By Robin Chan

REMISIERS have had a front-row seat for the past year's stock market turbulence - as agents of brokerages who sell stocks for a commission.

Now, the nearly 3,000-strong profession is set to get a boost with a new programme aimed at raising their image and competency levels and attracting more talent to the field.

The Singapore Exchange (SGX) is teaming up with the Society of Remisiers Singapore (SRS) and the Securities Association of Singapore (SAS) to mount this initiative, it was announced yesterday.

The programme will present a clearer profile of what a remisier's job entails, while also stepping up career awareness and recruitment efforts.

SGX chief executive Magnus Bocker, who officially takes over the exchange's top job today, said he hopes an extra 1,000 remisiers would join the industry over the next few years.

'Without a doubt, (remisiers) will continue to act as the 'pulse' of the stock market, assuming the important front-line role in our equities market.'

The SGX Academy said it will support these efforts with advanced programmes in high-velocity trading and sales delivered by practising experts. This is in line with the Monetary Authority of Singapore's efforts to build a larger pool of skilled financial professionals.

SAS chief executive Lim Eng Hai said: 'Too often, remisiers are viewed by those less enlightened and outside the industry...as a motley crowd of 'order takers' who earn their share of commission by keying in orders without providing any value-added services to investors. This picture does not do justice to remisiers' contributions to the industry.'

SRS president Albert Fong said that to cope with the increasing challenges, remisiers need better support and professional training opportunities. 'We advocate learning and re-learning as an essential approach to continuous professional development,' he said.

This article was first published in The Straits Times.