Structured products
Morgan Stanley Jump
Morgan Stanley has issued Jump Securities, a structured products based on the performance of a basket composed of the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index Fund and the Dow Jones Eurostoxx 50. Principal is not protected and the upside above the target…
A complex payoff
The Royal Bank of Scotland has created a complicated retail structured product based on volatility for the Australian market and teamed up with National Australia Bank to help with distribution. Capital for the seven-year product is protected at maturity…
Uncertainty over FDIC insurance is affecting structured products industry
The US government is currently deciding whether to permanently increase the deposit insurance cover to $250,000 per depositor. The uncertainty is creating problems for the certificate of deposit industry.
SEC and exchanges to implement market-wide halt mechanisms in bid to prevent another flash crash
ETFs were particularly badly hit during the flash crash that hit the US stock market on 6 May. This occured due to withdrawal of liquidity from the market and the industry is now working to prevent a repeat.
Higher insurance premiums for structured products make RDR compliance difficult
Some professional indemnity insurers are charging higher premiums for structured products or are refusing to cover them. This makes it difficult for IFAs to offer them to their clients
S&P creates taxable municipal bond index
Standard and Poor's has created a taxable municipal bond index to give investors access to this low default risk, high return bond class.
Malaysian investors hunt for hybrids
Hybrid structures are increasingly popular in Malaysia as investors look to keep the cost of hedging down and moving away from capital protected products
Eurozone volatility helps German structurers
Volatility across the eurozone is making autocall products popular in the German market, where structurers can offer attractive returns
UBS reverse convertible index offers deposit-beating returns
UBS has created a reverse convertible index to offer German investors income which beats the return on bank deposits
RBC offers BP play using reverse convertible
The Royal Bank of Canada has issued a new reverse convertible based on BP. The oil company's shares have risen in the US market in recent trading despite hitting a 13-year low on the London Stock Exchange in June
Nasdaq creates its first sharia indexes
Nasdaq has launched two sharia-compliant indexes, the first in a family of indexes which it intends to launch.
UK investors swap FTSE 100 ETFs for emerging markets
Investors withdraw from ETFs based on the FTSE 100 in the first quarter of the year, preferring investments based on emerging markets and the US and European becnhmarks.
Source offers European ETF investors access to volatility
Source has brought exposure to volatility to the European market through an ETF based on the S&P 500 Vix Futures Index