The description of structured products as “confusing, complex and costly” by Which? Money Quarterly reveals a fundamental lack of knowledge and understanding of the industry, according to Blue Sky Asset Management.
The company says the comments offered to consumers by Which? are misguided, and wholly fail to differentiate between good and bad structured investment providers and products, or to explain that they can play a key role in investment portfolios, controlling risk and optimising returns, when used by professional advisers with a client-centric approach.
Chris Taylor, chief executive at Blue Sky, says: “Unbridled and sweeping comment from publications, that is potentially ill-informed, is as much of a disservice to investors as bad providers and bad products. It is essential to understand that not all providers or products are the same, which is true of any industry, including the media.
“Any publication looking for news that might be useful to readers, as opposed to always focusing on the downsides, can readily find plenty of good examples of innovative, successful structuring that has been proven to have worked well for investors during incredibly challenging market conditions: low interest rates mean many investors need investment options but high equity market and other asset class volatility mean that many options haven’t been palatable or very attractive recently.’
“Blue Sky Asset Management works with progressive wealth managers and investment advisers for the clear benefit of their clients, with an approach and a capability that isn’t transactional or product driven, including bespoke solutions. This is the progressive and intelligent way to approach using structured investments, including fee based options that would even impress Which?”
Blue Sky says it supports all of its plans with clear literature and its “Guide to Understanding Counterparties”, which highlights due diligence considerations for advisers and investors.
In addition, the Blue Sky “Counterparty Platform” provides credit rating and CDS information regarding the major structured product counterparties. Credit-risk related news, detailing changes in credit ratings and CDS levels, are also covered via the Blue Sky “Counterparty Observers”, which are provided proactively to professional advisers who have registered to receive Blue Sky’s research inputs.
