The UK structured product industry is to be represented by a trade lobby group, after a year in which an expanding structured investment market has faced growing criticsm.

The UK Structured Product Association has been founded to represent the industry’s interests to the wider investment community, using its member companies to offer advice and comment on market issues.

Although a lucrative and growing market, the association’s founding members believe it is misunderstood by its detractors. The structured products market covers billions of pounds in assets, yet the collapse of Lehman Brothers, a bond issuer and guarantor of investor’s capital, and the subsequent demise of several structured product providers following a critical FSA review of the industry, means the industry continues to attract criticism.

“The association is a voice for the structured product industry - it can represent the industry in response to both negative and positive headlines. Now we have a loud voice with which we can shout back,” Adrian Neave, managing director of Gilliat Financial Solutions, told WealthBriefing.

The Association is also creating a committee for independent plan managers and distributors. The committee, includes Jubilee Financial Products, Meteor Asset Management and Walker Crips Structured Investments, as well as Gilliat.

“While we deal with retail investors day by day, for some banks, we are the client… The banks involved in the association came to us stating the need for input from the independent side of the industry,” said Mr Neave.

The association's founding members are drawn from the retail and private markets. They are: Citi, Credit Suisse, Legal & General, Morgan Stanley, Prudential, Royal Bank of Scotland, Santander and Skandia.

Although it is the first body to represent the structured products industry in the UK, the association will work alongside the Association of Independent Financial Advisers (AIFA) and the European Structured Investment Product Association (EUSIPA).