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Structured Products Related News
 in chronological order

 See also: Structured Products Related Books, Structured Products Related Scholarly Papers, or Structured Products Home Page.

Table of Contents:
 

Zurich launches green structured product tranche
September 23, 2006
From IFAOnline.co.uk:
 Zurich has opened the latest tranche of its Green Guaranteed Account.

The Zurich Green Guaranteed Account 2 (GGA2) is linked to the green business sector.

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Structured products get more scrutiny
September 22, 2006
From InvestmentNews:
 Big changes are coming to the structured-products industry on the heels of Lehman's collapse.

Indeed, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.'s filing for bankruptcy protection last week underscores the need for greater transparency in structured products — particularly exchange traded notes.

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Morgan Stanley product to tap commercial property revival
May 7, 2006
From Citywire:
 Morgan Stanley will this week launch a new addition to its structured product growth range, offering a play on an expected commercial property recovery up to 2013.

The UK Commercial Property Growth Plan 1 will track the Investment Property Database annual capital growth index up to December 2013.

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Structuring products in a volatile market
May 6, 2006
From FinanceAsia.com:
 Vinod Aachi, head of equity structuring, private banking and retail coverage Asia ex-Japan at Deutsche Bank, provides a perspective on what the credit crisis and the return of volatility have meant for the structured products market in Asia and how issuers of such products can remain relevant in the current market environment.

How has the spike in market volatility impacted the structured products market in Asia?
It’s no surprise that the risk appetite of Asian investors has been severely tested over the past few months. Certain long-only equity and FX carry strategies, which performed well in previous years, appear to have suffered so far in 2008. This has prompted investors to take a more diversified approach to their investments, with structured products being used to restructure existing positions.

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Keydata launches structured products to beat credit crunch
April 25, 2006
From Investment Week:
 Keydata has launched four structured products targeted at beating the credit crunch.

Two Dynamic Growth Plan Plus products offer either two times any FTSE 100 rise over five years, for Issue 7, or ten times the rise over six years in the case of Issue 8.

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BSAM launches structured investment product
April 24, 2006
From FT Adviser:
 Investment boutique Blue Sky Asset Management (BSAM) is launching a structured product, offering investors 12.5 times the growth in the top five UK banks.

The Accelerated Recovery Plan (ARP) is based on a portfolio of the UK’s five leading banking groups - HSBC, Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays, Lloyds TSB and Hbos.

Source                                                                                                 ▲ top
 

Embracing strategies based on derivatives
April 21, 2006
From InvestmentNews:
 A small but growing number of advisers are turning to derivatives-based strategies to help manage increased levels of market risk.

The structured-products industry, which experienced a 78% increase in sales last year to a record $114 billion, is uniquely poised for a growth surge, according to industry observer.

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Volatile equity markets make structured products attractive
April 20, 2006
From The Hindu Business Line:
 As equity markets become increasingly volatile, there is more demand for structured investment products from high networth investors (HNI), as these offer relatively more stable returns.

Structured products are good for customers unwilling to take high risks. The minimum amount for investing in such structured products is about Rs 10 lakh and the maturity period is usually three to five years.

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Credit Suisse Chooses The RTS Index As The Basis For Its New Series Of Financial Products
April 14, 2006
From MondoVisione.com:
 Standard & Poor’s, the world's leading index provider, announced today the signing of a commercial agreement with Credit Suisse granting the latter with the right to use the main indicator of the Russian stock market - the RTS Index – for creating and launching a series of structured products linked to Russian equities.

"Apart from being Russia’s flagship benchmark, the RTS Index is also a full-fledged investment tool as evidenced in its growing use as an underlying for structured products and in the availability of a well-developed derivatives market based on it. As of late, the international market players have been showing a growing appetite for investing into Russian stocks. A modern global approach includes both direct investing into selected stocks and creation of structured products which combine reliability with high yield potential. Availability of such products makes the Russian stock market even more appealing in the investors’ eye and helps its further growth. The fact that the RTS Index is chosen by major global financial institutions underscores its highly representative nature as the main indicator of the Russian market", said Roman Goryunov, Chairman of the Board of RTS.

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Lehman Brothers offers Bric structured product
April 14, 2006
From Investment Week:
 Lehman Brothers has launched an emerging markets structured product, giving exposure to the growth potential of the Bric economies.

The Enhanced Emerging Markets Plan has two options for capital protection. Investors can choose to receive 110% of the rise in the S&P BRIC 40 index after three and a half years, up to a maximum of 32%. Or they can receive 130% of the growth of the index after five years, up to a maximum of 60%. Both plans give full capital protection if held to maturity.

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Investec to launch range of structured products
April 1, 2006
From Investment Week:
 Investec has recruited Gary Dale to head up its structured products sales team ahead of the launch of a range of plans.

He joins the capital markets division of the bank to distribute growth and income products to the intermediary market.

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Lehman replaces structured product research head
March 28, 2006
From FinancialNews-US.com:
 The head of European structured finance research at Lehman Brothers has left the bank after six years and been replaced by an internal manager.

A Lehman Brothers spokesman confirmed that Krishna Prasad has left the bank and has been replaced by David Covey, who was the highest ranking member on the team after Prasad.

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S&P, Moody's Face Stricter Code on Structured Ratings (Update1)

March 26, 2006
From Bloomberg:
 Moody's Investors Service and Standard & Poor's may be prevented from helping banks create structured debt securities under proposals from regulators.

Ratings firms face a new code of conduct prohibiting them making recommendations on the way products they grade are structured, the International Organization of Securities Commissions in Madrid said today. IOSCO, the main forum for more than 100 securities regulators, said there should also be independent reviews of the way firms assign ratings.

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Structured products lose their appeal
March 25, 2006
From FinancialNews-US.com:
 A senior asset management executive recently received an e-mail pitch from a private bank for a structured product. It came from what he described as a “big and serious institution” so he decided to take a look.

What he discovered appalled and alarmed him in equal measure. “It was clear that this product was all about the firm’s investment bank shoveling c*** down its private banking distribution channel. And the disclosure was appalling,” he said.

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Chasing the structured gravy train
March 17, 2006
From Financial Times:
 Structured products have proved a runaway success in Europe of late, prompting squeals of pain from the traditional mutual fund industry.

From a tiny base in 2000, by last year the European retail structured products sector boasted €600bn (Ł459bn, $935bn) of assets under management, according to the European Derivatives Association, with €200bn held in Switzerland and €142bn in Germany.

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CORRECTING and REPLACING AAM Announces New Structured Products Linked to the BNP Paribas Spectrum Long/Short Index
March 14, 2006
From Yahoo! Finance:
 Advisors Asset Management (AAM), a leading investment solutions partner for financial professionals, and BNP Paribas have entered into an agreement whereby AAM will distribute structured products linked to the BNP Paribas Spectrum Long/Short Index.

The BNP Paribas Spectrum Long/Short Index (Bloomberg: SPBNP8ER <Index>) is a proprietary index published by Standard & Poor’s. The index employs a market-neutral strategy designed to enhance portfolio diversification and performance. Inspired by the observation that investment trends in the market tend to persist, the Spectrum Long/Short Index aims to capitalize on both positive trending indices and negative trending indices. By incorporating short investing in the index, the Spectrum Long/Short Index hopes to generate absolute returns from the appreciation of the strategy.

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Understanding credit derivatives
March 10, 2006
From The Hindu Business Line:
 This article seeks to simply explain, in a non-specialist language, what credit derivatives mean. Credit derivatives emerged during 1994-5 and over a short span of time have grown into a business recently estimated to be about $45 trillion. During the sub-prime crisis, lots of people have lost money on credit derivatives deals. The massive growth in credit derivatives, as also news of banks and insurance companies writing-off millions on credit derivatives exposures, invokes lot of interest in what credit derivatives are all about.

Credit derivatives are a part of the over-the-counter or OTC business — they are not like exchange-traded derivatives in equities and bonds. The OTC derivatives business consists of interest rate swaps, exchange rate swaps, equity-linked swaps, property derivatives and other complex products.

Source                                                                                                 ▲ top
 

Perpetual boosts platform and structured products business
March 5, 2006
From Structured Products:
 Perpetual has promoted Matt Pacino as deputy chief operating officer and Matthew McKinnon to the new role of general manager, platform and structured products sales to enhance its structured products offerings in Australia.

