SRP France 2025 kicked off with a panel discussion highlighting the dynamic nature of the market, the shifting focus between regions and sectors and the increasingly strategic and tactical use of structured products by clients.

Panellists on The Impact of Global Market Conditions on the French Structured Products World session focused on the evolving trends and challenges in the domestic market, particularly in relation to structured products and indices.

Financial advisors are seeking structured products that can deliver strong performance with relatively low risk - Antoine Boissay, Silex Finance

Quentin Houssemand, director of derivatives products sales, indexes, Morningstar Indexes, noted that it has been “a pretty intense, quite busy start to the year” with three general trends driving activity.

“In January, we had a huge number of requests for exposure to the US market. It was a hit that lasted two weeks. We even developed an entire internal dataset on companies and tried to identify companies' exposure in terms of revenue to the US market,” he said.

Left to right: Eric Sakoun, Kepler Cheuvreux; Valentin Bocqueret, Finaval Conseil; Antoine Boissay, Silex Finance; Quentin Houssemand, Morningstar Indexes; and Oumar Diawara, Vega Investment Solutions

By the end of February, according to Houssemand, no one was looking at the US anymore and all eyes turned to Europe. At the same time, there were requests for sectors and themes “that were very different from what we saw last year”.

In 2024, luxury goods and energy were king, but this year Morningstar has been working “on themes that are a little more sector specific” like basics, hardware, semiconductors and banks.

“In terms of themes, we have been focusing on European strategic autonomy, European sovereignty, and defense, of course,” Houssemand said.

Clients are looking to position themselves in a much more tactical and opportunistic way - Eric Sakoun, Kepler Cheuvreux

On the buy-side, Antoine Boissay, associate director, Silex Finance, noted that from an index perspective the market is well served.

“We have almost everything. Financial advisors are seeking structured products that can deliver strong performance with relatively low risk, reflecting a shift towards more sophisticated, diversified strategies in portfolios.”

Eric Sakoun, director, French distribution, Kepler Cheuvreux, agreed adding that there is opportunity on offering new market exposures as product providers “can now combine things that didn't exist before”.

“Not long ago, the market was limited to automobiles, luxury goods, and all the major sectors of activity we knew,” said Sakoun. “But now there are emerging themes, everything related to deglobalization, leisure, for example.

“Regarding indices, there's still a lot to do. Clients are looking to position themselves in a much more tactical and opportunistic way,” said Sakoun.

Left to right: Eric Sakoun, Kepler Cheuvreux; Valentin Bocqueret, Finaval Conseil; Antoine Boissay, Silex Finance; Quentin Houssemand, Morningstar Indexes; and Oumar Diawara, Vega Investment Solutions

Tactical approach

According to Valentin Bocqueret, founder, Finaval Conseil, some investors are taking a tactical approach and increasingly seeking to capture entry points or capitalise on specific market opportunities with structured products.

“The demand for quicker launches, such as single-stock or static baskets, has increased due to the fast-moving market,” he said.

However, Bocqueret stressed that the story of being constructive is also based on things that are well-placed, classic, and that work well.

“We have a strategic vision for the use of structured products and a specific desire to do certain things,” he said. “Because the investment advisors we work with, who represent 90% of our distribution, we've been working on structured products for ten or fifteen years, and overall, today, they know exactly what they want.

“Six-month campaigns with a strike at the end on a stock are almost non-existent today. Whereas this was the norm five or ten years ago.”

Left to right: Quentin Houssemand, Morningstar Indexes; and Oumar Diawara, Vega Investment Solutions

Oumar Diawara, head of structured products, Vega Investment Solutions, said that structured products are becoming more integral to portfolios, and there is a noticeable shift from short-term, opportunistic strategies to more strategic, long-term approaches.

“We can really see that spots can quite easily disappear in two months if the market shifts,” he said, adding that there are also the banks' priorities that play a big role in what distributors can bring to the market.

“There's a new world of distributors and also investors who may be a little more knowledgeable, but our job above all is to deliver, first and foremost, performance,” he said.

Bocqueret added that the pandemic and market volatility have influenced client behaviour with some distributors taking advantage of market opportunities and others remaining cautious.

“Clients today are more knowledgeable and clear about their goals, and there’s a growing desire for tailored solutions that balance risk and return,” he said.

Kepler Cheuvreux’s Sakoun noted that product providers have a duty to deliver added value.

“It is our responsibility to deliver strong performance with relatively low risk and adjust the offering to reflect the shift towards more sophisticated, diversified strategies in portfolios,” he said.

Diawara concluded that the challenge for distributors remains to stay ahead of these trends and offer “innovative yet proven solutions”.

“Despite market volatility, there is a continued demand for reassurance from clients regarding the security of their investments. Ensuring a mix of aggressive and guaranteed strategies within structured products is a growing trend,” he said.

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