CARRIE JOE CARRIE Come on! What’s going on? People need to get to work! JOE Hang on... Isn’t there a protest on today? Something about pensions... CARRIE Really? I've actually already started thinking about my pension. You have to plan ahead, retirement will come quicker than you think! JOE And there are different ways of going about it. Structured products are a good option. CARRIE Huh? What’s a structured product? Kind of sounds like a skin product. JOE Actually, it’s a bit like sunscreen. You can enjoy the sun while blocking harmful UV rays. Structured products allow you to invest in, say, shares and be protected against volatility on the financial markets in the long run. They’re made up of different types of investment vehicles - bonds and equity - as well as derivatives that will protect your investment against a fall in share prices or interest rates. It’s a way of better managing your investment risk and gives you more flexibility to sustain your wealth. CARRIE Sustain?! You mean protect, right? I've never heard of any of this. JOE That's because most of the time structured products are part of our life insurance policies or the likes. Through these policies we can invest in attractive asset classes, like corporate bonds or emerging market equity, that would otherwise be difficult for individual customers like us to access. But it also means you can benefit from market rallies and be protected against market lows. CARRIE So, we’re talking about magic. JOE No magic involved. You know how with communicating vessels the water level is always even? Well in this case, instead of being exposed to the full range of market highs and lows, you’re protected against the lows and, in exchange, don’t get the full benefit of the highs. It’s as simple as that. CARRIE In that case, why don’t pension funds invest in structured products? JOE Actually, they do. But there’s no miracle answer, and structured products aren’t in unlimited supply either, otherwise we’d know about it! CARRIE OK... but you’ve invested in structured products, right? JOE No, but I intend to. I just haven’t got round to it. It’s at the top of my list though! You know what they say about cobblers’ children being the worst shod... A bit like you, come to think about it: how’s the job hunt coming along? CARRIE Oh, just fine. I'm just going at my pace... JOE Riiiight. Got it. Each at their own pace. Well don’t pull a muscle or anything!