OREANDA-NEWS. May 22, 2015. Those who missed the Singapore Exchange’s (SGX) My First Stock Carnival held in February this year should go to its second investment carnival this weekend from May 23 to 24 at in front of Vivocity (outside Bakerzin).

Similar to the first, this weekend’s My First Stock Carnival continues to target new retail investors who are keen to start their investing journey.  The investment carnival is also relevant for current investors who wish to learn more about the products available should they be keen to diversify their investment portfolio. The carnival retains its hands-on approach to guiding what SGX terms the ‘NIBI’s (Not Invested But Interested) on basic information on investing, setting investment goals and selecting what to invest in.

Staff from SGX will be at the event to explain investment fundamentals to new investors. Budding investors will also learn about investment products that have a relatively lower risk but give stable returns, such as blue chip stocks, Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) and Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs). In particular, there will be a focus and highlight on ETFs as a result of the recent regulatory amendments on the definition of Excluded Investment Products (EIP). Retail investors interested should note that SGX will be waiving ETF clearing fees for both institutional and retail investors from 1 June 2015 to 31 December 2015.

Six brokerage firms, including CIMB, DBS Vickers, Lim & Tan, Maybank Kim Eng, RHB and Phillip Securities, will also be at the event to help investors with opening trading accounts and to activate their first transaction.

Based on the success of the carnival that was held at Cathay Cineleisure in February which attracted over 6,000 visitors, SGX anticipates more participants this time and has increased the venue footprint by four times. They have also set up a children’s play area at the carnival for those who are bringing their young families along.

Lynn Gaspar, Head of Retail Investors said, “With an average return of nearly 9% in STI over the last 10 years and \\$16 billion in dividends distributed last year, the Singapore market continues to be a good market for Singaporeans to invest in. The first carnival that we ran in February this year garnered positive feedback, and we received requests for more of such outreach events. We remain focused on helping retail investors in Singapore to find investment opportunities in our stock market through ongoing educational efforts.”

She added, “Apart from My First Stock Carnival, investors can also attend regular seminars organized by SGX Academy, and subscribe to the SGX My Gateway newsletters to learn about investment.”

My First Stock Carnival is part of SGX’s educational campaign to encourage retail investing. Other initiatives include SGX’s Investor Roadmap, an interactive online tool to help new investors get started on their investment journey as well as the SGX Mobile App that give investors market information on the go.

Since March, SGX has also sponsored live market updates three times a day (weekday 6.50am, 11.20am and 6.20pm) on 938LIVE, where SGX and other market experts share their real-time feedback on the pulse of the market and economic developments.