The Jobbing System of the London Stock Exchange: An Oral History
Ref.No.: 29	Playback No.:

Interviewee's surname: Woolfenden	Title: Mr
Interviewee's forenames: John Bentley
Date of birth:   7 December 1940	Sex: Male

Date(s) of recording: 14 June 1990
Location of interview: UBS Phillips & Drew
Name of interviewer:  Bernard Attard
Type of recorder:  Marantz CP 430
Total no. of tapes:      2   Speed:
Type of tape:    TDK AR 60     Noise reduction:   DBX
Mono or stereo:  stereo      Original or copy:  Copy
Additional material: Copyright/Clearance: CMH; no restrictions

SUMMARY OF CONTENTS

Tape 1, Side 1

Birth in 1940 in Southport; father a director of Fitch Lovell; brother's career; education; early ambition to be a lawyer; joins Liverpool broking firm A.S. Milnes; interest in the Stock Exchange started through following Cunard shares at school; attitude to money at home; joins Milnes in 1960; description of the firm and its offices; duties as an ofice boy; description of the Liverpool Stock Exchange, number of firms and members; John Woolfenden becomes a dealer dealing with shunters; Milnes' agents in London; description of the activities of shunters with reference to Henry E. Rensburg; mechanics of shunters' activities; description of Rensburg's box on Shorter's Court; Moy Vanderbill is Rensburg's agent in London; John Woolfenden becomes a member of the Liverpool Exchange and a partner in Milnes; invited to join Rensburg which is starting jobbing; previously Rensburg was broking, shunting, and running a book in government securities; reasons for Rensburg taking up jobbing firm; John Woolfenden does a period of training with Durlacher; relationship of Rensburg with London jobbers; other country jobbing firms; organisation of Rensburg's jobbing pitch; type of business the firm was doing and how it attracted business; attempt to rationalise country jobbing; Rensburg decides to concentrate on gilt jobbing.

Tape 1, side 2

Equity markets in which Rensburg had been jobbing; John Woolfenden's attitude to gilt jobbing; separation of broking and jobbing activities into separate businesses; jobbing firm eventually merged with Phillips & Drew; effect of the creation of a single Stock Exchange on country jobbers; expansion and development of Rensburg; scale of the firm's business compared with London jobbers; the merger of provincial firms; John Woolfenden's concern about conflicts of interest prior to the separation of Rensburg's jobbing and broking activities into separate firms; the way this problem was dealt with; a typical day; the firm still jobs on the floor of the Liverpool Stock Exchange; calculation of profit and loss at the end of each day; organisation of the firm's jobbing book; the firm's links with other Stock Exchanges; the firm has a partner based in London; relationship with the government broker; relationship with country brokers and the way business was built up; account of the firm's first million pound order and value of relationship with a London broker specialising in gilts; disadvantages of- trading outside London; changes in name of firm, eventually becoming Moulesdale; firm does not participate in price agreements; country jobbers justifiably criticised for under cutting London jobbers.

Tape 2, side 1

Example of situations in which firm dealt with London to adjust its book; occasions when business in the country was opposite to what was occurring in London; relationship of country to London prices; shortage of capital a problem; relationship with banks; significance of position taking; amount of capital required to run the firm; attitude to decision to abolish single capacity; John Woolfenden member of the Stock Exchange Council when the decision was made; segregation of businesses the strength of single capacity; brokers and jobbers are different animals; qualities of a successful jobber; John Woolfenden's feelings about his career.