Small Investors Were an Easy Mark in 2015 – and Will Be Again

The year 2015 will go down as an annus horribilis for China's rising middle class because the speculative frenzy abruptly came to an end. In two harrowing summer weeks, shares on the Shanghai stock exchange lost one-third of their value. The collapse of non-conventional investment schemes also inflicted untold damage on the wealth of small investors.

Underlying every market bubble is a narrative that fits in a worldview people have learned. In China, the siren song is composed of financial innovation and a burning desire to be taken seriously in the global marketplace.