Structured shift for Japanese investment products

Extreme market volatility following the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008 caused Japanese investors to incur deep losses from their structured product investments. But structured products, notably those sold in the uridashi market, are still popular in Japan, with restructurings, public distribution channels and simpler products keeping this vast market growing. Joti Mangat reports

The collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008 and subsequent market volatility took the Japanese structured products market from a high level of activity in several sectors to a relatively low level of simpler activity concentrated among private bank and retail distributors. On top of this, the historically high national savings rate fell to 23% in 2009, its lowest point for a decade, according to International Monetary Fund data, and demand for private placement products that were