Riskier investment products re-issued by Barclays

News - Banking

Written by Ray Clancy

Tuesday, 09 March 2010 09:10

Barclays Wealth is reissuing its popular core range of products for investors willing to accept an element of risk to their capital, the bank has announced.
The range includes the popular six year Regular Income Bond, a FTSE 100-linked product that offers an annual income of 6% or a monthly income of 0.4875%. Although advisors point out that investors’ capital is at risk if at any time during the term the FTSE falls by 50% and remains lower than its starting level at maturity. If this does occur, capital will be lost on a 1:1 basis.

Also reissued is the Super Tracker which offers a five and a three year option for investors. The five year offers four times the first 16% rise in the FTSE 100 up to a maximum of 64%. The three year option offers investors two times the first 15% rise in the FTSE up to a maximum of 30%. It comes with the same risk warning.

‘With many still doubting the strength of the recovery, investors are looking for attractive returns in potentially low growth markets either in the form of fixed income, as with the Regular Income Bond, or through products that offer returns for small rises in the FTSE, as with the Super trackers,’ said Lisa Chaudhuri, vice president, Barclays Wealth.

‘The potential of getting capital fully returned at maturity providing the FTSE has not suffered a significant fall is also an attractive prospect for investors,’ she added.

Meanwhile Edinburgh based investment management group Baillie Gifford & Co has changed the name change of the Baillie Gifford Income Fund to the Baillie Gifford Global Income Fund.

The Fund, which now includes global investments, will be managed by Dominic Neary with the aim of obtaining a yield higher than that generally available from investment in global equities whilst, over the longer term, achieving growth in both capital and income.

The Fund will invest principally in equities worldwide but may also invest in convertibles and fixed and floating rate debt instruments from time to time.

‘This move is about meeting the needs of the long-term investor for real growth in capital and income. A globally invested portfolio offers greater diversification at a time when UK long-run real income growth is likely to lag behind global growth rates. Emerging markets are a particularly interesting area for long-term income investors and one where we expect growth to exceed that of the rest of the world,’ said Ken Edwards, Head of Intermediary Sales at Baillie Gifford.