Date: July 12, 2024
Minister for Health Mr Ong Ye Kung, SIAS members, friends and supporters of SIAS. This is indeed an auspicious occasion as it is the 25th anniversary of SIAS’s formation and I am happy to see so many members attend tonight’s celebrations.
It is perhaps fitting that our Guest of Honour is Singapore’s Minister for Health because for the past quarter of a century, SIAS’s main priority has been to enhance the financial health of the retail investing public through several initiatives.
From day one of our formation back in 1999, SIAS has made it its mission to elevate the financial knowledge of small investors so they would be able to make smart, informed financial decisions and therefore enjoy good financial health.
This arose from our experience with the episode now known as the CLOB International saga, where we learned that many investors had ploughed their money into speculative Malaysian stocks that traded on CLOB purely based on rumour and hearsay. Very few had done any homework of any sort, most relied on tips, all of which eventually turned out to be of little or no use.
Once the dust had settled on that episode, it became readily apparent to SIAS that systematic investor education, although essential in any developed capital market, was sorely lacking in the local context. So it is that SIAS embarked on its investor education programmes in 2000, many of which were free, and many of which still continue until today.
Apart from strengthening the public’s investing knowledge through classroom courses, SIAS has also hosted hundreds of townhall sessions for shareholders to meet managements when companies tabled complicated deals that affected minorities. At these meetings, shareholders could ask questions and get immediate answers, thus clearing any doubts they may have had.
In addition, SIAS has conducted numerous Corporate Connect sessions both physically and online to raise awareness in lesser-known companies.
Members of the public who sign up for these sessions are treated to corporate presentations by senior managements and are then able to pose questions to gain a better understanding of the operations of these firms.
Another important initiative is SIAS’s Three Questions, where companies are sent questions drawn from their Annual Reports focusing on their financials, strategy and corporate governance.
These questions, which are posted online, are sent to the companies a few weeks before they conduct their Annual General Meetings (AGMs) and are aimed at equipping shareholders, both those who attend the AGMs and those who don’t, with the necessary knowledge on the more pressing issues faced by the companies. The main objective is to help shareholders engage their boards meaningfully and seek accountability with relevance.
SIAS has also started introducing a Fourth Question, targeting companies whose share prices persistently trade below their book values and asking them what measures they intend to take to narrow the valuation gap.
Speaking of valuation gaps, SIAS has regularly intervened in many privatisation-cum-delisting offers whenever the prices offered are seen as being too low, or at too large discounts to asset or book values. I am pleased to report that SIAS’s appeals for minorities to get better prices were successful in a handful of cases.
These are just some of the efforts SIAS has undertaken so far to improve the financial well-being of the investing public. I firmly believe that the level of investing knowledge among retail investors has shown definite improvement with more individuals asking probing questions at AGMs whilst at the same time we see increasing incidence of small shareholders challenging the majorities when presented with controversial proposals that may be to the detriment of minorities.
I would also like SIAS to nudge families to seriously consider growing their money via proper disciplined investing. Many of them are keeping their money in bank fixed deposits. Whilst it provides security for them, over time their savings earning little interest will be eroded by inflation. Many fear investing. The problem is that for many of these citizens, they did not have adequate knowledge nor did they adopt disciplined approach to investing and thereby suffered large losses. This is why they choose to keep their money in the bank. Though, admittedly it is safe, but the money is not growing so they have to invest to grow their money. Families who wish to learn proper investing and be guided by SIAS, an independent charity which does not sell products or services, can do so. We are here to help you and at the same time, help more people participate in the Singapore markets. How we will accomplish this will be announced soon.
I would like to think that SIAS has played an important role in these developments, and you can rest assured that there will be no let-up in our efforts to continue empowering investors with the requisite financial knowledge to make sound financial decisions and invest wisely. Thank you for your support during the past 25 years and here’s to the next 25 years!
Enjoy the evening!
