Brics back in fashion

The debt crisis in Greece has brought volatility to the eurozone and given global markets the jitters. For many private banking accounts the affair has further underlined the attractiveness of emerging markets, where budget deficits are often lower and expectations of economic growth outpace both Europe and the United States. Michael Marray reports

Risk aversion and investing close to home were common themes in 2009, when depressed values on blue-chip European stocks often allowed investors to take strong directional views and make big gains on products such as reverse convertibles on single stocks.

At the same time, products based on single stocks, or popular worst-of-three structures, gave high-net-worth private banking clients the added comfort of making their own trading decisions instead of relying upon advice from the same advisers