Page 72 - 期货和衍生品行业监管动态（2024年4月）

期货和衍生品行业监管动态

structured products, have leverage features which could amplify potential losses.

Structured products were the most prevalent type of non-exchange traded

investment products sold by intermediaries. Among the structured products,

accumulators and decumulators were the most popular products sold. [2] Accumulators

and decumulators are derivative products associated with significant investment risks.

Investors typically risk a loss up to the notional amount of the contracts, and could

only achieve positive returns if the price of the underlying asset moves within the

defined range between the strike price and the knock-out price that was set to limit the

maximum amount of profit. The loss could be unlimited in some cases, for example,

where the investors of decumulators have to bear the loss when the price of the

underlying asset goes up.

Clients would not be able to understand the characteristics of accumulators and

decumulators should the intermediaries merely hand over the product literature to the

client, ask the client to read them, or read them to the client without any explanation.

In one case, a salesperson was unable to explain why investors could buy shares at a

price lower than the market price with an accumulator contract. He could only read

out the value of its “discount” compared to market price, its knock-out clauses and

potential losses from the relevant term sheet. It is therefore imperative for
intermediaries to develop thorough understanding of structured products during PDD

and provide adequate training to staff to ensure that they are fully conversant with the

characteristics, nature and extent of risks of the products recommended to clients.

Intermediaries are reminded to exercise due skill, care and diligence in selecting

investment products for different risk categories of clients and arrive at an assessment

of the products taking into account information that is appropriate and reasonably

available for a fair and balanced assessment. Failure to do so could severely inhibit

intermediaries’ ability in helping clients to make an informed investment decision.

The regulators also wish to remind all intermediaries of their obligations to,

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