The latest product news, market reviews, people moves and regulatory updates from SRP’s news desk, which this week reported on several developments in the technology space.
Equity underlyings continued to dominate the structured products landscape in Europe during the first quarter of 2025.
Products linked to equity underlyings represented 76.3% in Europe and accounted for approximately 72% of the traded volumes in Europe ex-Switzerland in Q1 2025, according to SRP data.
Outstanding volumes for structured certificates sold to Austrian retail investors reached €16.5 billion (US$19.4 billion) in May – the highest level in the 19-year history of the Austrian certificates market, according to the latest figures released by the Austrian certificate association (Zertifikate Forum Austria or ZFA).
There were market reviews for China and Hong Kong SAR with gold-linked products remaining popular among retail investors in the former, while in Hong Kong the stock of the newly listed Chinese electric-vehicle battery manufacturer Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL), became the most frequently used underlying for derivatives warrants.
We are setting a new standard for the industry - Mark Aldous, Delta Capita
Also in Hong Kong, Goldhorse Capital Management onboarded Centaline Family Office, a multi-family office backed by Centaline Group, as its latest client to access quotations for structured products on its multi-issuer platform Extramile.
Swiss fintech GenTwo collaborated with Swisquote, ISP and Sygnum Bank for the launch of AMC Creator, a new configurator tool that enables financial professionals to turn any asset or strategy into actively managed certificates.
More tech news came from Delta Capita, which introduced Elaris OTC, a new global solution designed to ‘streamline and modernise’ post-trade processes for OTC derivatives.
“We are setting a new standard for the industry,” the company’s global head of capital markets managed services Mark Aldous told SRP.
The Belgian Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) completed 234 surveys on the value for money of insurance products in 2024. Of these, 178 studies focused on class-23 life insurance products, which include structured products.
Following the FSMA research, the distribution for 28 class-23 products was halted while costs were lowered for 137 class-23 products.
‘Our research delivers tangible results […] costs are reduced, and expensive insurance products disappear from the market, which is good for the consumer,’ said FSMA chair Jean-Paul Servais.
In Malaysia, the Securities Commission Malaysia introduced guidelines on product governance, aimed at strengthening investor protection as well as encouraging responsible product development and distribution in the country’s capital market.
Over in Singapore, the local Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is proposing enhancements to the requirements for product highlight sheets for a range of investment products, including structured notes. Under the proposal, issuers are required to clearly indicate a red label for complex products to alert investors to the need for seeking advice as appropriate at minimum.
In people news, SRP reported on Andy Shek, head of trading, wealth management at China International Capital Corporation International, who joined Huatai International’s private wealth management unit as well as the appointment of Guillaume Chatain as global head of institutional sales at Keyrock in Paris. Chatain joined the crypto investment firm from Société Générale Forge where he had been had of sales since March 2024.
New products were seen in Korea, where Kiwoom Securities announced the listing of the Kiwoom Kospi 200 Futures Dollar Exposure Exchange-Traded Note (ETN), which invests simultaneously in Kospi 200 futures and US dollar futures via the Kospi 200 US Dollar Futures Mixed Index.
In Italy, Unicredit issued a capital protection certificate linked to the BlackRock iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF. The structure, which requires a minimum investment of US$25,000, is the bank’s first foray into bitcoin related investments.
Innovator Capital Management launched two dual directional buffer ETFs – designed to offer the potential for positive returns in both up and down equity markets – in the US while Goldman Sachs issued a 10-year autocall on a Morningstar decrement index in France.
Finally, Corebridge Financial exited the variable annuity business by entering into an agreement worth US$2.8 billion with CS Life Re to reinsure all the variable annuities of its individual retirement business.
Image: Vectorfusionart/Adobe Stock.
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