Sourcing security

Participants in the European structured products industry face an unprecedented challenge in managing counterparty risk. One of the beneficiaries of the crisis of confidence will be the structured funds industry, which offers the possibility of collateralising assets for watertight protection. Sophia Morrell reports

"What will happen to my money if the issuer goes bankrupt?" Six months ago, advisers would have been surprised to hear structured product investors pressing them on what was widely considered to be an unlikely outcome. Now it is one of the first questions on investors' minds as they consider buying a product, prompting the industry to think long and hard about the most efficient ways to provide tangible protection.

An audience poll conducted during a roundtable discussion at the Structured