Tapping demand for ex-financials exposure

Financial stocks have long been chosen as underlyings for structured products and exchange-traded products, but unprecedented volatility in the past year has forced issuers and providers to cater to investors with a multitude of viewpoints on the sector, including those who wish to steer clear of financials altogether. By Hannah Collins

The past few months have seen index and exchange-traded fund (ETF) providers step up their attempts to accommodate clients that want zero exposure to the financial services sector. There is no lack of evidence for why this might be a good idea - while the Euro Stoxx 50 Index, for instance, had on June 29 fallen 23.62% since the same date in 2010, the ex-financials version of the index was down only 12.09%. The year-to-date figures also bolster the case for excluding financials: a loss of 1.82%