The global structured products market has increasingly seen some of the most senior executives in the industry leave their jobs at major investment banks to join the technology side.
This week was no different, with another departure announced: the former chief executive of Leonteq Securities (Singapore), Jeremy Ng, has joined Gemini, a next generation cryptocurrency exchange and custodian as managing director, Apac. Ng left Leonteq Securities (Singapore) earlier this year after four years leading the Swiss structured products specialist firm in Asia. This latest news follows others in recent months, including Stefan Armbruster, former head of the Vontobel’s European operations in Frankfurt, joining online broker Flatex as new co-head B2C in April, and crypto lender BlockFi hiring former Baml trader and fintech entrepreneur Rishi Ramchandani as director of business development, Asia back in June.
On a related note, the staff departures at Vontobel keep coming with the latest exit being that of Long Lee, chief executive officer and head financial products Asia at Vontobel Investment Banking, in Hong Kong, who resigned from his position at the Swiss bank last week.
Staying on the tech side of things, Credit Suisse has bought a 35% stake in Brazilian digital brokerage firm Modalmais. The deal gives the Swiss bank access to Modalmais’ more than one million clients across Brazil and the ability to leverage its digital banking and investment platform. Credit Suisse’s acquisition of the company will give it a greater stake in the world of Brazilian fintechs, putting the Swiss private bank in competition with the country’s digital heavyweights such as XP Investimentos and BTG Pactual.
CLSA, the international platform of Citic Securities, has developed a new investment strategy offering HNW and UHNW investors access to a ‘diversified portfolio of global late-stage private companies operating in innovative and disruptive sectors, an asset class traditionally accessible to institutional investors only’.
The investment philosophy is centered on four dominant global themes driving transformation and innovation: digital economy & experience, deep technology ecosystems, sustainability, and wellness & smart healthcare.
US financial institution JP Morgan Chase was one of the first to report its latest figures: it reported a 51% decline in net income of US$4.7 billion for Q2 2020 compared to the previous quarter. Net interest income slid by four percent to US$14 billion due to the impact of lower interest rates amid a Covid-19 environment. The bank’s net revenue was boosted by 15% reflecting a figure of US$33.8 billion while the provision for credit losses also increased by US$9.3 billion, to US$10.5 billion. This was driven by reserve builds which reflect further deterioration and uncertainty from a macroeconomic perspective.
JP Morgan remains the top issuer of structured products in the US market from the previous quarter, according to SRP data.
SRP’s coverage last week also looked at some of the best-performing and best-selling products in key markets. In Apac, unlike Europe where the products that matured ahead of mid-March market crash came on top, four out of the six best performers matured after the downfall.
For instance, in South Korea, NH Investment & Securities’ one-year note, tied to the performance of two social networking service giants, Facebook and Weibo ADR, was the best-performing product in the region during the first half of the year. This capital-at-risk note sold KRW1.03 billion (US$0.86m) and matured on 17 March 2020.
In Europe, Intesa Sanpaolo’s capital-protected certificate on the Eurostoxx Select Dividend 30 index was the best-selling product during the first half of 2020. The seven-year securities are issued on the paper of Banca IMI and pay an annual coupon linked to the performance of the index, which tracks the 30 highest dividend-yielding companies across 11 eurozone countries. The product struck on 28 February 2020 at 1,791 points (current level 1,462 points as of 13 July 2020).