In structured products, investors naturally focus on payoffs such as yield, barriers, and defined outcomes at first glance. But behind every structure sits a more fundamental consideration: issuer risk.
Balance sheet resilience, liquidity maintained well in excess of regulatory requirements, and disciplined risk governance play a decisive role in how structured products perform across market cycles. For investors allocating capital through notes, issuer selection should not be an afterthought; it is part of portfolio construction.
Starting with risk, not returns
A common misconception is that structured products begin with yield. In reality, the starting point is risk.
Before any payoff is designed, the question is: what risks are being taken on, how are they managed, and how does the structure behave under stress? Hedging is only one part of the answer. Effective risk management also means anticipating extreme scenarios, understanding correlations, and ensuring governance frameworks are robust before markets move.
This philosophy directly influences how products are designed. The objective is not just to offer an attractive payoff, but to build structures that remain resilient when conditions change.
A different issuer model
Marex operates under a different model from the traditional commercial and investment banks.
As a non-bank issuer, Marex is not constrained by internal research agendas, balance-sheet optimisation incentives, or product inventory pressure. That independence allows structured solutions to be built around client constraints — whether those relate to yield targets, capital protection, regulatory treatment, or timing — rather than around issuer convenience.
From a client perspective, this means structures are designed to solve problems, not to fit a predefined product shelf.
Diversification at the group level
Issuer resilience is also shaped by diversification.
Structured products represent a portion of Marex’s overall activities, alongside commodities, clearing, prime services, and derivatives. This multi-asset footprint means the group’s revenues and risk exposures are not concentrated in a single market or strategy. A significant share of Marex’s revenues is generated through execution, clearing, and client facilitation, rather than balance-sheet driven lending or proprietary trading.
This fee-based model supports performance across different market environments. Activity tends to increase in strong markets as volumes rise, but it is also sustained during periods of volatility, when clients are actively managing risk. As a result, the business is not dependent on a single cycle or directional outcome.
For investors, that diversification matters. Just as portfolios are diversified across assets, regions, and currencies, issuer diversification helps reduce concentration and same-way risk. A broader business base supports balance-sheet stability through different market environments.
Beyond standard structures
Autocallables are often an entry point into structured products, but they are not where differentiation ends.
Where Marex Financial Products’ model adds particular value is in areas that require flexibility and specialised risk management:
- Credit-linked notes, where active credit trading and name-specific expertise matter
- Crypto-linked structures, where volatility, liquidity, and hedging dynamics require discipline
- Options on funds, an area where standard bank platforms often struggle to offer efficient or flexible solutions
In these areas, structures are built around portfolios rather than tickers. The focus is on how a solution fits within an investor’s existing exposures, not on packaging a single market view
Regional demand and global access
Across regions, investor appetite is not driven by yield alone. It reflects how clients choose to take risk in the current market environment.
While local markets may offer attractive carry and supportive conditions, this can also lead to concentration in a single region, currency, or economic cycle. Structured products offer an efficient way to access international themes and diversify exposures without materially changing a client’s overall risk profile.
This becomes particularly relevant when certain opportunities, such as global technology, AI, healthcare, or credit dispersion, are not available locally at sufficient scale.
Scale with discipline
Marex’s issuance activity is supported by an established balance sheet and a significant volume of outstanding products across listed and OTC formats. This scale reinforces confidence, but it is paired with discipline.
Risk governance, hedging frameworks, liquidity management, and capital oversight are designed to operate to the highest institutional standards, with capital and liquidity maintained well in excess of regulatory requirements. The objective is not growth for its own sake, but consistency, resilience, and long-term credibility as an issuer.
Issuer choice as part of portfolio construction
Ultimately, structured products are tools. Their effectiveness depends not only on how they are engineered, but on who stands behind them.
Issuer choice affects pricing, transparency, liquidity, and lifecycle support. In that context, Marex’s non-bank model, diversified business, and risk-first approach offer investors an alternative way to access structured solutions — one built around flexibility, discipline, and alignment with client needs.
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