Structured products
WHAT IS THIS? Structured products are investments that have multiple components. For retail investors, the most common form is a bond plus an option – these tend to be standardised, sold in small tickets and large volumes. Managing the risks of large structured products portfolios is one of the biggest challenges dealers face.
The road to high yield
The low-risk arbitrage opportunities found in the institutional structured products market this year may not be so common in 2010. Instead, more stable financial markets are expected to herald the return of product lines that can deliver extra yield
Patently challenging
Financial products have long been marginalised in the intellectual property world, and providers have sought to distinguish themselves on being the first with their innovations. While it is getting harder for financial products to win patents, as ETFs…
Corporate statement: Retirement strategies
Recently, reduced household incomes from the decline in home and equity prices, as well as rising unemployment, have forced Americans to reconsider how they spend and invest their personal finances. For those in retirement, wealth preservation and…
Corporate statement: The RICI® EnhancedSM indexes – attracting increasing interest from institutional investors
The Royal Bank of Scotland discusses the development of a series of indexes called the RICI® EnhancedSM Series. These indexes aim to avoid the negative roll yield in benchmark commodity indexes with lower volatility and optimised performance
Reaching for more
As investors face volatility in the financial markets, Irish boutique investment firm GlobalReach Securities is seeing greater demand for structured products. Pierre Cooper talks to Peter Duff, the firm’s head of private clients, about the desire to…
Seeking green shoots
Issuance and risk appetite appear to be increasing in the US market. But is this just froth or does it represent a genuine step towards recovery? Sophia Morrell assesses how confident institutional and retail clients are feeling
The road to a quality Street
The Lehman Brothers bankruptcy was unprecedented in US structured products history and brought the burgeoning market to its knees. After capitalising on certificates of deposit, there are indications that investors may be recovering their poise. Richard…
The return of risk
In the tussle between fear and greed, greed is easing back into the driving seat. So said Alan Kerr, managing director of Harbourmaster Capital and chairman of the Structured Products Ireland conference, held on September 15 in Dublin. Transparency,…
Market snapshot
Tim Mortimer of Future Value Consultants looks at the pricing issues for structured products in different markets and provides his trade of the month
Product performance
We examine the performance of three product types that share the same strike date in February 2009