Simmons & Simmons Advises on Boost ETP Securities Programme

Simmons & Simmons has advised Boost, a new independent Exchange Traded Products (“ETPs”) provider, on the establishment of a collateralised ETP securities programme (the “Boost Programme”).

Under the Boost Programme, Boost Issuer PLC (the “Issuer”), an Irish incorporated special purpose vehicle company, will issue collateralised exchange traded securities linked to indices providing investors with exposure to a range of asset classes, including equities and commodities.

Boost is a start-up, and is one of the only independent product providers in the ETP space. Each class of ETPs issued under the Boost Programme is synthetically linked to the performance of an underlying index through a swap transaction entered into by the Issuer with a swap provider (initially, BNP Paribas Arbitrage S.N.C.). The Programme is designed for pan-European offerings of ETPs. Initially the Programme and the first 20 classes of ETP Securities issued under the programme are listed on the London Stock Exchange. The base prospectus provides for the further passporting of the Programme into other EU jurisdictions.

The Simmons & Simmons team was led by Capital Markets partner Ian Sideris, and included Tax partner Mark Sheiham and Regulatory partner Jonathan Melrose and Capital Markets associates Robert Howarth, Eucharia Tattan and Mark Watterson.

Commenting on the transaction, Ian Sideris said: “The Boost Programme is a new landmark in the exchange traded product market. It has a number of innovative features that set it apart from other programmes in the market. Against a structured securities market background, which has been under considerable regulatory scrutiny and suffered from a lack of investor interest since the 2008 financial crisis, ETPs, and their close relation ETFs, have been asset classes that have garnered a great deal of market attention and have seen considerable investor appetite over the last couple of years. The Boost Programme is partly a response to that market demand.”

http://www.simmons-simmons.com/en/News/2013/01-Jan/Boost-ETP-Securities…