Prior to joining Perpetual in 2006, Pancino held was chief information officer, Business and Government for Telstra, Australia’s national telecom company. Before that, he was chief information officer for PBL and worked for Ticketek and IBM Global Services. McKinnon’s new role is designed to drive sales and service of Perpetual’s WealthFocus platform, Perpetual’s Self Managed Super Fund Service and the Perpetual Protected Investments products. McKinnon has held senior sales roles at Perpetual and IOOF and most recently has been responsible for managing Perpetual’s boutique adviser accounts.

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Lehman Bros latest group to expand structured product range
March 4, 2006
From Investment Week:
 Lehman Brothers has launched two structured products, one a rollover vehicle and one a completely new offering.

The Enhanced Returns Plan Issue 3 offers full capital protection if held to maturity, and two options for returns. It has the potential to a give 50% return after five years, or 22% after three years. The Plan is linked to the FTSE 100.

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New challenges in structured products
March 4, 2006
From Euromoney:
 Structured products debate: Financial market turmoil presents a range of new challenges for providers and distributors of structured notes. Representatives of leading structured products houses discuss those challenges, and the opportunities.

JF, Euromoney: This is a particularly challenging and interesting time for providers of structured notes. But before covering the most recent market upheavals, let’s talk in general about how the market has evolved over the past few years. Albert, what changes have you seen?

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Norway to tighten rules on structured products
February 11, 2006
From Reuters:
 Stung by the fallout of the U.S. subprime crisis, Norway will this week heavily tighten rules on marketing and selling complex financial instruments, such as structured products, Norwegian officials said on Monday.

Finance Minister Kristin Halvorsen said the new regulations would effectively make it illegal to sell structured bonds and other complex instruments to retail investors because in her view such customers often fail to understand the risks involved.

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JPMorgan CEO-Structured products getting resolved
February 7, 2006
From Reuters:
 JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) Chief Executive Jamie Dimon on Thursday said it may not be until late 2008 that the supply and demand for complex securities will come back into balance.

The third-largest U.S. bank has been less hurt than some large rivals by exposure to collateralized debt obligations, subprime mortgages, asset-backed securities and other debt that investors have largely stopped buying.

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Premier launches FTSE-linked structured products
February 4, 2006
From Citywire:
 Premier Asset Management is set to launch a new structured product offering exposure to the FTSE 100 this month.

The Premier UK Growth Plan, the firm’s first structured product launch since 2004, has a six-year life and the potential to deliver 16% annual growth while providing 50% downside protection for investors.

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Structured products flourish in today's 'choppy market'
February 4, 2006
From InvestmentWeek:
 The structured-products industry has been relatively obscure among most U.S. investors and financial advisers, but lately, it is basking in the glow of a record-setting 78% increase in 2007 sales.

The $114 billion in sales has surprised even some industry insiders, who have watched annual structured-product sales climb steadily from $28 billion in 2003, according to the Structured Products Association, a New York-based trade group.

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Citigroup Australia cuts structured products jobs
January 24, 2006
From MoneyManagement.com.au:
 Four sales positions have been made redundant in Citigroup’s structured products division in Australia in the past week.

Citigroup Australia claims the redundancies were part of a “year-end review of the business” and were unrelated to the group’s announcement last week that it would slash thousands of jobs internationally.

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The right mix
January 21, 2006
From The Telegraph:
 With the equity markets at an all-time high, investors have never had it so good. Those who had invested in the markets in the last few years have made handsome profits. However, for those who missed the bus, it may not be too late.

Investors, who want an exposure to the equity markets but are wary of any impending downsides, can park their money with equity-structured products. These instruments are for conservative investors who seek capital protection but at the same time want higher returns than conventional fixed-income plans.

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Barclays launches revamped structured product range
January 10, 2006
From Investment Week:
 Barclays has launched a range of structured products, one of which enables investors to potentially double their investment on a ten percent DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index rise.

The new incarnation of its Super Tracker Plan offers investors receive ten times the first 10% rise in the DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index on the six-year option.

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Morgan Stanley launches four new structured products.
January 9, 2006
From Structured Products:
 Morgan Stanley has released four new structured products that offer exposure to Asian indexes and the FTSE 100.

The six-year Asia ex Japan Protected Growth Plan 2 provides a return of 170% of the growth of an equally-weighted basket, comprising the Hong Kong Hang Seng Index and MSCI Taiwan Index, with full return of capital at maturity on 17 March 2014. The plan has an early exit Feature, designed to return 130% of the initial investment at the end of the third year if indices are 30% or more than the starting level. If the early exit feature is not triggered, then the final basket level is the average of the monthly official closing levels of the basket on 13 observations.

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Next Hot Idea For Investors: Keep It Simple
December 31, 2006
From The Wall Street Journal Online:
 The subprime-mortgage fiasco of 2007 revealed the complex and surprising ways Wall Street can trip over itself. It's raising questions about whether more risk lurks in the system than previously thought.

A grab bag of complex products Wall Street concocted in recent years turned Frankenstein-like on their creators this year, resulting in massive losses. Collateralized debt obligations, structured investment vehicles, credit default swaps: For many, these obscure securities and derivatives became a source more of angst than earnings.

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Blue Sky offers first product
December 21, 2006
From Investment Week:
 Blue Sky Asset Management, the investment boutique recently set up by Mark Dickson and Chris Taylor, is to launch its first structured product, offering a 10% annual income stream.

Investment Week reported earlier in December the duo, who worked at HSBC together in product development, had embarked on a joint venture offering structured products to the retail market.

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Synthetic CLO seen as new growth product in Europe
December 19, 2006
From Reuters:
 Bankers foresee the rise next year of a new instrument in Europe -- synthetic collateralised loan obligations (CLOs) -- even as investors in the thick of the credit crisis are wary of complex, structured products.

Banking sources say the Carlyle Group [CYL.UL] is marketing the first managed synthetic CLO in Europe via Goldman Sachs (GS.N: Quote, Profile, Research). Both institutions declined to comment.

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NDF launches FTSE and Nikkei linked products
December 18, 2006
From IFAonline.co.uk:
 NDF Administration has launched two new structured product plans linked to the FTSE and Nikkei 225 indexes.

Available from 19 December, NDF’s Twin Option Kick Out plan offers investors the choice between a FTSE 100 linked product or one linked to both the FTSE 100 and Nikkei 225 indices.

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Structured products can deliver superior returns - Keydata
December 12, 2006
From IFAonline.co.uk:
 Structured products are cheaper, simpler and can deliver better returns than alternative low risk investments, according to Keydata Investment Services.

The firm’s research shows its Dynamic Growth Plan has delivered 80% growth over its five-year term, outperforming over Ł52bn invested in UK actively managed low risk funds.

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Galvin Comes Down On "Structured Products"
December 11, 2006
From Worcester Business Journal:
 Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin today charged Boston-based Cantella & Co. Inc. with failure to supervise its representatives in the sale of structured products and with making false and misleading responses about its structured products business.

A "structured product" is defined by Galvin as "securities derived from or based on a single security, a basket of securities, an index, a commodity, a debt issuance and/or a foreign currency."

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Former HSBC duo set up structured products boutique
December 7, 2006
From MoneyMarketing:
 Former HSBC pair Chris Taylor and Mark Dickson are launching a new structured products boutique in January 2008.

Blue Sky Asset Management (BSAM) is to target the intermediary channel with its first launch, but is also set to offer tailored solution for discretionary managers, private client stockbrokers and institutions.

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DWS Scudder Launches Structured Products Website
December 4, 2006
From CNW Group:
 DWS Scudder, the U.S. retail division of Deutsche Asset Management (DeAM), today announced the launch of its new Structured Products Website, www.dws-sp.com, designed to provide comprehensive
product information and educational materials for financial advisors and investment professionals.

"Structured products are one of the fastest growing investment strategies in the asset management sector," said Chris Warren, Managing Director, Head of Structured Products at DWS Scudder. "As the interest and demand for innovative solutions continues to grow, we are confident that this website will play an integral role in our ability to effectively communicate with the financial community."

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CIMB wins 3 awards for structured product
December 1, 2006
From The Star Online:
 The CIMB group recently won three awards at The Asset’s Mid-Year 2007 Triple A Derivatives and Structured Products Awards.

