In our view, structured products should be considered as a vehicle for an investment strategy.

Our bespoke approach to structuring means we work on a vast array of strategies with our clients:

  • Replication and market access
  • Smart Beta
  • Leverage
  • Yield enhancement
  • Relative value and market neutral strategies
  • Capital protection and Hedging
  • Quantitative and alternative strategies

All our products are securitised and transferable. They can therefore be dealt and settled like bonds and shares.

We use the issuance programmes of large financial institutions and have long standing relationships with over 15 issuers to ensure diversification. We can also offer collateralised solutions to mitigate the credit risk associated with financial issuers. The choice of issuance wrapper is important as it may impact investors (e.g. tax treatment). Depending on the strategy being implemented, products can be wrapped as:

  • Medium Term Notes
  • Certificates
  • Warrants
  • Preference Shares (EIS)
  • Special Purpose Vehicles
  • Sharia Compliant Vehicles

Products can be issued as either a private placement or a public offer. Listing on a recognised exchange is also available.

Minimum size required to issue a tailor-made product depends on the issuer, the payoff and the underlying. We will always advise on the appropriate size required to achieve competitive pricing conditions.

Most of our trade ideas can be packaged in funded or unfunded format.

In a funded trade (typically issued as a note or a certificate), the option or derivatives will be packaged with a debt instrument of the issuer and will generally be issued at face value (100% of the notional exposure). Investors are thus required to invest the full cash equivalent and bear the issuer’s credit risk on the whole notional.

In an unfunded trade (typically issued as a warrant), investors purchase solely the option or derivative component. The security will be issued at a fraction of face value (e.g. 5 or 10% of the notional exposure) and the cash amount required to implement the strategy is therefore reduced. Unfunded trades can be used as a portfolio overlay (hedging), to create synthetic exposure to an underlying, to implement leverage or for cash extraction purposes. Investors bear the issuer’s credit risk only on the value of the derivative.

Our structuring capabilities span all major asset classes

Our cross-asset expertise enables us to generate a constant flow of opportunistic trade ideas, meaning we can work with our clients on any segment of their portfolio. We can reference any underlying providing they are tradable and sufficiently liquid.

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