Barclays Stockbrokers is so confident that UK blue-chip stocks will rise that it has has launched a five-year investment product based on the FTSE 100 Index.

Based on the results of an online poll, nearly half (48 per cent) of investors believe the FTSE will begin to recover in the next six months, and nearly a third believe it will happen in a year.

Barclays Stockbrokers is launching its FTSE 100 Defined Returns Investment Note which enables investors to receive a defined return of 13.5 per cent for each year that the plan is in force even if the FTSE 100 index does not rise significantly. The note automatically matures on the first anniversary where the FTSE 100 index is at the same level or higher than the initial index level.

If the note has not previously automatically matured, it offers 100 per cent return of capital unless the FTSE 100 Index has fallen by more than 50 per cent during the term and the Final Index Level of the FTSE 100 is lower than the Initial Index Level at maturity. In that case investors will receive a 1 per cent reduction in capital for each 1 per cent that the index is below the starting level.

The note is available exclusively from Barclays Stockbrokers until 17 February 2009, with the opportunity to invest from £500 ($720).

Although the note has a maximum term of five years, an automatic early maturity feature may lead to the investment coming to an end on any of the four anniversaries prior to the end of the five year investment period. Should the Investment Note redeem early, investors will receive the total nominal value along with a return of 13.5 per cent multiplied by the number of years the note has been in force.