Its Islamic All-Stars Global Restricted Mudharabah Structured Investment-i won the Most Innovative Syariah-Compliant Structured Product in Asia, Best Guaranteed Fund in Malaysia and Best Local Currency Structured Product in Malaysia.

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Spot the difference
December 1, 2006
From Structured Products:
 Demand is growing in the retail market for commodity-linked structured products after a summer of turbulence in the equity markets and surging growth across the asset class. But issuers are divided over whether linking to spot prices or indexes is more lucrative for investors. Sophia Morrell examines the prospects for the underlying

Considering the massive interest in commodities right now, November's double index launch will not have gone unnoticed. On the same day, both JP Morgan and BNP Paribas launched new commodity indexes designed to tackle what has become known as "the roll-yield problem", a source of intense debate in the market.

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Deutsche ventures into structured product market
November 26, 2006
From MoneyManagement.com.au:
 Deutsche Bank’s retail asset management business DWS Investments has launched its first structured product offering, DWS Rate Plus.

The new product aims to provide an investment return after fees above the RBA cash rate regardless of the market conditions, according to deputy head of asset management Australia Chris Larsen.

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Do-it-yourself structured notes
November 26, 2006
From InvestmentNews:
 As discussed in earlier columns, there are two types of structured-note products — those without a principal guarantee and those that guarantee the return of principal as a worst-case scenario.

Profits from notes that don't guarantee principal are typically taxed as capital gains. Any payoff above the invested capital on a principal-guaranteed note is taxed as interest.

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Structured Products Awards for Excellence in Europe 2007 Results Announced
November 21, 2006
From PR-USA.net:
 Structured Products magazine (http://www.structuredproductsonline.com) today announces the results of from the 3rd Annual Structured Products Awards for Excellence in Europe 2007. The annual awards recognise excellence and superior performance by the leading derivatives-based investment houses, the best providers of services and the top performing investment banks in 10 key European regions.

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Hong Kong enters the race for Islamic capital
November 20, 2006
From Yahoo! News:
 Hong Kong has taken its first step towards developing Islamic finance products, as it joins rival financial centres in the race to target one of the fastest-expanding markets in the world.

The Securities and Futures Commission, the local regulator, on Tuesday gave its approval for the Hang Seng Islamic China Index Fund, to be run by Hang Seng Investment Management, a member of the HSBC group. Hang Seng declined to give more information about the fund, saying further details had to be finalised before it could be formally launched.

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HSBC launches climate-change structured products
November 13, 2006
From Reuters:
 Banking group HSBC said on Tuesday it has launched a range of structured products offering exposure to two indexes and a fund that contain firms making their profits from fighting global warming.

HSBC, which recently launched a Global Climate Change Benchmark index and GIF Climate Change fund, has launched tracker notes offering direct exposure to these products, as well as leveraged notes, principal protected notes and constant proportion portfolio insurance, which offers a guaranteed return and ongoing portfolio rebalancing.

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Booming market for structured investment funds
November 10, 2006
From The Star Online:
 The market for structured investment funds is booming, as the buoyant stock market fuels investors’ appetite for more sophisticated products with higher return potential and better risk management.

And with a steady flow of new funds into the market over the past year, investors are spoilt for choice to find one that matches their financial goals.

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CIBC losses on structured products mounting: Analyst
November 6, 2006
From The National Post:
 Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce’s (CM/TSX) total losses on structured products are creeping up toward the three quarters of a billion dollar mark according to calculations by Blackmont Capital analyst Brad Smith.

The bank confirmed on Monday that losses from the investments, which are related to the credit-markets, are still rising.

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Two new structured products
November 6, 2006
From What Investment:
 Barclays Stockbrokers has launched two new structured products, offering access to commodities and global equities.

The Diversified Commodity Investment Note and Global Accelerator Investment Note 2 are designed to provide five-year growth and have a minimum investment of Ł500. The notes are available immediately and are listed on the London Stock Exchange.

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Morgan Stanley launches Asia structured product
October 31, 2006
From Investment Week:
 Morgan Stanley is launching a structured product called the Asia (ex Japan) Protected Growth Plan, which gives investors access to the region’s growth without any foreign exchange risk.

The product aims to provide full return of capital, plus 150% of the growth of an equally weighted basket of the Hong Kong Seng index and the MSCI Taiwan index over the six-year term, with an early exit feature after three years.

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Bank of Israel: Let banks issue structured products
October 29, 2006
From Globes [online]:
 The Bank of Israel will not support a proposal by Israel Securities Authority chairman Moshe Tery to ban banks from issuing structured products, and to limit them only to marketing them.

Banking sources think that Tery’s proposal is too sweeping and will harm the banks. They note that Tery did not coordinate the proposal with Supervisor of Banks Rony Hizkiyahu in advance, as required under last June’s memorandum of understanding between the two regulators.

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ABN AMRO banks on simplicity selling
October 25, 2006
From MoneyManagement.com.au:
 In response to growing demand, ABN AMRO has launched GLO-MAX, a structured product purported to offer investors the simplicity of a structured investment that assured outcome certainty.

ABN AMRO head of retail structured products Paul Cordeiro said the new product would suit varying investor appetites and profiles, while offering defined outcomes, international exposure and capital protection.

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Bank of America structured products chief leaves
October 22, 2006
From Reuters:
 Bank of America Corp (BAC.N: Quote, Profile , Research) said its head of global structured products left on Friday, just one day after the second-largest U.S. bank reported a poor quarter for its corporate and investment banking unit.

The executive, Chris Hentemann, had run a unit that handled such products as asset-backed and residential mortgage-backed securities, commercial mortgages and collateralized debt obligations, as well as related trading.

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Structured equity benefits from US credit turmoil
October 19, 2006
From FinancialNews-US.com:
 Even those unfamiliar with the acronym-ridden lexicon that is the structured credit market will know complex structured credit products are out of fashion. Constant proportion debt obligations, collateralized debt obligations of asset-backed securities and their ilk are disappearing and are “not going to come back any time soon” as this paper reported US investors saying last week.

This is a shame for investment banking as the structured credit groups that manufacture the products have been one of the most lucrative cash cows in the capital markets business over the past few years. They furnished their employers with profits and their clients with yields. But despite few investors being able to resist their wares at the time, appetite for the products has faded dramatically.

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Whether soft or hard, returns can be bettered
October 19, 2006
From Yahoo! News:
 As commodity prices hit record highs, private investors are being offered new ways to enhance the returns available from a range of natural resources. Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are soon to be issued giving access to longer-dated commodity futures, which can generate extra profits if forward prices converge with higher spot prices. And the latest structured products are gearing up commodity returns by 160 per cent, while giving 100 per cent capital protection.

These new product launches come just as US crude oil prices have been making all-time highs, hitting $88 a barrel this week. This, in turn, pushed gold prices up to a new 28-year high of $766 an ounce, as the market reacted to fears of inflation. Price rises were seen in other precious metals, too, with spot platinum hitting an all-time high of $1,428 an ounce, last Monday.

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Bear Stearns hires two for structured equity in Europe
October 9, 2006
From Structured Products:
 Bear Stearns has hired two managing directors in its London-based European structured equity products team. Shilpa Amin, who joins from Nomura, will be responsible for setting up a Ucits III Funds platform. Olivier Mathys will be responsible for certificate sales in Switzerland as part of Bear Stearns’s Best Markets certificates platform.

Bear Stearns says the Ucits-III platform will allow it to deliver a range of structured products to investors across Europe. Amin was an equity derivatives product structurer at Nomura and was responsible for product structuring and issuance. Prior to that, she was senior counsel for equity derivatives and equity capital markets at Merrill Lynch.

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Structured products on the rise, says Keydata
October 5, 2006
From MoneyMarketing:
 Keydata Investment Services is launching a new core investment to its dynamic growth plan as it recognises a growing interest for structured products.

The product offers investors 12 times any growth of the FTSE 100 index up to a maximum 84 per cent over six years with a 50 per cent tracking capital protection to mitigate any potential losses.

