The second Swiss Structured Products Fair, jointly organised by Scoach Switzerland Ltd and the Swiss Structured Products Association SSPA, closed its doors on Friday evening. Some 3100 institutional and private investors attended the event on 23 and 24 October 2008 at the Kongresshaus in Zurich to learn first-hand about product trends and current developments in the market.
Exhibitors and organizers declared themselves satisfied with how the event had gone. «The fair was an ideal occasion for investors to obtain guidance just when they need it most», stated Marc Zahn, CEO of Scoach. Some 30 exhibitors introduced their existing products and new investment opportunities at their exhibition stands and also in educational and specialist presentations, all of which proved highly popular with visitors.
The roundtable discussions on the risks in the global financial markets and their consequences for Switzerland’s financial centre and its international competitive position attracted particularly keen interest. The podium speakers all agreed that trust and confidence cannot return to the capital markets until important questions about the future structure of the financial system and the approach to dealing with major risks have been answered. Talks by commodity expert Jim Rogers, who was presented by ABN AMRO Bank, Middle East expert Ulrich Tilgner and environment specialist Professor Klaus Toepfer were also very well received.
«We are firmly convinced that the fair is the right format for providing comprehensive information about structured products in a concise package», said Roger Studer, President of the SSPA. Next year’s Structured Products Fair takes place in October 2009 in the Kongresshaus Zurich.
