Belgium punches above its weight

Following recent overviews of some of the major European structured products markets, this month's column focuses on Belgium, a market whose small geographic size is belied by the significance of its sales volumes. By Robert Benson

The archetypal Belgian investor, the so-called "Belgian dentist", is a well-known cliché in financial markets, often used to characterise those typical conservative investors who have traditionally placed significant amounts of their money into bonds. But the past few years have seen the structured products market evolve into a major sector of the national financial scene. This transformation has been achieved through active promotional campaigns by all of Belgium's major retail financial