Understanding Structured Products Certificate

The certification is organised in collaboration with LUXSIPA. LUXSIPA's mission is to promote and position the Luxembourg structured products industry in a quality segment at the service of market players and public authorities. The Association maintains close links with the ABBL and is recognised by the Luxembourg financial industry as a center of competence for any subject relating to structured products.

The objective of the present training is to cover all questions that could be raised while manufacturing, selling, handling or investing into structured products.

MODULE 1 - General Aspects about Structured Products (SP) The objective of this training module is to provide a bright overview of the world of structured products:

• General definition
• History of options
• Structured Products compared to vanilla assets
• The parties involved in the set-up process: issuer, investor, structurer, traders …
• The cash flows of a very simple product: Starting with a bond paying coupons to a 100% capital guaranteed Structured Product linked to the positive performance of an index
• Some vocabulary (protection, callable, auto-callable …)
• Overview about the risks embedded in a SP (issuer, liquidity, valuation, underlying, valuation parameters …)
• Legal wrapper: EMTN, certificate, fund, deposit
• Review of basics about options: 4 pay-offs, from Long Call to Short Put, right and obligation
• First steps to situate the impact of volatility, interest rates, dividends, spot (trying to get a feeling for the basic Greeks)
• Capital protection: zero & call: first steps to build the product, theoretical example
• Capital at risk: reverse convertible & auto-call structure: idem
• MIFID - Target Market, Distribution channels (advisory, execution only, DPM), Cost and charges
• PRIIPS Directive – KID

MODULE 2 – Technical aspects to build a SP The objective of this training module is to provide you with a deep insight in the technical side of structured products:

• The building blocks of a product
• Yield curve, credit spreads & funding, CDS
• Vanilla and exotic options
• Volatility
• Correlation
• Specificities of underlying assets
• Dividends & implicit forwards

MODULE 3 – Products The objective of this training module is to get you comfortable with a series of different structured products in terms of understanding:

• The investment rational
• How the product is working
• What are the opportunities and risks?
• The building blocks and their sensitivities
• The relationship between the potential performance of the product and the risk that the investor is exposed to

This training program will be honored by a House of Training / LUXSIPA Certification under two conditions: the whole set of modules must be accomplished and a final exam must be passed.