Tunisian retail investors will see the launch of the country’s first structured products as the market opens up to alternative investments following a new regulatory regime from 1 July this year.Tunisia’s first capital-guaranteed funds will be able to derive their upside potential from equities and alternative assets and will have a term of between five and ten years, Zeïneb Guellouz, president of regulator CMF told local reporters.

She said that she is confident in the rapid expansion of the local Tunindex, which gained 44% in 2006, and added that 26 companies issuing alternative investment vehicles are expected to launch products over the next two years, following the introduction of new regulations in the summer.