Ranald Michie has long been recognised in academic circles as one of the leading financial historians in the world. He has reached that position through a career spanning over 30 years of research and writing on the subject. His particular speciality is the history of securities markets, particularly stock exchanges, on which he has written numerous books and articles. These include work not only on the London Stock Exchange but also New York as well as investigations into the development of securities markets in Canada and Continental Europe. He has also written extensively on the City of London as a financial centre and his work has been translated into German. He is regularly invited to academic conferences across Europe and the United States either to give papers, chair sessions or act as expert commentator.