How to become a savvier retail investor

Having spent much of my journalistic focus on investor education, I could not have been more pleased than to hear that retail investors in Singapore are becoming more financially savvy and making their voices heard (BT, Aug 13).

The challenge in growing awareness and aptitude of Singapore's retail investor base has always been its fragmented nature - a handful of very savvy investors sit alongside a larger mass of those who prefer to rely on hearsay rather than research when investing.

But a more enlightened investor base all round - made up of individuals who attempt to educate themselves on investing issues and strategies, who work hard to look into the background, financial data, industry landscape and geopolitical environment of the entities they invest in, and who actively engage their investment targets - would do much to improve the overall workings of the market, as well as the companies in it.