Attracting retail investors: mindset change needed

EVER since the penny segment crashed last October, the local stock market has suffered from a withdrawal of retail participation. Volume today is about half what it was before the crash, prompting the release of a consultation paper from the authorities on ways to strengthen the market in the wake of that collapse.

The measures recommended - but not yet implemented - are all sound and should enhance the market's infrastructure in no small measure, but as yet there has been no discernible effect on small investor presence or sentiment. Despite the fact that a record number of Central Depository (CDP) accounts were opened in the past 12 months, actual trading remains depressed.

It's a perplexing problem which thus confronts the Singapore Exchange (SGX) - what should be done to bring ret…