SIAS, a non-profit organization, was founded unexpectedly in June 1999, to champion the CLOB issue. 174,000 retail investors were suddenly stranded when the Malaysian Government froze their investments on Malaysian stocks in September 1998, amounting to US$5 billion. A group of civic-minded citizens got together and took on the challenge to free the frozen shares with an initial backing by 49,880 retail investors as members. Our resoluteness and unity helped to resolve the issue on our terms.

Today, SIAS is the largest organized investor lobby group in Asia, with almost 66,000 retail investors as members. It is run by a Management Committee comprising of professionals who are volunteers. It actively promotes Investor Education, Corporate Transparency and Corporate Governance and is the watchdog for Investor rights. Todate, SIAS has successfully organized some 230 investor education programmes ranging from basic investment seminars for novices to certificate courses for investment savvy investors. Thus far, about 20,000 retail investors have benefited from these programmes.

SIAS is committed to investor education and now seeks to provide online investor education and information to a much wider audience in and out of Singapore. Hence, this website.

SIAS is today also prominent as a watchdog of investor rights and has already locked horns with corporations falling short of good Corporate Governance practices.

Many SIAS members have sought protection from errant traders. SIAS conducts dispute resolution sessions regularly to assist members.

SIAS now awards annually three Investors' Choice Awards to Public Listed Companies to promote Corporate Transparency and Corporate Governance; namely the Most Transparent Company Award, Best Financial Journalist Of the Year Award and for the first time in year 2006, the Model Shareholder Award.