Montreal, September 23, 2022 – For the 11th year in a row, Desjardins made its mark at the SRP Americas 2022 conference held September 15, 2022 by UK-based firm Structured Retail Products (SRP), bringing home for a third year in a row the top prize —the prestigious Best House, Canada—for its structured products.
"Winning the Best Manufacturer in Canada award for the third year in a row is the highest distinction awarded by the Structured Retail Products organization. This is a source of great pride and proves that our range of structured products meets the needs of members and clients." said Benoit Bélanger, Manager of Guaranteed Product Development and Financial Modelling at Desjardins Investment Inc. “This recognition acknowledges the sales volumes, yields paid and client satisfaction in the choice of the winner."
In addition to this prestigious award, Desjardins won two more awards yesterday at the inaugural SPi Canada 2022 Awards for Excellence: the “Best Private Bank” award and the “Best Sales” award. The first prize recognizes the financial institution that has distinguished itself the most in terms of yields paid, diversification offered, and sales made in 2021 for customized structured products tailored for high-net-worth clients. The second prize recognizes the best Structured Products sales in Canada.
“Desjardins reached 25 years of experience in developing structured products this year and has won 25 international awards. Backed by its experience and position as a leader1 in the structured products market in Canada, Desjardins aims to maintain its leadership and pursue its growth and development across Canada," said Mr. Bélanger.
About the two research companies
Structured Retail Products Ltd. is a UK-based research company that provides a wealth of in-depth information on all of the structured products that have been sold across 54 countries for the past 20 years. Their coverage encompasses over 30 million products. The Structured Retail Products Americas Awards are highly coveted industry awards that seek to recognize global leaders in the structured products industry.
Structured Products Intelligence (SPi) is part of the WSD Group, a London-based company that provides market intelligence, benchmark data, and lifecycle information for the structured products industry. The SPi will hold its first Canadian conference on September 21-22, 2022, with the goal of recognizing excellence amongst Canadian financial institutions offering structured products.
About structured products
Structured products can be broken down into two categories: market-linked guaranteed investments (MLGI), also called market-linked GICs in the banking world, and structured notes.
An MLGI is a term deposit, governed by the Deposit Insurance Act, which guarantees capital upon maturity, as well as guaranteed returns when applicable. The variable portion of the return is linked to market growth. This guaranteed investment, therefore, has a higher level of risk than traditional fixed-rate investments. At maturity, the variable return portion could be zero if the markets fared poorly, but any guaranteed interest will still be paid out. There is no way to predict what the return based on market performance will be until the maturity date. Guaranteed investments are not a direct investment in the securities that make up the variable return portion. This means clients are not entitled to the rights or benefits of a shareholder, including the right to receive distributions or dividends, or the right to vote or attend shareholder meetings.
Principal-protected notes: This is a debt instrument issued by a financial institution (Desjardins) with capital guaranteed at maturity. The return potential is higher than that of traditional fixed-income securities, thanks to market exposure through its diversified reference portfolio such as an index, a basket of securities, or an exchange traded funds (ETF). Notes can also be redeemed at any time under some conditions.
Non-principal protected notes: This is a debt instrument issued by a financial institution (Desjardins) with no capital guarantee. However, clients may benefit from different levels of protection at maturity. These notes have a higher return potential than principal-protected notes, as compensation for the different level of protection. The product also provides exposure to stock markets through a diversified reference portfolio. Notes can also be redeemed at any time under certain conditions.
The variable return of a Market-linked guaranteed investment (MLGI) may be nil at maturity. However, capital and annual guaranteed return, if applicable, are always guaranteed at maturity. Before investing, the investor should read the investment agreement.
An investment in principal protected notes (PPNs) may not be suitable for all investors. Important information about principal protected notes is contained in the Information Statement and the Oral Disclosure Document of each note. Investors are strongly encouraged to carefully read this documentation related to a note issuance before investing and to discuss the suitability of an investment in the notes with their investment advisor or dealer representative before making a decision. The documentation related to a notes issuance in particular is available on the summary page of that issuance. In the event of any inconsistencies or conflicts between this document and the Information Statement, the Information Statement governs. The offering and sale of notes may be prohibited or restricted by laws in certain jurisdictions in Canada and notes are not offered for sale outside Canada. Notes may only be purchased in the jurisdictions where they may be lawfully offered for sale and only through individuals duly registered and authorized to sell them. Past performance is not indicative of future performance. The return on principal protected notes is dependent on the change (which may be positive or negative) in value of the underlying assets during the term of the note and it is possible that there may be no interest payable to the investor. The return on a note cannot be established before maturity. Some notes may be subject to caps, participation rates and other limits which feed through to performance. The full principal amount of a principal protected note will be repaid at maturity only. An investment in notes is subject to certain risk factors. Please read the Information Statement and Oral Disclosure Document for complete details, including the precise formula for determining return on a note.
An investment in Non-principal protected notes (NPPNs) may not be suitable for all investors. The Notes differ from conventional debt and fixed income investments; repayment of the entire principal amount is not guaranteed (other than a minimum of 1% of the Principal Amount) and will be at risk. As a result, you could lose substantially all your investment in the Notes. The Notes entail downside risk and are not designed to be alternatives to conventional debt or fixed income investments or money market instruments. Important information about Non-principal protected notes is contained in the Base Shelf Prospectus, the Prospectus Supplement and the Pricing Supplement (collectively, the “Prospectus”) of the notes. Investors are strongly encouraged to carefully read this documentation related to a note issuance before investing and to discuss the suitability of an investment in the notes with their investment advisor or dealer representative before making a decision. The documentation related to a notes issuance in particular is available on the summary page of that issuance. In the event of any inconsistencies or conflicts between this document and the Prospectus, the Prospectus govern. The offering and sale of notes may be prohibited or restricted by laws in certain jurisdictions in Canada and notes are not offered for sale outside Canada. Notes may only be purchased in the jurisdictions where they may be lawfully offered for sale and only through individuals duly registered and authorized to sell them. Past performance is not indicative of future performance. The return on Non-principal protected notes is dependent on the change (which may be positive or negative) in value of the underlying assets during the term of the note and it is possible that there may be no interest payable to the investor. The return on a note cannot be established before maturity. Some notes may be subject to caps, thresholds, participation rates and other charasteristics which may be reflected in the performance. Since the Notes are not protected and the Principal Amount will be at risk, it is possible that you could lose some or substantially all of your original investment in the Notes. An investment in notes is subject to certain risk factors. Please read the Prospectus for complete details, including the precise formula for determining return on a note.
The PPNs and NPPNs (collectively, the Notes) will not constitute deposits that are insured under the Deposit Institutions and Deposit Protection Act (Québec), the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation Act or under any other deposit insurance regime.
For more information (media inquiries only):
Public Relations
Desjardins Group
514-281-7000, ext. 5553436
media@desjardins.com
1. According to the Deposit Advisory Service—Canada, Investor Economics, Spring 2022.