The Internet is a revolutionary power that is opening the floodgates of the financial services industry that have been built over the past 40 years, resulting in the introduction of greater transparency, which will render the intermediary role of brokers and investment banks less valuable.

It is now apparent that a more serious challenge to the existing order is the distribution strength of the Internet and the growing importance of retail investors who are directly accessing a greater share of new services and indeed equities without the "traditional" intermediary services of investment banks and brokers. It is clear that the entire landscape of the wholesale financial service industry is being transformed.