Transparency is essential for structured products

Structured products are becoming ever more mainstream as investors seek lower-risk investments offering similar returns to equities, but it is important to use quality vehicles with clear structures to ascertain their true value

The structured product market has traditionally been a fairly esoteric investment area but is becoming more mainstream. Good quality, transparent products have a place in the diversified client portfolio both today and in the future. We are roughly 1000 days into a bear market, the longest since the 1930s. We take the view that the best a US investor can expect for the next few years is 8% per year from equities, 5% from bonds and 2% from cash. As long as inflation stays low, these low returns will be acceptable. However, this means there is a strong case for finding or creating i...