Right now, people want simple stuff, not derivatives, which is what most structured products are.

if you can find a structured product that is fdic insured i don’t think that is a bad product.  quite frankly, these saved my book.  I put a bunch of people in these notes where people would make money if the s&p stayed in a range - if the s&p busted out of the range client got their money back even, they made nothing/lost nothing.  these are maturing during the next few months.  so now i have cash to invest.  these are usually 18 months in duration.  obviously the mkt went down big and  these clients’ accounts held up real well.  they could have earned maybe 2% in a cd during the 18 months.  that’s not a bad tradeoff.  i would only buy a structured product that was fdic insured.  the rest of them are senior debt of the issuer and we all know that this is risky.  know what u own.

Good post, sicko

Many of the structured products I’ve seen are easily reproduced by the broker. Most are some sort of revcon or a cash secured put cut up in strips etc. etc.

Gaddock, given your experience, do you think the cost of structured products are worth it for advisors and clients who don’t have that experience? 

I realize there are many different products, but let’s assume one of the more conservative ones, backed by FDIC. 

imo - if you want to buy an fdic backed note with an 18 month time frame for 25+ clients it will take waaaaay too much time doing it yourself.  Most of these notes pay 1.5% commission’s.  i challenge someone to do it in size, time efficiency and make the same commission.

Writing a cash secured put is simple and pays the broker far more than the ones put together by some dweeb at the home office. As for the cash, put it in a TBill if you want the same as FDIC pretty much. I can write 50 tickets a day and yawn. Not sure how it would take way to much time. Not only that but you can also manage the position if it goes wrong which you can not do with a structured product that I’m aware of.