Articles by Clare Dickinson
Conservatism still reigns in wake of crisis
The private banking division of Credit Suisse is still seeing the impact of the financial crisis on its investors’ requirements. Fixed-income structured products remain popular but the low interest rate environment is still affecting the types of…
Funds find favour
Funds are the structure of choice this year, as the exchange-traded funds business grows and structured product houses look for fund solutions. But the fund industry has its limitations, not least because of the complexity of structuring and the expense…
Increased volatility could help structure attractive returns
Widening bond spreads and market volatility will result in more interesting structured products, according to Morgan Stanley. The spikes in volatility that followed news of a hung parliament in the UK and the disagreements over a bail-out package for…
UBS fines for misselling structured products could be first of many
UBS has come under fire in a series of court cases in the US for inappropriate sales of Lehman Brothers principal-protected notes and a failure to inform retail investors properly of the risks involved. More cases are likely.
Barclays says kick-outs remain popular despite ISA confusion
Barclays Wealth says kick-out structures remain popular in the UK, despite the recent confusion over Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) eligibility. Barclays is reissuing two kick-out structures to UK investors.
S&P 500 index licensed to European ETF providers
Standard & Poor’s has opened its benchmark US index, the S&P 500, to seven exchange-traded fund (ETF) providers in Europe, meeting demand from a range of investors to be able to invest in US equities as the market recovers from recession.
FTSE targets UK pensions industry with defined contribution index
FTSE has created an index to help asset managers and retail investors navigate the pensions market. The index provider has partnered with London-based data services firm Pension DCisions to create the first benchmark for the UK’s defined contributions…
ETNs come to Finland with listing on the Nasdaq Helsinki
The Nordic market has been slower to pick up on the trend for exchange-traded products than its southern European counterparts but progress comes with Swedish bank Handelsbanken’s listing of Finland’s first exchange-traded notes (ETN) on the Nasdaq OMX…
Société Générale launches commodities ETN platform
As appetite for listed products and the transparency they offer increases, Société Générale (SG) has launched its first exchange-traded notes (ETN) on the London Stock Exchange, giving investors access to single commodities in a variety of currencies.
Markit ETP database provides tool to navigate market
The market for exchange-traded products (ETPs) is expanding as more products and issuers come to market, making it more difficult for asset managers and traders to make decisions about which ETFs to use.
Swiss exchange sees increase in structured product turnover
Turnover for structured products on the Swiss Scoach exchange is recovering after a dip in December last year, according to figures from the Swiss Structured Products Association. Volumes reached Sfr3.68 billion ($3.35 billion) in April 2010. Most of the…
