European equities slumped in 2018, with the Euro Stoxx 50 index dropping nearly 10% year-to-date – a near two-year low. Despite attractive valuations and a solid earnings growth outlook, greater exposure to emerging markets and political uncertainty in the Eurozone have left the market without a catalyst to inspire investors to look for significant upside.

Nonetheless, concentrated exposure to Asia emerging markets and growth stocks such as tech-related US equities have expedited the need for regional HNWIs to further diversify their portfolios, particularly in a year like 2018 where returns and market direction have experienced meaningful divergence.

European equity investors continue to seek defensive solutions to maintain exposure to the market while protecting on the downside through a range of payoff structures, including fixed coupon notes (FCNs) and partial principal protected notes (PPNs) with a wide variety of tweaks to further adjust for dented risk appetites in Asia.

Private banks in Asia have recognised Societe Generale’s established, market-leading position for the asset class, driven by strong expertise and access to its headquarters in Paris and European trading platform.

“By leveraging on our extensive European platform, we have been able to consistently provide our clients with real-time market trends, in-depth research, and attractive product offerings while ensuring that we have a robust risk management and recycling mechanism,” said Tammy Fu, director cross-asset distribution sales, private banks for global markets at Societe Generale in Hong Kong.

“As we head into 2019 with greater uncertainty, our focus and mission remain unchanged – to stay close to our clients, anticipate their needs, and continue to provide innovative and attractive solutions.”

A late-stage economic cycle is rapidly driving Asian wealth into a wider universe of markets, and growing exposure to Europe within private banks’ books has been evident not only in capital markets businesses but in other types of investment platforms. As a leader in structured products, Societe Generale has been keen to introduce and push products that not only generate innovative payoffs but also offer diversification across regions and asset classes. The bank is well positioned to continue reaping the benefits of greater diversification by Asian HNWIs and this has not gone unnoticed by gatekeepers which selected the bank as the Best Structured Product Provider – European Equities for the second year in a row.