Actually, it's equally possible to argue that small shareholders have never had it so good. Sure, there are things that still need fixing - a good place to start would be nominee accounts, which arguably need an overhaul to make sure beneficial owners are treated as business owners should be, with the same rights as named owners under UK company law (surely, in today's information age, it can't be too difficult to join those dots). But dematerialisation also partly explains why share dealing charges are lower than ever. And the recent flurry of new issues have mostly included a fairly chunky retail component.
Savers and investors are equally spoiled for choice when it comes to platforms to manage their money, including dozens of Sipp options to suit all budgets. And although one side effect of the retail distribution review (RDR) has been the withdrawal of many financial advisers from the market, the commission structure they lived off for years meant that they didn't always offer the best advice anyway. Those that remain must offer a much better service to justify their fees - and for clients whose level of savings can't justify the outlay on advice, there are more tools than ever to help them go it alone (not least the IC).