LONDON – The good news from the Office of National Statistics this month is that the Retail Prices Index (RPI) in June was down to 5% from 5.2% in May. The bad news, of course, is that it is at 5%. Between 1985 and 2010, the RPI increased at an average rate of 3.4%. So in 2011 we have inflation above the average. With traditional inflation-proofing investments delivering below-inflation returns,... 

Falling prices can be interesting backdrop for investors willing to research listed structured products – especially if they don’t have an aversion to complex structures that can pay off in a declining market. Sadly, most structured products are designed to make money only if the markets rise. But there is a subclass of products that theoretically produce returns even if share prices fail... 

The boundless adaptability of structured products is part of what makes these complex alternative investments so appealing. But it also makes them controversial. In the current market environment — represented by low interest rates, nervous investors and growing macroeconomic uncertainty — the structured-products industry has turned to various forms of low-yielding, principal-protected products. One... 

Volatility is a major factor in equity and option investments, and the Chicago Board Options Exchange Market Volatility Index (VIX), has been a popular and carefully-watched indicator almost from the moment it was launched. Though VIX may or may not be a rigorous substitute for risk, investors and financial commentators nevertheless watch this indicator to measure the tenor of investor attitudes about... 

The new iPath Long Enhanced S&P 500 VIX Mid-term Futures ETN (NYSEArca: VZZB) was launched at an initial price of $30 a share. Earlier this month, Barclays said iPath Long Enhanced S&P 500 VIX Mid-Term Futures ETN (VZZ) traded below $10 a share, which triggered an automatic redemption. “Our leveraged and inverse ETNs are designed with a leverage factor that is locked in at the point of purchase,... 

When it comes to ease of trading, breadth of offerings, and simplicity of use, it’s hard to beat exchange-traded funds. That’s one reason why ETFs have taken the investing world by storm lately. But ETFs aren’t the only investing products you can find trading on stock exchanges these days. A similar sounding investment vehicle, the exchange-traded note or ETN, has also made big inroads... 

Citi's Nicholas Parcharidis, Pierre Pettigrew, Kristen Michell, and Lauren Moskovitz at Schwab's IMPACT 2010 conference. Citi has launched the first onshore real-denominated structured fund linked to a basket of US stocks in response to demand from investors in Brazil for diversification away from domestic underlyings. The fund, which closed on Thursday, June 23, raised 146.2 million... 

BNP Paribas has joined forces with Janus Capital Group to provide a capital-guaranteed fund, whereby BNP provides protection for Janus Protected World Growth, a US-based mutual fund which offers daily liquidity and is open-ended. The fund was launched in May. “We are using a fundamentally different risk methodology to any other version of a capital-protected fund,” says Fabrice Hugon,... 

Recent US structured products issuances have contained several products with multiple underlyings and the latest follows suit with basket products from HSBC, Barclays and Morgan Stanley. Basket products have hit the US market in force – there have been several in the last few issuances, the latest is no exception and some of the products include an interesting mix of underlyings. One of... 

  Suppose you wanted to guarantee your principal while taking a limited bet on the stock market? If that’s your strategy, then structured certificates of deposit (CDs) may be worth considering.  As readers of this column may note, I’m not keen on structured products in general. They are typically linked to equities and indexes through derivatives. While you may get a return of...