The Hong Kong SAR regulator zeroes in on ESG while an Austrian issuer goes for gold in Poland.
Shovit Sahai, head of structured products and derivatives, Asia at BNP Paribas Wealth Management, is heading to Bank of Singapore, the private banking subsidiary of OCBC Bank, SRP has learned.
Sahai is relocating to Dubai and joining as head of product management group, Bank of Singapore DIFC branch in December, according to a source familiar with the matter.
He will report to Ranjit Khanna, head of global markets, Middle East, and chief executive, DIFC branch at Bank of Singapore. Sahai will succeed Saaish Sukumaran, who left the bank in August.
Structured products would be a part of the product group he will oversee, according to the source.
The Hong Kong SAR financial regulator stated its proposed voluntary code of conduct will align with international practices based on the recommendations of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (Iosco). The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has announced its support and sponsorship of the development of a code of conduct for voluntary adoption by environmental, social and governance (ESG) ratings and data products providers in Hong Kong SAR.
The proposed Voluntary Code of Conduct (VCoC) will align with international practices as recommended by Iosco and relevant expectations introduced in other major jurisdictions, the regulator stated.
Open for ESG ratings and data products providers to sign up voluntarily, the code of conduct is expected to provide a ‘streamlined and consistent basis for asset managers to conduct due diligence or on-going assessment on ESG service providers,’ SFC noted.
In Poland, investors like commodities and the interesting payout profile combined with the commodities underlying has the potential to be a top seller - Anna Kujawska, RBI
Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) has issued Gold Up and Out (AT0000A381Z3) in Poland. The two-year certificate is distributed via the private banking network of PKO Bank Polski and offers access to the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) Gold Price PM.
The product is the 10th commodities-linked product in the SRP Poland database that has a strike date in 2023, and the fourth linked to gold. The choice of underlying is always a joint decision between the issuer and the distributor, according to Anna Kujawska, CEE country manager, structured products sales, at Raiffeisen Certificates.
“We believe that next year, possibly the next two years, gold could be especially strong,” Kujawska said. “In Poland, investors like commodities and the interesting payout profile combined with the commodities underlying has the potential to be a top seller."
The certificate has a shark fin payout. It protects 100% of the nominal invested, whilst participating 1:1 in the increase of the gold price up to an upper barrier of 130%. The potential overall maximum return is therefore 29.99%. However, if the gold price reaches or exceeds 130% of its initial value at any time during the investment period, the return at maturity is fixed at 110%.
Structured annuities can be viewed as an alternative to investing in other fixed income assets (bonds) but with higher potential returns, better Sharpe ratios and greater upside capture, according to a research report published by Equitable in collaboration with Wade Pfau, professor of practice at The American College of Financial Services who keynoted our SRP Americas event in September.
In light of recent interest rates rises, near-retirees that depend on bond funds to maintain the value of their assets may be vulnerable to having their financial plan steered off course.
Recent innovations with structured annuities ‘offer an alternative distribution of returns through guarantees that offer both the opportunity for growth and protection against loss,’ according to the paper ‘Improving financial outcomes for household portfolios’.
We have seen strong client demand for downside protection, buffer and managed outcome strategies - Anthony Rochte, MSIM
In further product news, a batch of five actively-managed exchange-traded fund (ETFs) has been added to Morgan Stanley Investment Management (MSIM)’s ETF platform, which went live on 1 February.
Listed on NYSE Arca, they include two maiden derivative-based ETFs - Parametric Equity Premium Income ETF (PAPI) and Parametric Hedged Equity ETF (PHEQ) – in partnership with Parametric, which was acquired by MS in 2021.
The other three ETFs are fixed income strategies branded under Eaton Vance, an investment management firm based in Boston.
“We have seen strong client demand for downside protection, buffer and managed outcome strategies,” Anthony Rochte, global head of ETFs at MSIM, told SRP. “This corner of the US ETF market has more than doubled in size over the last five years, and this category of ETFs is driving a significant portion of continued industry growth,” said Rochte citing external data.
Image: Armando Oliveira/Adobe Stock.