to see how easily we were forgotten," said Çor.
"The executives at the company’s headquarters treat brokers very badly. I have done nothing to deserve such treatment. I have done everything they have asked from me. I went to training, got certificates, improved my foreign language skill and learned to use all systems they have asked from me," said Ağacıklar.
"When I first began working, we used to have much closer ties with customers. They used to trust us more and take our advice more seriously. They sometimes sent us flowers. With the electronic system they began to evaluate us just based on our speed. Personal ties got detached. They now think we are computers," said Çor.
"Live bourses are more suitable for Turkish people. Unlike in Europe, in Turkey it is hard to find investors that trade at the bourse via the Internet. We are constantly told to keep up with the European and the U.S. bourses. But our customs are very different. We like to touch, talk and bargain while buying and selling. We are the underdeveloped brokers of an underdeveloped bourse. It is hard to adapt to their customs. If that is the case then we should also be given the same salary and social rights as well," said Ağacıklar.
"Of course technology is a good thing. But one should calibrate the dosage. If we want to keep our bourse alive, the only way is to protect bourse floors," said Çor. "I understand that there may not be 1,500 brokers anymore, however, a system should be adopted to keep the existing brokers as active as possible," she said.