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SINGAPORE: Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said on Wednesday there is a need for investment product retailers to be more transparent, and that every investor should be guided by the simple and universal principles of investing.
Most fundamentally, he highlighted that higher returns always mean higher risks.
"This is also why it is incumbent on financial institutions and advisors to make the downside risks perfectly plain and clear to the retail investor when selling any investment product," said Mr Shanmugaratnam.
Speaking at the 10th anniversary celebrations of the Securities Investors Association of Singapore, Mr Shanmugaratnam also said there is room for improvement in corporate governance despite Singapore's high ranking in various studies, and that this would be a collective responsibility.
Meanwhile, SIAS has formed a youth chapter to reach out to younger investors in universities, polytechnics and junior colleges.
SIAS believes that early investment education has become even more important - after the minimum age for trading securities was reduced to 18 from 21.
SIAS will also launch an inaugural Financial Literacy Week campaign next year.
As part of its plans to continue improving its web portal, it will be providing information on rate comparison for Savings and Fixed Deposits, together with yields and P/E ratios of selected products and listed companies. These indicators will provide investors with more tools to assist them in evaluating their investment decision.
"We need to keep sending the message that you need to invest with knowledge. Investing without knowledge is a gamble. So for different investors of different levels, we have different programmes," said David Gerald, president & CEO, Securities Investors Association of Singapore.
- CNA/sc
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