Structured products
Thomson restructuring causes headache for CDS index tranches
Market participants are uncertain how to deal with index tranche products referencing the iTraxx credit default swap (CDS) indexes following the restructuring credit event at French media company Thomson, which was a member of the indexes.
ETF Securities launches Japanese platform for commodities funds
ETF Securities has launched a new platform in Japan for physically-backed precious metal commodities exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Five funds began trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange today.
US Wrap: RBC steps into reverse convertibles with commodity equities
Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) has launched a clutch of new reverse convertible notes into the US market with a focus on commodity equities. Reference stocks for the latest structures include Arch Coal, Chesapeake Energy and Frontier Oil on the energy front.
HSBC launches ETF strategy for Europe
HSBC will launch its first exchange traded fund (ETF) product in Europe tomorrow (August 25). Listed on the London Stock Exchange and tracking the FTSE 100 index, the Ireland-domiciled ETF will be sold first in the UK, and later in continental Europe…
US Wrap: Caution on S&P 500 performance
UBS has launched a new non-directional offering on the S&P 500 which pays income regardless of whether the index moves up or down. The 18 month product pays 100% positive participation provided that the index does not go below 70% of its initial starting…
UK wrap: Meteor bursts forth with an at risk kickout plan
Meteor blazed a lone trail in a week that was dominated by the re-launch of three Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) notes.
US Wrap: Finance and freight for mid-week
Barclays Bank has launched three new reverse convertibles covering some unusual stock themes. After the massive tumbles taken by the Baltic Dry Index last year, freight is now making a return to the structured products market in the form of a note linked…
Structured Products contributes on BBC Radio 4
Structured Products featured on BBC Radio 4's 'Face the Facts' programme today, which addressed the losses faced by UK savers who bought Lehman Brothers-backed structured products.
Ex-Keydata consultant opens new firm for business
Gilliat Financial Solutions, a specialist UK structured products distributor founded by ex-Keydata consultant Adrian Neave, has announced it plans to launch two new FTSE-based products in early September.
US Wrap: ABN and UBS close in on General Electric
ABN Amro and UBS have both launched reverse convertible notes linked to the stock of General Electric lasting three months. ABN's note pays an annualised coupon of 10.75%, with a conversion barrier of 80%. UBS's note pays a lower coupon of 9% but has a…
Britannia offers latest issue of its offshore Guaranteed Capital Bond
Britannia International, an offshore savings bank, has opened issue 8 of its Guaranteed Capital Bond. The three year 100% capital protected product will pay a fixed return of 3.54% annually if the FTSE 100 index is equal to or greater than the start…
US Wrap: RBC mixes reverse convertibles and growth
Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) has joined the latest trend for reverse convertible products, launching two new notes linked to Wells Fargo. The structures have three month maturities and differ in terms of pricing. While one note offers a conversion barrier…
US Wrap: ABN and JP Morgan bank on financials
ABN Amro and JP Morgan both launched reverse convertible notes linked to banking stocks at the close of last week. ABN's note, referencing Citigroup stock, was the bank's only offering into the market. The six-month product pays an annualised coupon of…
Structured products preferred by advisers, says Morgan Stanley survey
Structured products have come top of the list of investment products financial advisers would recommend to their clients, according to a new survey by Morgan Stanley. Structured plans leapt two places from the bank's last survey in December 2008,…
US Wrap: ABN Amro joins reverse convertible rally
ABN Amro has launched 20 new reverse convertibles, giving further weight to the resurgence of the structure kicked off by Barclays earlier in the week when it launched 48 notes.
Distribution veteran joins Advisors Asset Management in US
Brian Jones has been hired by Advisors Asset Management (AAM), the broker dealer firm, as managing director of retail sales distribution, exiting his position as managing director, head of equity derivatives sales for the Americas at Macquarie Capital…
US Wrap: Calm after reverse convertible storm
Product issuance returned to its usual flow in the US market yesterday, with only three new reverse convertible notes coming in the wake of Barclays' 46 earlier in the week.
US Wrap: Barclays floods market with nearly 50 reverse convertibles
Barclays Bank has made an emphatic leap into the reverse convertible market in the US by launching 46 of the notes. On what was certainly the busiest day of the year, five other issuers brought the total number of products released to 59.
SocGen launches into US deposit space with Wells Fargo certificate
Société Générale (SG) has wrapped its proprietary long short strategy, Wise, into a certificate of deposit (CD) issued by Wells Fargo. The CD links to a volatility controlled version of the strategy, the SGI Wise US Vol Target 8% Excess Return Index.
US Wrap: Market gets new lease of energy
Issuance is gathering pace in the US market with 16 new launches coming into the market, two of which were energy trades. Bank of America grasped the theme with both hands, linking a highly geared growth product to the Energy Select Spdr fund.
US Wrap: Equity plays close the week
ABN Amro issued nine reverse convertible at the close of last week in the US market, linked to the usual equity plays. All of the new structures have maturities of three months. One of the highest coupons on offer was 18.75% annualised, linked to the…
US Wrap: Reverse convertibles take the lead from growth products
Reverse convertibles made up just over half of new issuance in the US market yesterday, taking the lead back from the accelerated growth products which have been dominating recent activity. The notes were launched by both JP Morgan and Wells Fargo, which…
US Wrap: Accelerated growth products gather momentum
Accelerated growth products dominated market activity in the US again yesterday as their issuance continues to gather pace. However, exposure is widening beyond US equity, as a note from Deutsche Bank showed.
US Wrap: Goldman Sachs pushes boundaries of downside gearing
Goldman Sachs has launched a new accelerated growth note linked to the S&P 500 index which gears investor participation on the downside. The three-year trade gives investors 150% participation in the S&P 500's upward moves up to a cap of between 45-55%…