Société Générale Listed Products is on the verge of launching the first product in its SP Go joint venture with Manchester-based stockbroker and wealth manager WH Ireland. The details of the product could not be released before the public offering, but SRP understands it will be a capital-at-risk knockout structure linked to the FTSE100.
"It has to be simple," said Alexandre Houpert, Société Générale's head of listed products UK and Northern Europe. Houpert said the bank wants to create a business that fits with the UK IFA's plan-centred orientation. "We could have set up our own plan manager, but with RDR we are not convinced it's the right angle," he said.
SP Go's platform will act as a primary market for offerings, which will have six-week offer periods and will be hedged in stages as soon as orders are placed. The platform will offer risk analysis and product screening. All products will have a secondary market alongside the bank's other offerings on the London Stock Exchange. "We're aiming for a mix between what IFAs are used to and exchange-traded activity," said Houpert.
SRP understands the SP Go platform will include a number of structured products providers but Société Générale will be the preferred supplier for the UK IFA space.
Richard Coles, head of online marketing at SP Go declined to comment as the firm is about to announce the launch of its platform. It is understood the SP Go platform will be available from next Monday.
Minimum orders on the new platform are £1,000.