What is the case for structured products in a modern portfolio?

The recent bout of market volatility is likely to have served as a reminder to financial advisers that they need to make use of every available weapon in their arsenal when it comes to generating returns and income for clients, as well as preserving their capital. One piece of potential firepower many advisers still tend to overlook, however, is the structured product – but are they missing a trick?

Any lingering mistrust can be traced back almost exactly 10 years to the start of the global financial crisis, when a number of big-name counterparties underpinning the products – most notably Lehman Brothers – defaulted and investors lost significant amounts of capital. Further shaking people’s faith in the sector, the FCA has not been shy to issue warnings over what it views as the dangers associated with structured products.

As we head into a new phase of the market cycle, however, with the central banks on either side of the Atlantic raising rates and unwinding the last decade’s unprecedented programme of quantitative easing, is it time to reconsider the case for structured products in investors’ portfolios? That is the key question this live Professional Adviser webinar – in association with Cazenove Capital – will look to answer.

The panel will consider how structured products have evolved over the last decade, the different types available and how they might best be used as part of a suitably diversified portfolio. In particular, our experts will focus on their potential advantages – not least in the context of a return of, as much as on, capital – and their associated risks and the need to carry out appropriate due diligence to ensure the right choice are made.