Shares go online with Datastream

A nation of armchair capitalists will be able to take advantage of a service which enables them to buy and sell shares on the Web.

Financial information specialist Datastream/ICV is developing the system to help home users trade with their brokerage institutions online.

The basis for the service will be the link between two existing Datastream products - Topic3 Trader, which enables brokerages to execute trading directly through the London Stock Exchange order book system or individual market makers, and Market Eye, a Web-based share price information service.

It will be the link between these two services that will enable individual clients to deal with their brokers directly.

David Joyce, business manager at Datastream, explained: 'This system will automate the whole process of buying and selling shares electronically between individual clients and their stockbroker. There will be no need for manual intervention, which will present significant cost savings to the institution.'

Joyce said one of the areas the company plans to examine is security.

'We will be using the highest level of encryption,' he vowed.

Online share dealing is gathering momentum in the US, where there are already 1.2 million electronic brokerage accounts. Joyce said this kind of system would demystify the world of share dealing and would encourage people to invest directly in equities.

Last week, the UK Stock Exchange trading system failed for the first time since it was introduced in 1994. A computer fault caused a complete system breakdown, and traders were forced to make prices and trade via telephones.