Asset class
Structured products in United Kingdom
A structured product sold in the United Kingdom is rarely a direct claim against one entity. It is usually a policy or a note issued outside the UK, wrapped for distribution through a UK adviser or platform. The investor's contract sits with the issuer; the assets backing it may sit with a custodian in a different jurisdiction again. When payment stops, the first question is not who sold the product but which of these layers actually failed, and where that layer is legally located.
Register and custody layer
Two registers usually sit behind a structured product: the register of policyholders or noteholders kept by the issuer, and the custody record showing where the underlying assets are actually held. These are not always in the same jurisdiction as the seller. Many insurance-wrapped products sold in the UK are issued through vehicles domiciled elsewhere, which changes both the applicable law and the enforcement route, including cases running from the UK toward a Malta-domiciled issuer. Which entity actually holds the assets, not which entity signed the sale, decides who can be pursued. A separate note explains how to identify the real counterparty. The mechanics of this asset class are set out on the structured products hub.
The document rarely handed over
Investors typically receive a key information document, a policy schedule, or a marketing brochure at the point of sale. What they rarely receive is the custody statement: the record showing which institution held the underlying assets on the date the product was issued, and whether that holding changed before payments stopped. Without that statement, it is not possible to establish whether the failure originated with the issuer, the custodian, or a fund manager sitting behind both. A companion piece sets out which paperwork is usually missing from the investor's file and why requesting it is the first step, not the last.
What belongs in a pre-deal report
A pre-deal report for a structured product held through the UK should confirm, at minimum:
- the identity and domicile of the issuing entity, as distinct from the UK distributor or adviser
- where the register of holders is maintained and under which law it is governed
- the identity of the custodian holding the underlying assets at the relevant date
- whether the transaction documents were legalised for cross-border use; for the UK, an apostille under the 1961 Convention applies, subject to the reservation on record for this jurisdiction [N403]
- whether a statutory or treaty route for enforcement exists between the UK and the issuer's jurisdiction, confirmed case by case rather than assumed from a general list
This is the file that should exist before any recovery step is taken, and before any fee is paid to someone offering to obtain it. Where a firm is already asking for payment, verifying who is actually handling the file is a reasonable precondition. A paid preliminary assessment does not estimate the outcome; it establishes which of these points already have an answer and which do not, working from documents the investor already holds, reviewed against the record before anything further is sent. Related failures in payment and redemption are addressed separately on the payment and redemption defaults page.