Distributor profile: Promoteo waits for bonds to lose their shine

Swiss financial institution Promoteo is grappling with the same issues that affect the structured products business worldwide. While volumes have been low, structurer Serge Lignot is optimistic that they will pick up but a lack of directional views is hampering growth, Clare Dickinson reports.

Swiss-based investment firm Promoteo has seen a pick-up in structured product sales in recent months, but many of its clients remain invested in bonds while they await a clear signal of future direction from the markets. This makes life tough for distributors of structured products.

“The main worry from most of our clients is that interest rates will go up, so they want short durations,” says Serge Lignot, head of primary market structuring for structured notes and derivatives at Promoteo in