Cheung Tin-sang: Broker with the personal touch
Cheung Tin-sang is friends with clients after half a century in the business
In the era of the mega firm, you may wonder why there are still 430 small brokerages active in the city. The answer may well be the innate human need for relationships.
Cheung Tin-sang, who turned 75 last weekend, is a typical example of how traditional brokers survive in the city.
Cheung has no idea how to use e-mail or do internet trading but still buys and sells stocks for clients every day, a job he has enjoyed doing for half a century and has vowed to continue in the future.
"All my clients and many brokers are my long-term friends. My work allows me to meet with my friends every day. Why should I retire?" he said.
While many think trading through the internet is the way of the future and old brokers will be forced out by technology, one should remember that many wealthy senior citizens still like contact with brokers with whom they have been their friends for decades.
This is why Cheung does not think internet trading will hurt his business. He is more worried the exchange's shorter lunches - now only one hour instead of two - are more of a problem as he cannot stay and chat with his clients for a longer time.