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Deconstructed Notes

October 30, 2014

structured notes gone wild

Introducing our first “Structured Notes Gone Wild” segment – the most interesting, unusual, or just wacky ideas we’ve come across.  One of the compelling elements of structured investing is that design is only limited by
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October 15, 2014

joe halpern published in california broker: a new approach to annuities

I recently authored an article on structured note annuities which appears in the October 2014 issue of California Broker. They have graciously allowed me to it reprint here: The structured note annuity (SNA) is a
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September 30, 2014

3x leverage – conservative or aggressive?

In July we broached the topic of leverage in a post titled “5X Leverage – Sane or Insane?” For those wondering, the answer was sane – the note should outperform the Euro Stoxx index it
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September 23, 2014

exceed announces launch of innovative structured indexes in partnership with nasdaq

As a Deconstructed Notes follower, you probably know my take on structured investing – the beauty lies in the limitless tailoring that can be applied to meet investor needs. On the flip side, the industry
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August 28, 2014

called callables and other riddles, a late summer review

With Labor Day quickly approaching and summer coming to a close, it seems like an opportune time to provide an update on some of the prior stories we have featured. One of the trends we
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August 7, 2014

introducing protection into your portfolio

In my last blog post I discussed leverage as a tool to outperform in certain market environments. The various investment options we reviewed were all focused on increasing or otherwise shaping the upside potential of
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July 17, 2014

5x leverage – sane or insane?

I have recently come across a few highly leveraged structured note offerings. One such note that caught my eye was a 5 year note offering 5x the upside performance of the popular Euro Stoxx 50
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June 24, 2014

positive results for vertex pharmaceutical; ok results for structured note holders

This morning Vertex Pharmaceutical (VRTX) announced positive results for phase 3 clinical trials.  As a result, the stock soared 50%+ pre-market, surpassing $100 for the first time in the firm’s history.  Of course, an unsuccessful
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June 19, 2014

exceed investments survey finds additional advisor demand for structured investments provided inefficiencies are addressed

Note in this document, structured investments are synonymous with structured products.  Both refer to the class of products typically issued by banks to retail investors with such customized features as principal protection and leverage. (New
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May 16, 2014

do structured notes answer smart beta investor’s greatest unmet need?

This past week I came across an interesting survey conducted by Russell Investments on Smart Beta indexes. For starters, what is “Smart Beta”?  That can depend on who you ask; the consensus definition in this
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April 25, 2014

joe halpern published in the actuary: structured-note annuity- a niche industry is born with endless possibilities

Structured Note Annuities (SNAs) are a relatively new retirement product within the insurance complex; they are poised to become a breakout product due to their ability to provide defined exposures for investors, similar to bank
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April 2, 2014

can both the bank and customer win on the same structured notes?

Imagine you purchase Apple stock.  By definition, you and the seller are on opposites sides of a binary trade – if Apple zooms up, you will have made money and the seller will presumably regret
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March 12, 2014

all or nothing – understanding structured notes and options tied to binary events

A recent structured note caught my attention because it a) offered great characteristics and b) was based on an underlying biotechnology stock.  These characteristics suggest that note performance may be tied to an upcoming binary,
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February 26, 2014

the 2014 nba draft, structured notes and pretty much everything else – why correlation matters

An advisor recently asked me to evaluate a structured CD he was considering; the market linked CD paid a variable coupon derived by the performance of a basket of 10 stocks. Why are we interested?
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