SEC mistaken to assume ETNs are retail products, say critics

The SEC’s Office of Capital Markets Trends finally made good on its promise to write to banks over concerns about exchange-traded notes in February, but some say asking them to tailor disclosure to retail investors shows a fundamental misunderstanding of this $22 billion market. Yakob Peterseil reports

SEC headquarters

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) finally broke its silence on exchange-traded notes (ETNs) in February, telling banks in confidential letters that they need to make their disclosure about these securities more intelligible to retail investors. Behind the scenes, banks and their lawyers are already whispering that this latest guidance from the Office of Capital Markets Trends is likely to have little impact on the industry.

Structured Products reported exclusively in February that