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REUTERS ENHANCES STRUCTURED PRODUCT CAPABILITIES WITH LAUNCH OF NEW KONDOR+ MODULE
October 1, 2006
From Bob's Guide:
 Reuters (LSE: RTR; NASDAQ: RTRSY) today announced the launch of Kondor+ Structured Products (KSP) which enables financial institutions to quickly and easily design, price and manage the risk of complex instruments. KSP allows users to develop new structured products using a simple interface and without the need for coding. These new products then become part of the standard trade and risk Kondor+ process managed from front through to the back office on a single straight-through processing platform.

The structured products market is constantly changing and there is a pressing need for effective pricing and risk management. As the industry becomes more complex, organisations need to simplify front-to-back operations whilst integrating business applications, workflows and market and reference data.

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Meteor adds two new plans to structured products range
September 26, 2006
From Investment Week:
 Meteor Asset Management has launched further tranches of its Prima Growth and Galaxy Protected Commodities plans.

Prima Growth Plan 4 has a six-year term and is based on the performance of the FTSE100 and Nikkei 225 Indices. It will end on the first anniversary if both indices are at or above their initial level, paying out 17.5%. The plan runs until both benchmark exceed their start levels at eh end of a year, paying 17.5% for each 12-month period.

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Moody's Chair: Structured Product Repricing To Take Few Quarters
September 26, 2006
From FXStreet.com:
 It will take "the next few quarters" for structured products held by cash-strapped leveraged investors to reprice to appropriate lower price levels, the chairman of Moody's Investors Services said Wednesday.

"Securities currently held in impermanent hands that can no longer find financing will have to find their way to willing, permanent hands," Christopher Mahoney said at the Euromoney Japan Capital Markets Congress.

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Zurich launches next in the series of Guaranteed Accounts
September 18, 2006
From Easier Finance:
 Zurich has launched the next in the series of Guaranteed Capital Accounts, designed to give customers access to a structured product throughout 2007.

Each of the accounts have been open for a set time period and as one product tranche ended a new one opened, ensuring availability throughout the year.

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Hong Leong launches Sharia structured fund
September 17, 2006
From FinanceAsia.com:
 Hong Leong Tokio Marine Takaful has launched a structured product that provides Malaysian investors with principal protection and returns that are compliant with Islamic law.

The Capital Protection Investment Link Fund is a three-year scheme that uses the Sharia concepts of wa'd to generate returns and murabaha to provide a capital guarantee. The investment is benchmarked against two asset classes: property, in the form of the European Public Real Estate Index and the Tokyo Stock Exchange Reit Index, and a basket of commodities, comprising oil, copper and zinc.

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Large investors too need protection
September 10, 2006
From Business Standard:
 Last fortnight, this column spoke about some of the lessons that the international sub-prime debt crisis holds for India from a policy perspective. There is another element to unlisted structured debt products which has only recently begun to attract public debate.

The unlikely initiator of this debate is the Insurance Regulatory Authority of India (IRDA). In a statement issued last month, the IRDA signalled that it had asked the insurance companies to phase out unit-linked insurance products (ULIPs) and re-calibrate the manner in which these products are sold by insurance companies. The IRDA’s grouse was that the consumer of these products was quite clueless about the nature of the risks run by him, the costs borne by him, and how to compare one product with another.

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Some structured products likely to decline-report
September 6, 2006
From Reuters:
 Some structured products based on credit derivatives are likely to suffer further valuation declines and may even risk not being able to pay back their par value, a CreditSights analyst said in a report.

Constant proportion debt obligations (CPDOs), most of which are "AAA"-rated, have suffered significant price declines in the past few months, with prices for many of the securities dipping to around 80 cents on the dollar as index spreads widened.

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Difference forms of structured products
September 1, 2006
From GulfNews.com:
 Structured products are linked to or based on the cash flows of one or more underlying assets that may include equity, debt, interest rates, commodities and indices.

They may typically be classified under categories such as equity-linked notes, foreign exchange and commodity-linked notes interest rate-linked notes and multi asset-linked notes under the following categories.

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Structured-Products Head Is Set to Leave HSBC
August 30, 2006
From The Wall Street Journal Online:
 Rick Ziwot, global head of HSBC's structured credit products group based in New York, is set to leave the bank, a spokesperson for HSBC confirmed Thursday.

Jeff Jakubiak, who has been head of structured credit products for the Europe, Middle East and Africa region and Asia since 2004, will assume global management responsibility for the group, effective immediately, according to a HSBC internal memo seen by Dow Jones Newswires. Mr. Jakubiak, who is based in London, will relocate to New York in due course, the internal memo said.

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DIFX TraX platform to be launched in Dubai
August 27, 2006
From Business Intelligence Middle East:
 The Dubai International Financial Exchange, with the help of Deutsche Bank, Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley is starting a marketplace for structured products in a bid to attract individual investors to the bourse.

Trading on the "DIFX TraX platform" will begin on Tuesday, Armen Papazian, DIFX's managing director of innovation and development, said in an interview late yesterday.

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Don’t Understand? Don’t Invest!
August 24, 2006
From MoneyManagement.com.au:
 One of the defining elements of the modern financial era is the development of financial engineering and product structuring.

Once upon a time, long ago, investing was simple. People invested in things, and they received the return that those things produced. The progressive development of derivatives’ markets brought more complexity, with different opportunities and risks.

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Morgan Stanley introduces three structured products
August 20, 2006
From Investment Week:
 Morgan Stanley is to launch three structured products - the FTSE Capital Plus Plan 8, FTSE Protected Growth Plan 19 and Emerging Markets Growth Plan 3, all of which open for subscription from 30 August.

FTSE Capital Plus Plan 8 has a six-year term and offers full capital protection plus the greater of 30% growth or 65% of the rise in the index. 

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Julius Baer hires head of structured products from Clariden Leu
August 17, 2006
From Structured Products:
 Switzerland’s Julius Baer has hired Richard Loretan from Clariden Leu as head of structured products. Zurich-based Loretan will start on January 1 2008 and will report to Peter Gerlach, head of markets.

Loretan will be responsible for expanding Julius Baer’s structured products unit to cover all asset classes and product offerings. He will also be responsible for increasing the distribution of structured products, developing innovative investment solutions and reducing time-to-market for the delivery of offerings.

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Rothwell departs Barcap for JP Morgan
August 12, 2006
From Structured Products:
 Giles Rothwell will join JP Morgan as global head of Structured Investments Distributor Marketing in November, leaving a similar position at Barclays Capital, where he has spent the last 11 years. At JP Morgan, Rothwell will head up a business previously looked after by Tony Best, who will continue to maintain the other responsibilities he had aside from retail structured products.

Rothwell will take over the running of the global retail structured products business from Best in a role that includes responsibilities for all of the relevant platform businesses.

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Structured investment vehicles’ role in crisis
August 12, 2006
From Financial Times:
 Policymakers and investors have been obsessed in recent years about the potential for a hedge fund collapse to spread financial panic. But it seems one of the biggest threats to stability is coming from the age-old risk of short-term borrowing to fund investments in illiquid long-term products.

In a corner of the market few people knew existed, regulators are scrambling to understand what is happening in structured investment vehicles (SIVs), a breed of often huge, mainly bank-run, programmes de­signed to profit from the difference between short-term borrowing rates and longer-term returns from structured product investments.

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Structured products get new twists
August 7, 2006
From The Financial Post:
 In developing any new issue, particularly a structured product, there are only a certain number of movable parts or terms and conditions that can be twigged or modified to catch the attention of the retail brokers and the investing clients. Aside from the yield, the term, redemption features and fees, the managers and the underwriters don't have much to work with -- after they decide on the types of assets to include in the product -- as part of the plan to develop a package that's acceptable to investors and issuers.

And the managers and the underwriters have to go about their task subject to an additional complexity: Thanks to the events of Oct. 31, when the federal government unveiled its so-called tax-fairness plan, income trusts are largely out of the picture when the list of eligible assets is surveyed. And that's a marked change to what the structurers enjoyed prior to Oct. 31.

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Structured products open up new growth area for CIMB wealth managers
August 2, 2006
From TheStar:
 Structured products seem to have opened up a new growth area for CIMB Bank Bhd's wealth management business.

According to CIMB Group Treasurer Lee K. Kwan, the banking group had rolled out about 50 issuances of structured products worth more than RM4bil in just 18 months.

