Meteor: a rising star

The UK structured products market has long been beset by ambivalence and scepticism. But Meteor Asset Management thinks that as investor appetite turns from plain vanilla towards capital-at-risk products, nervousness about the use of derivatives in products can be mitigated and market potential realised. Matt Cameron reports

Since the UK stock market collapsed in 2000, the UK structured products market has experienced a significant shift away from deals incorporating capital at risk towards more plain vanilla, capital-protected structures based on major indexes, such as the FTSE 100. Derivatives have been the target of widespread cynicism, and distributors trying to compete head to head with the large banks on these plain vanilla products have faced an uphill struggle.

The market in the UK remains in its infancy, and