Investec's banking and treasury services arm in London is researching the U.K. investment products market with a view to ramping up its future issuance. The group recently distributed a commodity-linked product it structured with Barclays Capital and has structured bespoke deals for clients on a one-off basis. Elan Mansur, an official in the banking and treasury division, said it is talking to other counterparties as well as considering structuring products itself.
Investec is consulting intermediaries to discuss what underlyings and wrappers it will use. The tax-efficiency of the wrapper is very important, said Mansur. "We are coming to the conclusion that the underlying asset class doesn't matter," said Mansur, "All that's important is the wrapper." If Investec finds it can offer products that will be attractive to clients and different to other structures on offer in the U.K. it will enter the market.
