BlackRock trading boss backs plans to shorten LSE hours

Momentum continues to gather behind an initiative many see as crucial to changing City culture

BlackRock has given its public backing to plans to shorten trading hours on the London Stock Exchange.

Paul Battams, head of equity trading in Europe, the Middle East and Africa at BlackRock, said in a tweet: “Given advances in technology and infrastructure, we believe the evolution of the market hours is a natural progression that will support both liquidity and the culture within our industry.”

The support of the world’s largest asset manager adds to momentum behind an initiative many see as crucial to changing City culture and making the industry a more attractive place to work, for women in particular.

The LSE, one of the City’s oldest institutions, recently consulted on whether to shorten the UK trading day, offering four alternatives to the current hours of 8.00am to 16.30pm. These were: 8.30 to 15.30, 8.30 to 16.00, 9.00 to 16.00, 9.00 to 16.30; keeping hours unchanged was also an option.

Last week, the Association for Financial Markets in Europe and the UK Investment Association, the trade bodies, suggested a later start to the trading day on the grounds that the benefits of opening the market during Asian hours were overstated.

BlackRock, which is a member of both Afme and the IA, was contacted for comment.

Talks over a reduced trading day in London were revealed by Financial News in August last year, with proponents of the idea pointing to its potential for curbing the male-dominated culture in UK finance.

April Day, head of equities at Afme, said at the time: “There are lots of industries trying to make the working day more flexible. Why shouldn’t we be talking about it here in financial services and particularly in trading?”

Source: Financial News

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