2015 proves a strong year for structured products

Of the 424 structured products that matured in 2015, only one failed to return capital to investors, a new report shows.

2015 proves a strong year for structured products

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According to the 2015 version of StructuredProductReview.com´s annual Structural Product Performance Review, of the remaining 423 products, seven returned capital only and the rest generated positive returns.

The average annualised return across the spectrum was 6.8% with an average duration of 3.8 years, the report said.

There was however a fairly wide gap between the bottom and the top quartile. The bottom quartile returned 3.75% on average, while those products in the top quartile produced an average annualised return of 10.3%.

Looking at the numbers on a more granular level. 118 structured deposits matured during the year, returning 4.8% to investors on average. Three returned only capital. 56 capital ´protected´ products matured, 53 of which generated positive returns, while 250 capital at risk products matured, one of which returned only capital, while one lost capital.

On average, capital protected products returned an annualised 5.5%, while capital at risk products returned 11% on average.

To put this into a broader perspective, the review also examined all the products that have matured over the past five years.

Here, the consistency is more remarkable. Of the 1,875 products that have matured, only 42 have lost capital, while 214 have returned capital only. At a headline level, the average annual return offered over the five years is 6.4%. However, this does mask a huge disparity between the best and worst options. Those products in the top quartile returned an annualised 11.5%, while those in the bottom quartile could only manage 0.7%.

¨The data is irrefutably impressive, which is good news for those advisers and investors who have been embracing structured investments over the years,” said Chris Taylor, head of strategic development at Lowes Structured Investment Centre.

¨It should also prove to be persuasive, if not copelling, for those advisers and investors who may have been sceptical or even cynical of the sector.¨

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