Structured Products We Handle
Principal-Protected Notes
'Protected' only at maturity, and only if the issuing bank stays solvent. The 2023 Credit Suisse wipeout showed what 'protected' can really mean.
What it is
A principal-protected note (PPN) promises to return your original investment — but the protection comes with two large asterisks. First, principal is typically returned only if you hold to maturity; sell early and the protection may not apply. Second, and more importantly, the 'protection' is only as good as the bank that issued the note. A PPN is an unsecured obligation of the issuer. If the issuer fails, the protection can vanish.
How it's sold
The word 'protected' is doing enormous work in the sales pitch. Conservative investors hear it and reasonably conclude their capital is safe, sometimes equating these notes with insured deposits. The structure is sold as upside participation with no downside — a story that is only true under specific conditions that are rarely emphasized.
What goes wrong
When an issuer's credit deteriorates, the value of its 'protected' notes can collapse well before maturity — and at maturity the promise is only worth what a troubled issuer can actually pay. The 2023 collapse of Credit Suisse is the cautionary tale: roughly $17 billion of the bank's 'additional tier 1' instruments were written down to zero overnight when it was taken over. Those particular instruments were complex bank-capital securities rather than retail principal-protected notes, but the lesson is the same one regulators keep emphasizing — a reassuring label does not remove issuer and structure risk, and instruments that sound safe can still go to zero.
What a claim might look like
Claims frequently arise where the issuer's credit risk was downplayed or omitted, where the limits of 'protection' (maturity-only, issuer-dependent) were not explained, or where the note was sold to an investor who expressly wanted FDIC-like safety. Concentration in a single issuer's notes is another common and aggravating problem.
Other Structured Products We Handle
Auto-Callable Notes
High coupons that look like income — until the note is called early and your upside is capped while your downside isn't.
Learn moreWorst-Of Notes
Your return depends on the worst performer of several assets — marketed as diversification, but it's the opposite. FINRA is reviewing these in 2026.
Learn moreReverse Convertibles
A high coupon that can pay you back in depreciated stock instead of cash — effectively a sold put option dressed up as a bond.
Learn moreSteepeners
Interest tied to the spread between long- and short-term rates. When the yield curve flattened and inverted, these got crushed.
Learn moreMarket-Linked CDs
They look like FDIC-insured CDs, but only the principal is insured — the equity-linked returns are not. Sold to investors expecting CD-like safety.
Learn more
Talk to a structured products attorney — for free
Find out whether you have a claim in a free, confidential case evaluation. There is no obligation, and you pay no attorneys' fees unless we recover for you.*