Multi-index underlyings: worth the extra risk?

Roughly 13% of the UK's retail structured products market consists of products based on more than one index. Many offer double-digit returns, but some providers say their higher risk levels are the opposite of what the structured products industry needs at a time of regulatory scrutiny

While 206 of the 291 structured products issued and recorded by Future Value Consulting (FVC) in the UK in the past six months are based on one index, the FTSE 100, half of the remainder – some 13% of the total – rely on multiple index underlyings.*

Barclays, Meteor Investment Solutions, Walker Crips and Incapital are among those with products (31 issues in total) based on the FTSE 100 and S&P 500, while four issues, all offered by Meteor, have a payout that relies on three indexes: the FTSE 100