Structured Product Investments

Austen Morris Associates offers structured finance, also known as structured bonds or structured products intended to allow investors to gain exposure to equity indices, single stocks, a basket of stocks, currencies, interest rates, commodities and funds while managing their level of capital risk.

Structured products are highly specialised investments and come in two forms, Structured Notes and Structured Deposits. You can use them to reduce risk when you invest in conventional assets like equities, funds or currencies or diversify your portfolio by investing in commodities and indices that are otherwise hard to access. Most (but not all) structured products will repay an agreed proportion, or all, of the capital invested at the maturity date. However, this capital protection may depend on certain conditions being met – for instance, an Index not having fallen by more than 50% during the term. If it has, then you might get less back.

What are Structured Notes?

Structured Notes are a comparatively recent development. They are packaged financial products based on derivatives. A Structured Note is a regulated investment whose return is linked to the value or level of an asset or index at the end of a specified term. It enables you to benefit from some or all of the rises in the value or level of the asset or index while offering capital protection if the value ever falls. So, when capital protection is provided, you don’t lose your original investment. A Structured Deposit operates similarly to a Structured Note but always offers full capital protection if held for the entire term.

Structured products benefits include:

Many types of structured products are available – as a large number of derivatives and underlying assets can be used – but most can be classified under the following categories:

We have a range of sophisticated products, including mutual funds, stock options, hedge funds, structured product investments, property and foreign exchange. Our financial experts will ensure you choose the right investment for your specific needs.

Together with Regular Savings and Retirement Plans, Investments, and the creation of a detailed portfolio constitute the absolute core of our business.

As someone working away from your home country, you are probably in a better financial position. Also, you’re possibly paying less tax than before. Our Consultants will help you capitalise on this window of opportunity by guiding you through the minefield so that your money ends up in the right place to suit you, your needs and your aspirations.

Each person that we meet has different investment needs, plans and the financial timeframe within which they wish to achieve their goals. With numerous assets within which you can allocate your finances – where do you start and once you do start planning, how do you know that what you are considering today is still right for you tomorrow, next week or next year?

As most people do not have the time, the ability or the inclination to spend hours and hours researching the readily available information, most choose to turn to an Independent Financial Consultant. After all, when we’re talking about an issue as important as your future wealth and prosperity, it makes sense to allocate the task to professionals who have the knowledge, ability and experience of helping people create wealth.

Our Consultants are highly qualified and experienced in helping people build a detailed portfolio that suits all of the factors that contribute to making your investment a success and reaching your financial goals.

At Austen Morris Associates we have Advisors who specialise in particular or specific markets/sectors, from bonds to stocks, from hi-tech to leisure, from deposit funds to hedge funds and their wealth of experience is often praised by both experienced and inexperienced private investors. By having a free initial meeting with one of our Consultants you have nothing to lose, and you’ll be taking the first step to achieving your investment goals.

At Austen Morris Associates, a large percentage of our core business comes from sourcing Regular Savings Plans that focus on the specific and flexible needs of an international investor living and working outside of his/her home country. There are many key factors when creating a Regular Savings Plan that is specific to an individual’s requirements, which are often broad and varied:

Flexibility – We look for products that offer maximum flexibility in a world where we never know what is around the corner.

Charging Structures – At Austen Morris Associates, we are well aware of the fact that charges impact the profitability of any investment program – whether it be Regular Savings or Lump-Sum Investment. We always recommend products with the most cost-efficient charging structures available on the market at that time. Most of us recognise, whether it is a meal at a restaurant, a holiday, or a new car – the cheapest rarely means best. Besides, one of the advantages a client achieves by working with us is that we utilise our daily notifications of products which are carrying bonuses for short periods (these can often have a tremendous effect on negating charges).

The advantage of using a Regular Savings Plan as opposed to a one time Lump-sum Investment is that the Regular Savings Plan is not reliant upon ‘market timing’, quite the opposite in fact because of Cost-Averaging.

Cost-averaging: without trying to time the market, you invest a set amount regularly over time in various market conditions. It helps you to avoid the guessing game of how to prevent a market correction or of calculating when to “buy low and sell high.”

Using this approach, purchases of the same amount are invested at regular intervals (for example, monthly). Why might this be a potential benefit to investors? Because if the market is down, then you will purchase a higher number of units and hence when the markets recover, your overall value will have grown beyond that which it would have given a steadily rising market.

Another factor of Regular Savings Plans is the ability to compound interest. When you take into account monthly compounded interest, this is an excellent add-on to the overall interest and growth potential.