In this book, I will explain the use cases of structured products, the way they are built (“product recipes”), and their risk and return profile in greater detail than what is available in material published by product providers or even in most textbooks.
At the same time, my goal is to make this book an entertaining read as well, by using the analogy of bar cocktails for structured products —a metaphor that works quite well in terms of explaining construction (“mixing”) rules, use cases, and risk profiles. This approach has also allowed me to add some anecdotes, which I hope you will enjoy, from the world of cocktails and the world of investing.
I have organised the book into three main parts that build on each other and increase in terms of technical complexity.
- Part I: The Raison d’Être of Structured Products explains the basic definition of structured products, their use cases, and the four main product categories.
- Part II: The Alchemy of Structured Products goes a bit more into technical details. Here, I will introduce technical concepts that help us to analyse the construction rules as well as the risk and performance profiles of structured products.
- Part III: Deconstructing Structured Products is the part of the book in which we will analyse construction rules and risk analysis for all commonly used structured products across the four standard product categories.
It is my genuine hope that you will find great value, and a bit of fun, herein.
About the Author
Mathematician Guido Giese finds that analogies are some of the best tools to explain topics as complex as financial derivatives. In Untold Secrets of Structured Product Investing, Guido compares financial markets to mixology, revealing how structured products are analogous to cocktails, with special ingredients and outcomes that range from a slight euphoria (most enjoyable) to a regrettable hangover (which this book is meant to help investors avoid).
Guido studied physics and mathematics at Heidelberg University and earned a PhD in applied mathematics from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. He has more than twenty years of experience in the financial sector as a quantitative researcher and has published numerous research articles in financial literature. Guido lives in London with his wife and children. In his spare time, he likes to play tennis.
