No structured products distributed by UK intermediaries matured with a loss last year, according to new figures.

The findings were revealed in the 2018 Structured Product Performance Review produced by structured product firm Lowes Financial Management, which manages around £1bn of assets and has invested over £380m into structured investments on behalf of clients.
 
The review, released this week, analysed the 381 structured products that matured in 2018.

It found that no 'capital at risk' product in this sector that matured in 2018 produced a loss, despite what it called “the wild swings seen across financial markets.”
 
In total, just 23 products (6.04%) returned capital alone, while the remaining 358 (93.96%) generated positive returns, with an average 6.33% gain across the products.
 
Lowes’ own list of ‘Preferred’ plans matured with more gains, with its 107 products delivering an average annualised return of 7.88%.
 
For the majority of structured products, the FTSE 100 was the underlying measurement and accounted for 68% of maturities, with the EURO STOXX 50 and EVEN 30 among other linked indices.
 
Of the 23 products that did not return a gain, all but two were deposit based or capital protected contracts and they were, with one exception, linked to measures other than mainstream indices.
 
Chartered Financial Planner Ian Lowes, managing director of Lowes Financial Management, said: “Despite significant volatility in markets in 2018, the last 12 months have been fantastic for structured products.
 
“Our own list of ‘Preferred’ plans delivered exemplary gains, with an average of 7.88% per annum over an average term of 3.4 years.”