HSBC straddle product offers each-way bet on S&P 500

HSBC has produced a product that pays out if the S&P 500 rises and also if it falls, with returns on the upside subject to a cap and those on the downside offering greater scope for profit. However, investors must live with the threat of a 70% barrier that could potentially erode the entire principal if breached

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This is a one-and-a-half year straddle product linked to the performance of the S&P 500 index. At maturity, the product pays returns on either index decline or growth, provided the 70% closing day barrier has not been breached. Returns achieved through index growth are capped.

If the barrier is not breached and the final index level is higher than the strike level, returns will equal the growth in the index up to the cap of 118-123% (to be set on pricing