Narrow range of index products stifles investor choice

Lack of liquid options on European mid-cap benchmarks leaves investors stuck with the blue chips

Structured product investors face a limited choice of underlying benchmarks

The equity-linked structured products market has grown used to having a narrow choice when it comes to the benchmark indexes that form the basis of most products. But even the choice of well-known underlying assets masks a variety of issues that advisers and investors would do well to consider carefully.

Issuance in the UK, Europe and the US, for example, is dominated by products linked to the FTSE 100, Euro Stoxx 50 and S&P 500 indexes, respectively. But this is arguably inconsistent with the a