Principal Protected Note
The PPN is a form of note that has the primary protection that it comes with. In recent years, this kind of investment instrument has increased in popularity. Principal protection is also described as capital assurance, total return, and minimum yield. The term "principal protection" means your investment is safe from losses resulting from the market. They typically pay an income that is tied to market conditions. When an investment earns a return linked to the market, it has an investment return that is tied with the results of other assets.
These types of investments typically have fixed time frames. PPNs can provide a total or partial return on the principal on their expiration date. However, contrary to popular belief, PPNs don't come with a 100% risk-free guarantee even though they're intended to be used by risk-averse investors. Although the investment's return is guaranteed, it isn't always a guarantee. The PPN won't pay out if the company that issued the PPN is bankrupt.
Regulation and Disclosure
In comparison to bonds and stocks, Notes are more complex investments with embedded options, and their performance is dependent on the investment linked to them. These characteristics could make the value of a bond difficult to evaluate and may hinder its value. Due to this, regulators have expressed their concern that investors in the retail market, especially those with less experience, aren't aware of the dangers associated with buying notes. Regulators like The National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) and the Canadian Securities Administrators highlighted the necessity of due diligence for the note's seller and buyer.
Numerous Fees
Notes are managed-investment products, and as with any managed product, there are costs. Logically, the costs for a note will be higher than bonds, stocks, or mutual funds as the main guarantee is purchasing insurance. Insurance premiums are the loss of interest by buying notes, not the interest-paying security. Alongside the insurance cost, there are many other implicit or implicit costs.
There's no reason to be concerned about every fee; however, understanding the sum paid for fees is vital since it will eat away at the potential returns. However, it's not always feasible to determine the total cost. For instance, when you have notes linked to commodities, built on a constant proportion of portfolio insurance (CPPI), strategy fees for trading depend on the currency's fluctuation. This is among the challenges of the investment process with notes.
Interest Rate Risk
The changes in interest rates could significantly influence the value of the note's net assets (NAV). In the case of a note built on the bond structure of zero-coupon, the rate of interest at the date of the issue determines the cost of the insurance; it is a zero-coupon bond. If the note has 8 years, if the annual rate of interest is 5percent, the price of the zero-coupon bonds would be $67.68 for each $100 face which leaves $28.32 after the commission of 4% ($100 - $4 - $67.68 ) to buy options. If the interest rate were at 3%, the zero-coupon bond would price at $78.94 per $100 of face value giving $17.06 following commission ($100 - $4 - $78.94) to buy options. Once purchasing the bond, the interest rate will change. This will affect the value of the note when the price of the bond varies.
By the CPPI structure in the case of a note, the impact of changing interest rates is more complicated and not dependent upon the rate that was in effect at the date of the note's issue. The cost of insurance is contingent on the date when the rate change and how much it changes, and the impact of the changes in the rates on the underlying asset. For instance, if rates drop significantly at the beginning of the period, the bond price with no coupon will rise, this will reduce the cushion. If the increase in interest rates will also cause the worth of the base asset to decrease, then the cushion will also suffer a diminution.
Zero-Return Risk
The danger of a zero return means that you lose the power of purchasing and also real returns. The extent of each of them depends on the gap in the rate of interest and inflation rate, which prevails throughout the note period. To ensure that the note's purchasing power is maintained in the event of inflation at 2 percent per year, the investment of $100 should grow to $117.17 at the end of the eight years with an assumption of annual compounding. A $100 investment that earns the 5% interest rate could rise to $147.75 over eight years. In this case, the investor receives a nominal gain of $47.75. But, the actual return is just $30.58 ($147.75 - $117.17 = $30.58).
