By Conrad Tan

RETIREES should not be exposed to complex investments that are difficult to understand, David Gerald, head of the Securities Investors Association of Singapore (SIAS), said yesterday.

The recent outcry from retail investors who lost money from structured products linked to bankrupt US investment bank Lehman Brothers has clearly shown that 'investor education in Singapore is not at the adequate level needed', said Mr Gerald, a long-time champion of small investors' rights here.

Regulators must 'consider the suitability of these clever products for retirees, who are vulnerable to aggressive marketing', he added. 'The old and feeble should not be exposed to these complex products.'

He was speaking at the annual SIAS Investors' Choice Awards, which reward Singapore-listed companies for transparency and overall good corporate governance practices.

S Iswaran, Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry, said that the current crisis in financial markets 'illustrates vividly the importance of regulatory supervision, corporate responsibility and investor prudence as the foundation of a resilient financial system'.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore has stepped up its monitoring of financial markets and the supervision of financial institutions here, he said. It has also conducted stress tests on Singapore banks and large foreign banks here. 'The results reported by the banks reflect their resilience,' he said.

While retail investors need to educate themselves further, banks that make and sell complex products aimed at the public must make clear their risks, said Mr Gerald. 'The risk factors should be clearly highlighted and visible, like the health warnings on cigarette packets - big and bold.'

At the awards yesterday, SMRT Corp bagged three big corporate honours. The transport operator won prizes for good corporate governance, transparency and board diversity.

Another big winner was Keppel Corp, which also took home three prizes, including the coveted Golden Circle Award given to the overall winner among the most transparent companies in 15 categories.

SMRT came out tops in the main board category of the Singapore Corporate Governance Awards and was named runner-up for the Most Transparent Company Award in the transport, storage and communications category. It was also one of two winners of the Board Diversity Award introduced this year.

SingTel, long a fixture at the yearly event, was the other winner of the new award, which SIAS said was launched to reward 'companies which have carefully considered the need to have a good balance of backgrounds and competencies on their boards, so there is a healthy diversity of viewpoints'.

Keppel was named the most transparent company in the multi-industry/ conglomerates category, and came second in the overall corporate governance awards.

Singapore Press Holdings (SPH), which publishes The Business Times, won the most transparent company award in the non-electronics manufacturing category for the fifth straight year. The successive winning of the award 'is an achievement we are very pleased with', said SPH chief executive Alan Chan.

Singapore Exchange (SGX) was named winner in the finance category for transparency, and won a merit award for overall good corporate governance. Similarly, CapitaLand beat its peers in the property category for transparency, and took home a merit award for good corporate governance.

Other winners of the most transparent company award were Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing, in the technology and electronics category; Olam International in the commerce category; and Singapore Airlines in the transport, storage and communications category.

Mr Gerald said that research conducted for this year's awards for good corporate governance found there had been 'marked improvement' in some areas, with many more companies disclosing the process they use for finding and nominating new directors, and disclosing the roles and responsibilities of their chairman and chief executive. But other areas 'still require improvements'.

Fewer companies this year clearly stated whether there is a relationship between their chairman and CEO, while just two companies had their financial statements certified by either the CEO or chief financial officer.

This article was first published in The Business Times on October 10, 2008.