Information Technology and Financial Markets: Risk, Volatility and the Quants

History

What is known today as the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) came into existence in 1792, when a group of 24 men signed the “Buttonwood Agreement” under a Buttonwood Tree which stood just outside where the NYSE now sits on Broad Street in New York City (Wright, 2002, p. 11). Today the Buttonwood tree is still the symbol of the NYSE. In those early days of trading, less seasoned stocks were relegated to being traded in areas by the horses’ hitching post or the curb. These stocks were later morphed into the American Stock Exchange (ASE), which was originally known as the New York Curb Exchange or ‘The Curb’.

Information technology first came to the NYSE during the 19^th century, with the arrival of the ticker in 1867 and the installation of the first telephone in 1878 (Mehta, et. al, 2010, pgs. 50-51). The ticker, which became symbolic of Wall Street, was invented by Edward A. Calahan and delivered the latest stock prices to investors removed from Wall Street. The reach of the NYSE had been extended.

The NYSE grew consistently in stature and size throughout the 20^th century, but in a controlled fashion. The 20^th century also saw the NYSE endure its greatest crisis, the stock market crash of 1929 and the great depression. A major development which grew out of the great depression was The Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which established the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) to oversee Wall Street, the NYSE and other exchanges. The market did not return to 1929 pre-crash levels until the 1960s.