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Structured products and the two-minute rule
July 31, 2006
From FinanceAsia.com:
 Structured products may be complicated when you peel back the wrapping, but they should be easy to explain to investors, says Frenklah at RBS.

Garry Frenklah is responsible for private bank sales at Royal Bank of Scotland in Hong Kong. Here he speaks about what role structured products should play in an investor's portfolio and what products to avoid.

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A V Rajwade: Complex structures and rating agencies
July 30, 2006
From Business Standard:
 The new structures are very complicated—last year, the US issued 250 patents for financial products.

In last week's article, I had referred to the criticism rating agencies are facing for not having foreseen the problems in the sub-prime mortgage market. As holders of the structured bonds based on sub-prime mortgage-backed securities have incurred large losses, they are questioning the rating agencies’ belated reactions (downgrades started only earlier this month). Some regulators are also concerned about the matter.

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RBS poaches three from Schroders
July 23, 2006
From FinanceAsia.com:
 The Royal Bank of Scotland has created three new positions within its structured investor product development and marketing team in Asia-Pacific as part of its collective strategy to expand in the region.

Stanley Ng, who was previously head of structured investments in Asia-Pacific at Schroders Investment Management, has been hired to head the team, while Paul Chan and Sharon Tan join as senior director and associate, respectively. Chan and Tan also previously worked at Schroders.

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Get Ready to Structure Your Portfolio
July 15, 2006
From Barron's Online:
 STRUCTURED PRODUCTS ARE THE FASTEST-GROWING investment class in the U.S., according to their aptly named advocacy and trade group, the Structured Products Association. Although they're not available on-line as yet, they will be before too long, and investors should be aware of their role in a portfolio.

Common in Europe, these are synthetic investments that are usually offered in the form of a bond or note with some guarantee about principal protection. Their payouts, which are generally higher than standard fixed-income securities, are tied to the performance of assets like equities, commodities, and currencies or indexes linked to them.

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Structured product guidelines released
July 10, 2006
From InvestmentNews:
 The global structured products industry today released a final set of sales-practice guidelines that put the onus for accurate disclosures and suitability on distributors.

“Distributors take responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of ... marketing materials, even if they incorporate material provided by the product provider,” the guidelines say.

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European Structured Investment Products Market
July 9, 2006
From PR Minds:
 It Provides direct feedback from the market, through a host of interviews with the major players, including: investment banks; product distributors, and regulatory bodies including the Financial Services Authority and Autorité des Marchés Financiers

Bharat Book Bureau, a leading market information distributor has tabled a report - European Structured Investment Products Market (http://www.bharatbook.com).

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For Indian investors, structured products are the way to wealth
July 2, 2006
From IndianExpress.com:
 Accelerated growth in real GDP and market capitalisation has driven the wealth of the world's high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) to $37.2 trillion in 2006 (a growth of 11.4 per cent), with the population increasing to 9.5 million (8.3 per cent) according to World Wealth Report 2007, released by Merrill Lynch and Capgemini.

Since 2003, growth in the global equity markets has increased HNWIs' asset allocation in equities, taking it from 20 per cent in 2002 to 31 per cent in 2006. During the same period, cash deposits and fixed income allocation reduced, while there has been an increase in their investments in real estate and alternative investments.

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UBS to launch fund combining advantages of structured products/investment fund
June 28, 2006
From Forbes:
 UBS AG announced plans to launch a new investment fund, combining the advantages of structured products and investment funds.

The Swiss bank said that its Optimisation Fund offers potentially attractive returns in sideways markets via an annual coupon that is reset each year.

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May 2007: Structured products: the next generation
June 27, 2006
From MoneyManagement.com.au:
 Structured products are rapidly finding a home in direct portfolios and self-managed superannuation funds because of their unique ability to provide access to emerging investment themes.

In the past 12 months, structured products have undergone an evolution. Once perceived as complex and expensive, structured products today are far more affordable and simple to understand.

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Barclays boosts rates on structured product range
June 26, 2006
From Investment Week:
 An increasing interest rate environment has prompted Barclays to boost rates within its structured product range.

The Six year Minimum Return Plan will now offer a fixed minimum rate of 30%, up from 28%, or 50% of the rise in the FTSE100 Index, whichever the greater at maturity.

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Stanchart Offers Twin Win Structured Product To Gulf Region
June 25, 2006
From Structured Products Online:
 The Qatar-based branch of Standard Chartered Bank has launched a new product dubbed Twin Win, a new structured products for the Gulf Region.

Twin Win provides a 7% annual return on a six-month fixed deposit, while allowing the investor to choose from a variety of underlying instruments, including structured products, mutual funds, Capital-secured and Guaranteed solutions, and Islamic funds. The investment will be equally distributed between the fixed deposit and one of the underlying instruments.

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Sales practices for structured products debated
June 18, 2006
From InvestmentNews:
 A debate is brewing over the establishment of retail-sales-practice guidelines for structured products.

At issue is how much product manufacturers should be on the hook for unsuitable products.

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Barclays launches structured fund for China bulls
June 13, 2006
From AsianInvestor.net:
 Barclays is hoping to capture the imagination of China bulls with its latest Hong Kong structured product. The China Accelerated Growth Fund is basically an H-share index tracker that gives added returns in a strong bull market, which results in an overall return to investors that is consistently better than the index itself.

That is quite an achievement given that the index has risen by about 500% from five years ago. "This product is suitable for investors who believe in China's economic growth story," says Wendy Kwan, director of investor solutions, Hong Kong retail sales, at Barclays Capital. "It offers investors extra return in a bullish market environment and one-on-one exposure to the H-share index's performance in flat or downward market conditions."

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BNP Paribas, Winterflood Securities to launch structured products
June 11, 2006
From Investment Week:
 BNP Paribas has teamed up with Winterflood Securities to launch two structured products, including one linked to an agricultural index.

Slated for 21 June launch, BNP Paribas Agrinvest offers investors 100% capital protection and provides 130% exposure to the DCI Agriculture BNP Paribas Enhanced index over a six year period.

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A structured fund trial is underway
May 30, 2006
From Financial Post:
 An experiment is underway in the world of structured products, a group of investments that is out of favour with retail clients. The experiment is basically an attempt to ensure that prices trade closer to the fund's underlying net asset value.

"More and more parties are considering using it," said one underwriter, noting that Copernican, a unit of AIC Ltd., has used the feature, as has Mulvihill Capital Management Inc. Mulvihill just filed a prospectus for its latest deal, an offering by Premium Income Corp. 11.

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Artemis Capital To Offer Structured Products
May 29, 2006
From FINalternatives:
 Artemis Capital Partners has set up shop in Aventura, Fla., and plans to offer a series of diversified, proprietary and quantitative products. The firm last month launched the 3MF Artemis (BVI Ltd.) Fund, a multi-strategy hedge fund of funds, and is targeting June 1 as the date for its onshore offering, 3MF Artemis (US) Fund.

Artemis is the brainchild of CEO Don Kurz, former president of venture capital firm and consultant Insight Creative Solutions, and chief investment officer Salomon Konig, the former president of American Lead Ventures, which advised family offices and funds of funds. The firm was founded in September 2006.

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Citibank launches market-linked product
May 18, 2006
From FT Adviser:
 Returns on the Market Linked Deposit reflect the performance of the FTSE 100, S&P 500 and EuroStoxx 50 over the 18-month investment term of the product.

The maximum potential return is capped at a level of 20% over the investment term. The original capital invested in the product is protected so long as the investors hold the investment until the maturity date.

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Structured products and commodities
May 15, 2006
From AME Info:
 Years ago I used to trade options and other financial instruments on the trading floor of the option exchange in Amsterdam. I have been a market maker in options for many years, and options are essential to create structured products; both plain vanilla options and Exotics. We created our own structured products then, although at that time nobody had ever heard of the term structured products. Neither had we. But they are very useful and can provide us many advantages.

Problems with direct investment
Consider the next two situations regarding commodities. The first is your bullish vision; you expect the market to go up. Then what do you do? Who would like to store a few barrels of oil in his shed, a load of gold bullion in his cellar, or even some cattle in his backyard? No-one, of course. As you can see, direct investments in commodities are not always very convenient, especially if you live on the 45th floor of a skyscraper. However, structured products may help you find the solution.

