Speech By Mr David Gerald, Founder, President & CEO Of SIAS At The SIAS Investors’ Choice Awards 2026 on 21 October 2026 At 7pm

Date: October 21, 2026

Mr Chee Hong Tat, Minister for National Development and Deputy Chairman Monetary Authority of Singapore,

Mdm Haliamah, Chief Patron of SIAS,

Mr Daniel Teo, Chairman, SIAS,

Ms Gillian Tan, Assistant Managing Director, MAS

Mr Ng Yao Loong, Senior Managing Director, SGX

Mrs Chia-Tern Huey Min, Chief Executive, ACRA

Distinguished guests, representatives of MAS and SGX, corporate leaders, members of the financial community, ladies and gentlemen,

Good evening.

It gives me great pleasure to welcome all of you tonight to SIAS’ Investors’ Choice Awards for 2026.

Minister, thank you very much for taking time from your busy schedule to join us this evening, as Deputy Chair of MAS, you lead the Equities Market Review Group, in its efforts to revitalize Singapore’s equities market, giving retail investors broader investment opportunities and better-informed investment decisions, deeper liquidity, alongside a sharper focus on creating long-term value for shareholders. These initiatives sparked a rally that made the local market one of the world’s best performing stock markets over the last 12-18 months. You and MAS deserve a round of applause.

Without the encouragement and cooperation of our regulators, corporate partners and volunteers, SIAS would not have been able to achieve what it has over the past 27 years.

Tonight’s occasion is first and foremost a celebration of excellence by companies in governance and transparency.

Ladies and gentlemen, other than celebrating and rewarding excellence, there are two subjects I would like to raise this evening, investment literacy and sustainability, both close to my heart and deserve serious attention.

We all know being financially literate is important. We teach financial topics in schools, discuss relevant subjects at seminars and workshops to encourage the public to save and invest wisely. For the last financial year alone, we organised 155 programmes, benefiting 36,700 investors.

But financial literacy is not learned from theory alone – it needs to be complemented with investment literacy by “acting on it”. And perhaps we should begin doing much earlier than we are today. Let me explain.

Singapore has an extensive system of government support for families raising children. Based on estimates, a Singaporean child may receive close to $70,000 in support by age 17, depending on family circumstances and eligibility.

But I would like to pose an interesting question.

“What if parents were to use a portion of these funds to do something more to help secure their children’s financial future?”

One possibility is to encourage parents, where the relevant scheme permits, to use a portion of the financial support they receive to make voluntary top-ups to their children’s CPF accounts, preferably the Special Account which pays a guaranteed 4% compound interest per annum.

Using the compound interest Rule of 72, $10,000 in the Special Account at birth will double every 18 years. By the time the child starts work at maybe age 21, he or she will already have almost $20,000, certainly a useful headstart in accumulating retirement savings.

We could go even further. Parents could be encouraged to set aside a small sum regularly in simple, diversified and low-cost and less risky investments such as exchange-traded funds, ETF, and tracking the Straits Times Index.

Once the child turns 18 and is eligible to open its own Central Depository Account or CDP account, the investment can be transferred from the parents’ CDP to the child.

The STI Index had an annualized price return of 6.8% for the last 10 years. This is the average annual return from just stock price increases. Including dividends, the annualized total return would be 11.3%.

A $10,000 investment for each newborn, ideally, co-funded equally by both the parents and the Singapore government would grow to $68,690 after 18 years. Enough for university education, enough for the downpayment for a HDB flat.

Parents who need the cash should of course retain the flexibility to receive the money and use it as they see fit.

The intention is not to impose an additional financial burden on families or money needed for their children’s immediate welfare. Nor is it to create a large investment portfolio for every child.

Instead, the idea is to create a habit.

Imagine a child who grows up knowing he or she owns a small investment in some of Singapore’s leading companies. As the child grows older, parents can explain what these companies do, why their share prices fluctuate, how dividends work, and why investing requires patience.

The child begins to understand that investing is not simply about buying something today to sell tomorrow at a higher price. They learn that it is about ownership, discipline, risk, and long-term wealth creation.

There is no guarantee that investments will always rise in value, but understanding risk is itself an essential part of financial literacy.

Over time, through disciplined investing even modest amounts will grow through reinvestment and the power of compounding.

However, the greatest benefit is not necessarily the amount accumulated, but the knowledge, discipline and confidence developed along the way.

Of course, such a proposal would require careful study, particularly in the treatment of existing grants, investment risks, costs, and the probable safeguards needed.

But it is surely an idea worth exploring because if we can help young Singaporeans become familiar with saving and investing from an early age, we may not only be able to cultivate a generation that is not only financially literate but also financially confident and empowered.

And that, I would suggest, is one of the best investments we can make in Singapore’s future. We will certainly advance this idea when we launch and implement the “Invest Singapore” programme for families.

On the sustainability, I am sure all of us have felt the impact over the last few weeks with haze. We need to act on this too!

SIAS calls on all investors to think carefully about where they put their money, and to absolutely avoid companies with poor environmental records. This applies especially to those linked to the haze, which causes massive destruction of forests and green spaces and causes harm to public health, disrupts daily life and businesses, and damages the region’s environment and reputation. Investors who fund such companies, even indirectly, share some responsibility for these outcomes.

SIAS will continue to raise awareness among investors about environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks, and encourage them to check a company’s sustainability practices before investing. Companies that disregard the environment also face real financial risks, including regulatory penalties, legal liabilities, reputational damage and declining investor confidence. By choosing responsible companies, retail investors can protect their own returns while supporting a cleaner, healthier region.

Finally, I would like to thank all the partners, sponsors and everyone here who made this dinner a success.

Firstly, my Management Committee, who have supported all our ideas, and secondly, our hardworking staff who have met all the KPIs and putting SIAS first before themselves.

Thank you all and I wish everyone a very enjoyable evening.