Kleinwort Benson stirs things up

Kleinwort Benson, the private banking arm of Dresdner Kleinwort, is attempting to sell volatility-linked structured products to European retail investors. Daniel Sheehan looks at whether such a complex underlying has a future at the retail level

"It isn't easy to simplify something that isn't a simple concept," says Andy Halford, head of structured products at private bank Kleinwort Benson in London. And yet that is the challenge facing the bank as it markets its new volatility-linked funds to the wider retail market.

The release of the bank's volatility product last month sparked interest in many quarters, including the financial press. The Financial Times, for example, took the angle that the launch opens the door for European retail