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New structured product from Credit Suisse
May 11, 2006
From MoneyManagement.com.au:
 Credit Suisse has teamed up with Pimco, the 2007 Money Management/IMCA Fixed Interest (Diversified) Fund Manager of the Year, to launch a structured product offering access to bond fund investments delivering high yield.

Features of the Principal Protected Yield Fund include capital protection and incorporated leverage to boost returns.

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American Stock Exchange Named “Exchange Of The Year” By Structured Products Magazine
May 10, 2006
From Mondo Visione:
 The American Stock Exchange® (Amex®) today announced that it has been named “Exchange of the Year, Americas” by Structured Products Magazine for excellence in innovative product design and maintaining its position as the premier listing venue for structured product issuers.

The Amex listed 114 new structured products in 2006, the fifth consecutive year it has attracted more than 100 listings to the Exchange. Total Amex listings climbed to 394 in 2006 and an Amex record was set for the highest face value of structured products listed in a year ($4.7 billion). The Amex lists structured products based on custom indexes, well-known indexes (such as the S&P 500 and Nikkei 225), and baskets of stocks, as well as on a single equity, currency and debt issuances. Structured product issuers on the Amex include industry leaders such as Bank of America, Citigroup, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and Wachovia, among others.

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Structured Products Americas: greater industry co-operation needed
May 3, 2006
From Risk.com:
 Kevin Mahon, Florida-based senior vice-president at Countrywide Securities, has called upon the US structured products industry to work more closely together to provide greater transparency for investors. “Dealers need to clarify in plain English what a structured product is, what they’re going to call it, and how they’re going to sell it,” he said, while speaking on a panel at the Structured Products Americas conference in Coral Gables, Florida.

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Goldman Sachs JBWere launches new structured product
May 2, 2006
From MoneyManagement.com.au:
 Goldman Sachs JBWere has launched a series of funds offering investors exposure to the indices of Asian, European, and emerging market economies.

Through the new structured product, called the Keystone Funds, investors will have a choice of three options that will allow them to tap into the potential growth of the Brazilian, Russian, Indian, and Chinese markets along with both those of greater Asia and Europe.

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Moody's gains from strong demand for structured finance
April 26, 2006
From FinancialNews-US.com:
 Moody’s Corporation, the parent group of the credit rating agency, yesterday reported a 20% rise in first quarter profits as demand for structured finance ratings remained robust despite concerns over the deterioration in the US sub-prime mortgage market.

Moody’s said net profits rose from $146m in the first quarter of last year to $175m, while revenue rose 32% to $583m, beating analysts' expectations.

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Trade groups set out structured product principles
April 19, 2006
From Reuters Italia:
 Five trade associations on Thursday released a draft set of principles for firms that produce and distribute structured products to retail investors, such as wealthy individuals.

The European Securitisation Forum, the International Capital Market Association, the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, the London Investment Banking Association and the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association said they were looking for comment on the proposed principles by May 30.

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Meteor offers commodities-linked structured product
April 18, 2006
From Investment Week:
 Meteor Asset Management is offering its second structured product since launching earlier this year, with growth lined to a basket of eight commodities.

Called Galaxy Protected Commodities, the plan has two options available over a four-year term. Investors have a choice between 100% capital protection and 160% of the increase in the portfolio or 90% protection and 210% of portfolio growth.

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Deutsche AMC launches Capital Protection Oriented Fund
April 17, 2006
From Moneycontrol.com:
 Deutsche Asset Management launched the first in a series of structured and capital protected products designed to meet the changing needs of Indian investors – the DWS Capital Protection Oriented Fund, through Deutsche Asset Management India (DeAM India). The product launch represents the introduction of a new capability by DeAM India, which is planning an aggressive rollout of further DWS structured and capital protected funds in the coming 18 months. (Check out - Mutual Funds New Fund Offer open Now)

Suresh Soni, Chief Investment Officer at DeAM India, commented: “Being an established and well-recognised player in the global mutual fund market with over 700 investment professionals, DWS’ investment capabilities spread across traditional asset classes such as fixed income to new asset classes such as structured products. We are very happy that our structured product capability is now available to local investors in India.”

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Investors Flock To Swiss Structured Products Exchange
April 12, 2006
From Tax-News.com:
 In the first three months of 2007, a total of CHF20.6 billion (US$16.9 billion) worth of structured products changed hands in the Swiss market of SWX Quotematch AG, a jointly owned subsidiary of the SWX Group and Deutsche Boerse AG.

The number corresponds to a 58.4% increase over the comparable prior-year quarter and also represents the second-strongest quarter in Swiss securities exchange history. A significant increase was also recorded in total trading volume, with 674,104 trades executed in the first quarter – a 27.8% gain compared to the same period in 2006.

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Synthesized Portfolios With Structured Products
April 6, 2006
From Forbes:
 As markets become more volatile, the goals of individual investors change. Six months ago, terms like “risk-adjusted return” or “downside protection” weren’t too popular, but after February’s nasty correction many investors are seeking protection any way they can find it. One way to get this kind of protection is through so-called “structured products.”

Structured products are notes issued by investment banks that enable investors to monetize any particular market view, whether that’s enhanced returns (i.e., two or three times the upside of an index) and/or full or partial principal protection.

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JPMorgan releases new alternative energy product
February 7, 2006
From MoneyManagement.com.au:
 JPMorgan will continue its push into the retail product market with the launch of what is believed to be Australia’s first structured alternative energy investment product.

In the first in a new series of structured investments to be introduced to retail investors, JPMorgan has launched the Alternative Energy Strategic Asset Securities (STRATAS).

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Successful Start For The European Exchange For Structured Products
February 7, 2006
From Exchange-Handbook.co.uk:
 The SWX Group/Deutsche Börse AG structured products joint venture – which operates in Switzerland under the name SWX Quotematch AG and in Germany as Börse Frankfurt Smart Trading AG – celebrated a very successful start in January 2007.

In Switzerland, turnover for the month was a record of just under CHF 7 billion, corresponding to 58 % growth versus the same year-earlier month. Over 2,000 new investment and leverage products were admitted to trading for the first time, representing a plus of 117 % versus January 2006. There are now more than 12,000 listed products in total.

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Cantor Fitzgerald forms debt structured products biz
January 24, 2006
From Reuters:
 Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. on Wednesday said it has created a structured products group in its debt capital markets division and hired two people for the new business.

Gina Hubbell, former head of the credit collateralized debt obligation (CDO) Group at UBS (UBSN.VX: Quote, Profile , Research), joined Cantor as head of the structured products group. She reports to Irvin Goldman, chief executive officer and president of Cantor.

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Investors "let down" by lack of structured product choice
January 23, 2006
From London Stock Exchange:
 Investors are being "let down" by lenders failing to provide a wide enough choice of structured investment products, according to a new report.

WestLB, a European commercial bank, claims that some 632 structured products were launched by banks and building societies for private investors, with almost all of them targeting growth-seeking investors.

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Few pluses in Morgan Stanley's 'structured' product
January 19, 2006
From MarketWatch:
 The simple explanation sounds great: Double the market's upside -- to about 13% a year -- without any change in the downside. It's pitched as a way for an investor to get solid returns, even in a year when the market is only modestly positive.

But anything with a name like "Performance Leveraged Upside Securities" (PLUS) is not so simple, and investors digging deeply into the Morgan Stanley PLUS that's tied to the Standard & Poor's 500 index are likely to come away thinking they've uncovered a Stupid Investment of the Week.

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Invik Funds introduces Sweden’s first fund for structured products
January 9, 2006
From WebWire:
 Aktie-Ansvar, the fund company within the Invik Group, has received approval from the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority to introduce a new fund in Sweden named Peritus. The fund will actively manage capital protected structured products and is planned to be launched on March 1, 2007.

Peritus, the new fund, will be managed by Aktie-Ansvar in cooperation with Garantum Fondkommission. The fund’s placement philosophy is active manage­ment of structured products by continuous replacements and profit securements. The administration fee is a 1 per cent fixed fee as well as a 20 per cent performance fee on the excess return compared with Swedish bond index.

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Hwang-DBS offers new investment fund
January 9, 2006
From The Star Online:
 Investors looking for exposure to global banks can put their money into Hwang-DBS Investment Management Bhd's (HWBSIM) newly launched close-ended investment fund, which is expected to deliver annual returns of 5% to 6%.

