Cutting out the middleman

Direct marketing used to be something of a novelty in the retail structured products market. But as more UK providers forfeit internal and external commission fees to deliver structured products directly to customers, the face of retail distribution is changing. Shamillia Sivathambu reports

West Bromwich Building Society launched a guaranteed equity bond (GEB) with a 150% participation rate at the end of August, the highest so far from any UK provider. "As West Bromwich's first direct marketing campaign, we have taken commission away from ourselves and used it to offer higher participation rates," says Andy Heseltine, marketing manager at the building society. In fact it's all part of a growing trend in which direct marketing seems to be in the ascendance.

West Bromwich usually