The ups and downs

Recent market upheavals left investors with direct exposure to markets nursing big mark-to-market losses, but how did investors in structured notes fare?John Ferry looks at who the winners and losers are and examines how thisbout of volatility will affect future structured product demand and pay-offs

As Structured Products went to press the Nikkei average was down around 8% for the quarter, the S&P 500 off around 4% and European equities down by an average of around 7%. Of course commodities and emerging market currencies were also badly hit. Across the board, volatility in the major asset classes had shot up to levels not seen for several years. It is too early to say whether these moves are the start of a major market correction or merely short-term risk repositioning - a "healthy