STA Blog

For some time now, every year in early September the STA books the National Liberal Club for a formal sit-down 3-course dinner – because Liberal Party members are away for their annual conference – and we have the club pretty much to ourselves. A great, grand venue in a convenient location on the Embankment at Charing Cross, across the river from the London Eye, with a huge terrace which we can enjoy afterwards as the weather, more often than not, is nice.

Courteous, efficient staff, smart food (this year ‘heritage’ tomato & mozzarella salad, guinea fowl and cheesecake) and generous amounts of Club Sauvignon and Club Claret. Members and their guests dress for the occasion looking forward to catching up and listening to the after-dinner speaker – the focus of this piece.

Introduced by STA chairman Tom Hicks, who first gave out rather smart goodie bags to thank ex-STA board members for their contribution and helping our society weather these extraordinary times, Clive Lambert strolled up to the lectern. A familiar face on social media and our networking events, he’s also vice-chairman of the Executive Committee.

Kicking off at 21:25 with ‘’we need a break from all of this and keep things light-hearted’’ he mapped out his professional career which, in his own words, ‘’lurched from farce to comedy’’. Starting in 1986 as a clerk for James Capel in box A6 of the London Stock Exchange, he hopped over to Australia in 1989 blagging his way onto the Sydney futures Exchange, enjoying the fact the market closed for lunch and so they could go surfing the waves. Then back home, he dived into the London Financial Futures Exchange in 1990.

Starting as the lowest of the low, a runner for Tullett & Tokyo, he admits these were the most memorable years of his life. It was here that he became hooked into technical analysis ‘’so I just look at the price and it seems to work’’. When the exchange turned electronic and the trading floor closed, he set up his own TA consultancy firm. Passing our Diploma exam in 2003, and on to STA board in 2004, ‘’that was quick work and it’s been an absolute pleasure to be involved in this society. Let this not be a dying art.’’