Structured investment products can provide a number of benefits, including:
- Protection for up to 100% of your capital (with capital protected products)
- Diversification for your investment portfolio
- Potentially higher returns for higher risks
- Fixed investment terms
But, structured investment products are not ideal for everyone, and have some drawbacks, including:
- Fixed terms mean no access to your cash without penalty
- A minimum investment amount
- You capital could be at risk with non-capital protected products
- The returns depend on volatile assets, such as the stock market
If structured investment products sound like they're right for you, compare some of the latest investment opportunities using our free online service and make the most of your money.
The safety of your original capital depends on the ability of the counterparty (the institution providing the underlying assets, rather than the product provider) to repay your investment at the end of the term. You can assess the strength of a counterparty, and therefore the relative risk to your investment, by comparing their credit rating score, from AAA to D, using a credit rating agency such as Standard & Poor's (www.standardandpoors.com) or Fitch (www.fitchratings.com).