Can SIAS truly represent minorities' interests?

THE Securities Investors' Association (Singapore) has been highly visible as the voice of small investors in defending their interests when trampled upon by management or controlling shareholders of Singapore-listed companies.

But its conciliatory approach, which dims its visibility somewhat, has prompted some of the very investors it represents to label the investor advocacy group as a paper tiger.

Part of the scepticism is a result of the group's non-adversarial brand of advocacy, which can be mistaken for chumminess of the old boys' variety to the detriment of the disenfranchised investor, never mind that this approach is why corporate boards feel comfortable engaging with SIAS in the first place.