The Global Banks Structured Fund (GBSF) is a two-year close-ended investment fund with capital protection that is linked to three banking stocks – HSBC Holdings Plc, Citigroup Inc and Bank of America Corp.

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Structured products are shrouded in uncertainty

January 9, 2006
From Business Report:
 Structured products have been shrouded in uncertainty and allegations of hidden fees, low liquidity, unwind costs and complex payoff profiles that often left investors wanting for returns. In light of this sentiment, is there still space for structured products in an investor's portfolio?

Offshore analysis shows that between 15 and 25 percent of high net worth individual portfolios consist of alternative investments, including structured products. The value to the high net worth individual is the assurance that capital is protected while still gaining exposure to the market.

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European Exchange For Structured Products To Launch On 1 January 2007

December 28, 2006
From Exchange-Handbook.co.uk:
 The SWX Group and Deutsche Börse AG will combine their trades in structured products as planned on 1 January 2007. The joint-venture partners announced this on Thursday. The Supervisory Board of Deutsche Börse and the federal cartel office (Bundeskartellamt) have already given their approval.

Contrary to previous announcements, the new company will initially use the introduced trademark “Börse Frankfurt Smart Trading” for the German market and “SWX Quotematch” for the Swiss market. This will avoid usage problems in Europe relating to the delineation of the name that was originally chosen.

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Regulators eye structured products

December 18, 2006
From InvestmentNews.com:
 Regulators are continuing their focus on structured products as sales to retail investors continue to grow.

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News Analysis: Property market investment options

November 29, 2006
From InvestmentWeek:
 Investors seeking exposure to the property market are faced with a wide range of investment vehicles from which to choose.

In addition to bricks and mortar funds and direct securities, investors can access the market though a variety of structured products, syndicated arrangements and limited partnerships.

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Investing in structured products

November 23, 2006
From TheStar:
 IF you’re a wealth manager, it is probably quite fashionable to be able to tell clients that your firm is now able to offer structured products (SPs).

No doubt SPs have received wide media coverage in recent times. But beyond the common understanding that they have principal protection, are a fixed deposit (FD)-hybrid, and yet can offer potentially higher returns, what are they really?

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IIB Bank recognised as Best Structured Product Provider in Ireland

November 15, 2006
From Finfacts Ireland:
 IIB Bank has been awarded the coveted ‘Best in Ireland 2006’ award at the annual Structured Products Awards ceremony held in the Renaissance Chancery Court Hotel in London.

The Structured Products Awards are devoted to acknowledging excellence and innovation in the development and distribution of structured investment products on a pan-European level. The prestigious ceremony is the only one of its kind, identifying the best structured product providers by asset type and by issuer in each country.

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ABN Amro launches structured products vehicle

November 6, 2006
From InvestmentWeek:
 ABN Amro has launched a UK business providing access to structured products via a regulated fund vehicle.

The group has created a Ucits III umbrella fund called Proteus Defined funds and a Nurs called Proteus Diversified fund.

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Citigroup offers new Optimiser product

October 25, 2006
From MoneyManagement.com.au:
 Citigroup has launched Optimiser 4, a multi-asset structured product offering returns calculated retrospectively on the best performing of three distinct multi-asset ‘investment profiles’.

Respective returns for the three investment profiles – equities-biased, commodities-biased, and balanced – will be calculated over the four-year investment life of the product offering.

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SWX Swiss Exchange, Deutsche Boerse to run structured products joint venture

October 24, 2006
From Forbes:
 The SWX Swiss Exchange and Deutsche Boerse AG announced they will combine their trading activities in structured products, such as warrants and derivatives, as of next year.

The jointly owned subsidiary will be known as 'Alex', the Swiss bourse said.

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South Africa: Time to Protect Investment

October 16, 2006
From AllAfrica.com:
 THE structured product market has boomed over the past decade in Europe, the US and certain Asian markets. These products have become popular among investors looking to accurately define a risk and reward profile. The question being asked of fund managers and other investment gurus is: "Can the market continue to rise or should I be selling and taking my profits?"

Structured products can be defined as a synthetic investment instrument specially created to meet the needs that cannot be met from the cash financial instruments available in the markets. Structured products can be used as an alternative to a direct investment, that is as part of the asset allocation process to reduce risk exposure of a portfolio, or to use the current market trend.

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More growth through structured products and MAs

October 10, 2006
From The Financial Standard:
 Structured products and managed or wrap accounts are the next cornerstones of the global investment funds sector, according to an on-the-spot poll of fund managers and other industry participants at the SIBOS conference held this week.

The majority of attendees at the SIBOS conference briefing 'Investment Funds: Where will future growth come from?' agreed that structured notes or structured products and customised accounts will only grow in popularity in the coming years.

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CIMB unveils 2nd structured product

October 7, 2006
From The Star Online:
 Following the success of its first structured deposit product, All-Stars Global Structured Deposit, launched in July, the CIMB Group is confident that its second offering - Star Select - will chalk up sales of RM250mil in just two weeks.

“So far, the response has been very good. When we launched the All-Stars Global Structured Deposit, we also targeted sales of RM250mil but did much more than that,” group treasurer Lee Kok Kwan told a media briefing yesterday.

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NDF links structured product to Eurostoxx 50 Index

October 6, 2006
From InvestmentWeek.co.uk:
 NDF is to launch a structured product linked to the performance of the Dow Jones Eurostoxx 50 Index.

The NDF 7.5% Annual Income plan has a five-year term and is structured to deliver an annual income of 7.5% or 1.8% quarterly.

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Innovative investment products from Crystal Finance

September 17, 2006
From The Times of Malta:
 Crystal Finance Investments Ltd recently introduced innovative investment products targeted for professional treasury managers seeking optimum return for their short-term liquidity.

These products are issued by UBS AG, offering the security of one of the foremost banks in the world. Crystal Finance are the local representative of UBS Investment Funds.

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SocGen unveils structured product

September 12, 2006
From The Financial Times:
 Part of the financial services group’s Adequity range, the Best Asset Protected Fund will go live in November subject to FSA approval.

The OEIC has been designed for investors concerned about market cycles but who want access to higher performance potential.

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Royal London offers flexible life of Riley investment plan

August 28, 2006
From Citywire:
 Royal London is challenging the with-profits and structured product markets by offering a product that allows investors to choose and alter the protection and equity exposure in their investment.

The house describes the bond as an individually insured investment, which it has called Riley. Depending on the level of protection taken, which can vary from 0 to 110% of the original investment, assets are split between an insured fund holding protection contracts provided by investment bank Goldman Sachs and a stock market fund.

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Structured-product market turns cold

August 22, 2006
From The Globe and Mail:
 Until this spring, one of the most dependable ways to earn a living on the Street was to manufacture and sell retail-structured products. Creating funds of income trusts and other such beasts for the investing masses kept a great many folks gainfully employed.

But as the dog days of summer draw to a close, the structured-product market has grown ominously quiet. Investors just aren't stepping up. The question financiers are asking heading into Labour Day is whether this is a short-term slump or an early sign of a bear market.

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BT appoints former MLIM exec as head of credit

August 11, 2006
From FinancialStandard.com.au:
 BT Financial Group has welcomed a former Merrill Lynch Investment Managers (MLIM) executive as the new head of credit for BT Investment Management.

John Sorrell will take on the key role with a focus on leading BT’s credit research and credit management for BT’s existing range of fixed interest, credit and cash products. He is also charged with strengthening BT’s broader income and yield capabilities.

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Asif Khan Joins Wachovia Securities' Structured Credit Products Group

August 10, 2006
From Yahoo! Finance:
 Wachovia Securities announced today that Asif Khan has joined the firm as a managing director in Alternative Investments and CDO Distribution within the Structured Credit Products group. Khan will be responsible for global distribution of structured products such as CDOs and fund products. He is based in New York and reports to Russ Andrews, managing director and head of CDO and Alternative Investment Distribution.

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CNBC's Closing Bell: Structured Products and Retail Investors

July 12, 2006
From NewsReleaseWire.com:
 MARIA: Welcome back. It used to be a strategy reserved for the super wealthy and professional investors but now small investors are powering money into complex investments called, structured products. Nearly $49 billion worth of structured products issued just last year. Up more than 50% from a year earlier. Do investors really understand the risks and rewards associated with structured products? Joining me for hot topic discussion, Janet Tavakoli of Tavakoli Structured Finance.

