There are many ways to start a career in structured products, and a variety of different views of what are good products. In a series of interviews, SRP asks market practitioners to reveal their thoughts about the market and the path they have taken to become part of it.

Eric Wasescha, managing director, head of platform solutions at Vontobel, answers the questions.

What sells better, protected or non-protected products?
Given the current market conditions, investors are not attracted by fully-protected products. Partially-protected products, such as barrier reverse convertibles, sell very well.

What are the prospects in your market for the next 12 months?
With the help of a moderate increase in volatility, I would expect an outstanding 2018 in terms of volume and investor satisfaction.

What was your first job?
My very first job as a student was also the easiest. As night auditor in a small, low frequented hotel I was in charge of opening the door for guests arriving between midnight and 6am. As basically no guests arrived in the early hours, I was able to sleep all night and still got paid by the hour.

What subject did you study in higher education?
Business Administration.

Are structured products complex investments?
You could ask the question if smartphones are a complex product. They certainly are, but still everybody owns and uses smartphones since they provide a simple and great user experience.
The structured products industry could and should take smartphones as an example of how to improve the experience, simplicity and excitement for their "users".

What is the main benefit of buying structured products?
I would stress three main benefits: they provide solutions for every market direction (bull, bear, flat), they can match every risk-return appetite (high, low, moderate), and they offer access to all asset classes and investment strategies, even in small sizes for retail investors.

Do you buy structured products, if so, which type do you prefer?
Of course I do. Currently I focus on strategy certificates, since I lack the time to actively manage my investments.

Which is the best structured products market?
Call me biased, but the best marketplace for structured products is Deritrade multi-issuer platform. Where else can you choose from literally millions of product combinations, at your fingertips, including best-execution, full automation and all that in seconds?

What's the best structured product you have ever seen?
Multi-barrier reverse convertible on Nestle/Novartis/Roche, with a 65% barrier and a tenor of six months. It yields decently, investors like the underlyings and it has never let me down in the past 20 years to the best of my knowledge.

Bicycle or taxi?
Uber.

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