Three new workshops aim to teach Singapore’s 2,000-odd remisiers how to use generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools, improve their trading strategies and leverage social media to engage with clients.
The Society of Remisiers (Singapore) (SRS) and Securities Association of Singapore (SAS) launched the Remisier Development Programme (RDP) on Sept 30. Accredited by the Institute of Banking & Finance Singapore (IBF), this marks the first remisier development that is open to non-members of the SRS.
According to SRS president S Nallakaruppan, the organisers began gathering feedback from remisiers in April. About 20 remisiers from various brokerages attended the initial run of the course over three full-day sessions held on weekends in September.
Following the official launch, the three workshops will be held monthly over three separate sessions, says Luke Lim, SAS chairman and managing director of Phillip Securities.
Each module costs $800, and the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) Financial Sector Development Fund will subsidise up to 70% of the course fee. SRS will provide funding to cover the remaining cost for its members, thanks to a grant by the Singapore Exchange S68 (SGX).
“Remisiers have been the backbone of the brokerage industry all these years but due to the commoditisation of brokerage rates, they are facing the toughest of times at this juncture,” says Nallakaruppan in his opening speech at the SGX’s securities market opening on Sept 30. “My vision for the brokerage industry and the remisier profession as a whole is to move up the value chain and provide value-added services like managing client portfolios with a wealth of experience that remisiers have built.”
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Speaking at a media briefing following the ceremony, Nallakaruppan says he hopes “20% to 25%” of Singapore’s 2,000 remisiers will undergo the optional course.
Participants can attend the three modules separately over the coming months. The “AI advantage: A practical guide for brokerages” module will begin the October intake, with a full-day session scheduled for Oct 5 at ISCA House. The “Essentials of securities trading: Portfolios, strategies and opportunities” module will follow on Oct 12 at SGX Centre 1; while the “Personal branding: Leveraging digital marketing for client engagement” module will be held at ISCA House on Oct 19.
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The modern remisier
Faced with online brokerages that compete on low or zero fees, SAS’s Lim touts the “modern remisier” as the “brains, bridge and builder” for today’s clients. “While institutional investors typically focus on blue-chip stocks, let's not forget that many of the market's stock darlings were first discovered by remisiers before any market coverage. Remisiers are truly the vanguard of stock picking, the tip of the spear, searching for the next winning stock.”
Nallakaruppan says SRS is “transforming the remisier profession from a transaction-based approach to a more value-added, advisory approach”. Remisiers can “move up the value chain” with this “high-touch approach”, he adds.
According to Nallakaruppan, remisiers are “even better” than private banks’ relationship managers when it comes to trading equities and fixed income, “because we do day in, day out”.
He also points to the experience of Singapore’s remisiers, where two-thirds are aged 60 and above. “We have experience not in terms of years but decades. I joined the industry 30 years ago, in 1994. There are many like me, so there’s a wealth of experience; we can add value to the clients.”
SGX Group president Michael Syn hopes “new blood” will join the securities industry. Speaking at the ceremony, Syn adds: “The industry will benefit as younger professionals join with fresh perspectives and digital-native fluency. This injection of vitality, combined with the experience of veteran remisiers, will help ensure the long-term health and growth of the securities sector in Singapore.”
Review group
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Lim is among 15 members of the regulatory workstream in MAS’s equities market review group. The regulator unveiled in August the 31 members of its two workstreams, the other being the enterprise and markets workstream.
Along with the 10 members of the review group, they will engage stakeholders and announce their recommendations in phases within 12 months, according to MAS.
Nallakaruppan wrote in a LinkedIn post from Aug 28 that he was “sadly disregarded” from the review group. “I was clearly excluded from these committees when I've been the one strongly advocating forming one for the longest time.”
At the Sept 30 media briefing, Nallakaruppan says MAS is gathering feedback from remisiers, just “not in the formalised committees”.
In response to The Edge Singapore, Lim says there are “channels” for feedback. “The idea is that there’s a review committee, but there are various workstreams that they do consult with us. So, I don't think [remisiers] are left out.”
Photo: SRS, SAS