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DataSynapse GridServer Deployed in Nomura's Structured Products Trading Environment

July 11, 2006
From BusinessWire:
 DataSynapse, a global provider of virtual application infrastructure software, today announced that Nomura International plc, the European business of Japanese investment bank Nomura Group, is live with DataSynapse GridServer(R) in its International Equity Derivatives division.

Nomura has deployed DataSynapse GridServer in its London-based operations to initially grid-enable its Sophis RISQUE equity derivatives trading application for pricing and risk processing. The software is currently live on Wintel-based servers and will enable the bank to reduce processing time for pricing of complex trades from hours to minutes.

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Structured products to drive bonds

July 3, 2006
From The Star Online:
 INFLATION is reshaping the global economy on a scale far more overreaching than investors are able to fathom, leading to a psychological charge away from fixed return investments.

The good news is that while inflation will continue to weigh down financial markets for an irrational period, structural fundamentals will cushion the real economy from distressed volatility.

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Move to broaden equity derivatives, structured products market timely: experts

June 28, 2006
From MediaCorp News:
 Steps taken by the authorities to broaden Singapore's equity derivatives and structured products market are timely.

That is according to market-watchers who spoke to Channel NewsAsia.

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Barclays Capital issues four structured products

June 27, 2006
From Investment Week:
 Barclays Capital is to issue four structured products on 1 July, which are linked to the FTSE 100 Index. Included in these is a five year capital protected product which offers 112% expsoure to the FTSE 100 index.

This product has a kick out option, which can be chosen at outset. That means if, after two and a half years, the FTSE 100 is up by 20% or more, the plan will mature early, paying full capital plus 20%. If the FTSE 100 index has not risen by 20%, the plan will continue until the end of the full term, providing 112% of the growth in the FTSE 100 over that period.

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CNBC's Structured Products Segment

June 27, 2006
From NewsReleaseWire.com:
 Janet Tavakoli, president of Tavakoli Structured Finance in Chicago, appeared on CNBC’s Closing Bell with Maria Bartiromo on Wednesday, June 21, 2006. She discussed structured products that are currently being sold to retail investors.

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Structured products guide from Barclays

June 1, 2006
From Investment Week:
 Barclays has produced a guide for on structured products for intermediaries explaining the different types of products available and how they are designed. The guide demonstrates how structured products can be used as a portfolio planning tool for investors, providing case studies to demonstrate problem/solution scenarios to meet the needs of a variety of clients.

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Jefferies hires structured products head

May 31, 2006
From BusinessWeek Online:
 Jefferies & Co., a unit of investment bank Jefferies Group Inc., said Wednesday it hired Mark O'Donnell as head of structured products within its equities department.

O'Donnell will work with the company's head of equity derivatives trading to expand Jefferies' structured products offering.

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Structured products tipped to triple

May 4, 2006
From MoneyManagement.com.au:
 Despite being a relatively new concept for Australian investors, structured products’ assets under management will increase threefold within the next three years, according to Barclays Capital.

The company has forecasted that potential falls in the Australian equity market will compel investors to seek the capital guarantees offered by structured products.

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New structured products law firm set up

April 28, 2006
From International Publishers Limited:
 A new law firm has been set up specifically to advise European institutions such as pension funds on the structured investment product market.

It’s headed up by former Allen & Overy partner David Doble, who believes there’s a huge gap in the market for unconflicted advice in the fast-moving and increasingly complex field.

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RBC's Alternative Assets Group Launches Broadly Diversified Investable Hedge Fund Index

March 13, 2006
From PR Newswire:
 RBC's Alternative Assets Group, a leading provider of structured product solutions for hedge fund investors, and a business unit of RBC Capital Markets, today announced the launch of the RBC Hedge 250 Index(TM), a broadly-diversified and representative investable hedge fund index.

The RBC Hedge 250 Index is comprised of 250 individual funds - which is up to six times greater than the number of funds referenced by other investable indices. Funds represented in the new RBC index capture approximately 20 per cent of total hedge fund assets under management, including many funds that are closed to new investors, have longer lock-up provisions or have recently launched operations.

"We have capitalized on RBC's significant experience and relationships in the industry to create the RBC Hedge 250 Index which we believe to be the most
representative investable hedge fund index in the market," said Winson Ho, co-head of the Alternative Assets Group and co-creator of the index. "There has been a great need in the market for an investable hedge fund index which does a better job of representing the performance of the asset class."

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HLB Targets RM1 Bln Sales For Newly Launch Structured Products

February 23, 2006
From Bernama.com:
 Hong Leong Bank Berhad targets to achieve RM1 billion sales for its newly launched structured products known as Precious Gemstones Series within the first year.

"With Bank Negara Malaysia's move to lower the minimum allowable investment size for structured products from RM1 million to RM250,000, the appetite for alternative asset classes, including structured products, is certainly expanding," Hong Leong Bank's group managing director, Yvonne Chia said Thursday.

Being the first local commercial bank in the country to officially launch structured products, Hong Leong Bank stands at the forefront of a new era in the Malaysian financial market to introduce a range of innovative tailor-made investment products and solutions for retail consumers.

"Our structured products launch underscores our commitment to serving our customers' financial needs in order to help them achieve their financial goals," she said after the launching of the "Precious Gemstones Series", here.

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U.S. Issuance Hits $50 Billion in 2005, Yet Structured Products Continue to Remain "Wall Street's Best Kept Secret"

February 8, 2006
From PRWeb:
 The American structured products industry is booming on Wall Street, with an estimated $45 to $50 billion worth of products placed in the United States in 2005, according to the New York-based Structured Products Association (“SPA”).

Yet despite the fourth straight year of high double-digit growth, the investment class continues to be "Wall Street's best-kept secret," according to SPA Chairman and Founder, Keith A. Styrcula.

“As an investment class for American investors, 2005 was a breakthrough year for structured products,” Styrcula said in a speech at the recent LaSalle Bank/ABN-Amro's 24th Annual Fixed-Income Symposium & Exposition at the Boca Raton Resort & Hotel. “The penetration among retail investors in the last year was unprecedented.”

As result, the growth of the structured products business in the United States today resembles the growth of hedge funds in the 1990s, according to Styrcula. “Six, seven years ago, many mainstream investors were just beginning to understand what a 'hedge fund' was.”

“The same could be said for structured products at this point in time,” he stated.

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American Stock Exchange Lists Common Stock of American Telecom Services Incorporated

February 1, 2006
From PR Newswire:
 The American Stock Exchange(R) (Amex(R)) today listed the common stock and warrants of American Telecom Services Inc in an initial public offering. The company's common stock will trade under the ticker symbol TES, while its warrants will trade under the symbol TES.WS.

Based in Industry, California, American Telecom Services Inc. designs, distributes and markets product bundles that include multi-handset phones and telecommunication services for sale through retail channels.

"We are pleased to welcome American Telecom Services to the American Stock Exchange," said John McGonegal, vice president of the Amex Equities Group. "An initial public offering is an important step for any company to take, and we are pleased American Telecom has opted for the specialized services we at the Amex offer to emerging companies."

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Financial services firms of the future will be characterised by a pervasive customer-centric culture

February 1, 2006
From Finance-Magazine.com:
 What does the future hold for the financial services industry over the next three years? In a wide-ranging article, Marie O’Connor of PWC examines the the forces driving change in the industry, such as demographics and disintermediation,and highlights some of the impacts on, and responses by, industry players. She says that the successful financial institution of the future will be characterised by a pervasive customer-centric culture and three broad hallmarks: a focus on its areas of competitive advantage; adaptation to forces of fragmentation; and the flexibility to exploit new opportunities. The pace of borrowing in many developed markets will slow as worries over debt levels continue to rise.

Over the next few years as financial institutions seek to achieve growth and improve the customer experience while relentlessly managing the challenges of costs and compliance, the shape of the financial services industry will change.

Scale will become less important than a focus on core competencies. Distinctions between banks, insurers and asset managers will come to mean less as organisations increasingly position themselves in niches that cut across sectors. Institutions will simplify their offerings and organisation structure around the activities and markets in w