Avoiding prying eyes

European private investors watched in fear last year as the EU Savings Tax Directive came into force, threatening to take away their jealously guarded and long-held offshore privacy. But the structured products market is helping them hide from the eyes of the state

According to the Merrill Lynch/Capgemini 2005 World Wealth Report, globally the number of individuals with a net worth of at least $1 million, excluding their primary residence, grew by 7.3% to 8.3 million in 2004, a net increase of 600,000 worldwide. Moreover, the report predicts that global high-net-worth wealth will grow at a compound annual rate of 6.5% in coming years, reaching $42.2 trillion by 2009. As the total number of what would be considered wealthy individuals grows, so too does the