Alice Yurke: Leveling the SP Playing Field

As growth in the European markets in particular continues, Alice Yurke on behalf of the Structured Products Association maps out the road ahead for Structured Products…

The last two years have seen unprecedented growth in the development and distribution of structured products in the United Kingdom, the United States and Europe.

Once exclusively the province of banks and securities firms marketing to institutional and ultra-high net worth individuals, the retail market for these products is developing globally at breakneck speed. A key to this rapid growth is continued marketplace innovation and positioning of structured products in both the retail and institutional arenas. However, the rewards of innovation and positioning are not without their legal and credit risks.

The most critical legal concerns in the development and distribution of structured products in the United States will continue to revolve around disclosure and suitability, particularly in the retail arena. These concerns heighten the need for diligence on the part of broker-dealers, in terms of both fully understanding their customers and highlighting the risks involved on a product-by-product basis. In-depth analysis and understanding of the products, followed by balanced explanation of the risks and rewards, will become increasingly more important as issuers offer complex products whose features may elusively appear to be only slightly different from those offered by a competitor.

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Structured Products Association Announces Winners of the 2008 First Annual LeadingEdge Awards for Investment Professionals

Five top investments advisors are experts in using structured products for asset allocation; consider the use of the investment class as a "competitive advantage"

NEW YORK, May 20 -- The Structured Products Association (SPA) today announced the five winners of the First Annual LeadingEdge Advisor Awards. The winners were chosen at the SPA-2008 Fifth Annual Conference at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York. Societe Generale Corporate & Investment Banking sponsored the awards presentation.

The LeadingEdge awards are given to the top investment advisors, brokers and professionals in the Americas who have demonstrated superior results for clients in using investments known as "structured products" in managed portfolios.

"After 50 years, 'modern portfolio theory' can no longer be characterized as the cutting-edge," says Keith A. Styrcula, Chairman and Founder of the SPA. "Simple asset allocation is no longer the optimal solution. The LeadingEdge Awards are bestowed to advisors who expertly used structured products to dial out volatility in portfolios, to add 100 to 250 basis points in additional annual returns, to protect assets against losses, and to access alternative asset classes from around the world that are available exclusively through structured investments."

"For the last five years, structured products have been Wall Street's best kept, $120 billion secret," Styrcula added. "But the five winners of the LeadingEdge awards are among the elite 5% of their profession whose expertise in this investment class has given them a clear competitive advantage."

The LeadingEdge winners were rigorously judged on the effectiveness, creativity and sophistication of their use of structured products as a unique investment solution for client portfolios. A committee from the Structured Products Association collected nominations over a three-month period, and assessed each nominee using these criteria.

The five winners of the LeadingEdge awards are:

Thomas Balcom (Foldes Financial Management) is based in Miami, FL. Foldes has nearly half-a-billion in assets under management (AUMs) Tom's approach is to invest 7-10% of AUMs in structured products, using them as a complement to core investment strategies. http://www.foldesfm.com/

Steve Braverman (Harris myCFO Investment Advisory Services) is based in Fort Lee, NJ. Steve heads a group that advises 300 families with seven offices and 165+ employees. With over $20B in assets, his team's focus on structured products has been rapidly growing. http://www.harrismycfo.com/

SPA CHAIRMAN'S AWARD: J. Scott Miller (Blue Bell Private Wealth Management) is based in Blue Bell, PA. Scott and his team at Blue Bell PWM manage portfolios of structured products for their clients and as separately managed accounts (SMAs) for other RIAs. It is Blue Bell's belief that through the use of managed structured products portfolios, they are able to control risk, reduce portfolio volatility, while still providing compelling upside potential. Scott has over 36 years experience in the nvestment business and purchased his first structured product in 1993. http://www.bluebellpwm.com/

Tony Proctor (Proctor Financial) is based in Wellesley, MA. Tony's firm has been using structured products for over 5 years. His firm believes the investment class is an excellent tool for delivering on two distinct goals for his clients' portfolios: 1) to protect against realistic downside losses, while still capturing and usually exceeding possible upside returns; and 2) to give his firm's clients access to asset classes or areas of the world that would otherwise be difficult to capture. On average, Proctor Financial allocates over 20% of client portfolios to structured investments to achieve these dual goals. http://www.proctorfinancial.com/

Frederick S. Wright (Smith and Howard Wealth Management) is based in Atlanta, GA. Fred's team effectively uses structured products as a risk management tool, specifically to reduce equity exposure and excessive volatility in client portfolios. http://www.smithhowardwealth.com/

Raina Mathur of Societe Generale Corporate & Investment Banking, who presented the awards to the winners, stated: "Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs) are the fastest growing distributors in the structured products industry and they represent the thought-leaders who are bringing this investment class to the mainstream. In recognition of this trend, Societe Generale has created a platform dedicated specifically to the RIA community. Accordingly, it's an immense honor for Societe Generale to recognize these top-tier professionals as recipients of the SPA's First Annual LeadingEdge Awards."

The SPA will open up the nomination process for the 2009 Leading Edge Awards in November 2008. To learn more about the SPA and structured products, visit the SPA website at www.structuredproducts.org, and the SPA blogsite at www.structuredproducts.com.