The UK Structured Products Association, formed two years ago to lobby for the sector, has elected Jamie Smith, head of distribution at Lloyds Banking Group, as chairman. He takes over from James Harrington, of Legal and General.

Smith will hold the role until the end of next year, the association, which was founded in 2009, said in a statement.

“The members of the association all agree that more can, and should, be done to educate intermediaries and investors, and the UK SPA will seek to drive this education leading up to the implementation of the Retail Distribution Review,” Smith said.

“Part of this drive involves working closely with the European Structured Products Association and the Swiss Structured Products Association to ensure that there is interaction and consistency across Europe.”

The SPA was set up in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, when one of the leading firms constructing these investment vehicles, Lehman Brothers, went bankrupt. There has been a recovery since, with a number of firms, such as Barclays Wealth, issuing products that are designed to shield investors against stock market volatility.

Members of the SPA include Credit Suisse, Citi, Lloyds Banking Group, Deutsche Bank, Royal Bank of Scotland and Morgan Stanley.