Structured Product Investment Guide

Structured products are fairly complex investment instruments, and can be a puzzle for those outside of the investment arena. That may explain why structured products are primarily used by career investors, firms, banks and asset managers. But structured products are also used by some private investors and traders. With an estimated 200 billion francs invested in this way, Switzerland is the world’s biggest structured product market.

Structured products in Switzerland

In Switzerland, these investment products are issued by Leonteq Securities, Bank J. Safra Sarasin, Bank Julius Baer, Bank Vontobel, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise, Commerzbank, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, UBS and the Zürcher Kantonalbank, among others.

From wealth preservation, yield enhancement and active management products, to more risky leveraged products, Swiss issuers offer a broad structured product portfolio. Customized products tailored to customer needs are an option, albeit primarily for high-value investments.

Structured products: Compare costs

As with all financial services, it’s important that you understand the products you’re buying before you sign on the dotted line. Comparing the fees charged by different providers is equally as important.

But product fees are not the only expense which will take a bite out of your returns. The transaction costs charged by Swiss banks and brokers every time you buy or sell a structured product are often comparable to those of stock trades and can hit your money pretty hard. This is especially true for charges levied by large banks.

If you trade structured products frequently, the difference in fees charged by the cheapest online brokers and the most expensive banks can add up to thousands of francs every year. And that’s only taking basic trading and custody fees into account.

A no-nonsense comparison of product fees can help you minimize the costs of investing in structured products.

You can easily compare structured product brokerage and custody fees using moneyland.ch’s unbiased and completely independent online trading comparison tool.

Under Profile selection select Swiss structured products before moving to the product comparison page. Selecting Individual profile just below Swiss structured products on the Profile selection list lets you customize the comparison criteria by adding the number of transactions and value per transaction that best match your structured product investment needs.

More information:
Compare Swiss online tading platforms (including structured product costs) now
Compare Swiss medium-term notes now
Swiss custody fee guide
Free stock trading for free?
Taxes on trading explained
Guide to trading bonds?