Foundations of Finance - The Structured Scoop

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Foundations of Finance

A collection of 20 posts

Disclosure in Bond Markets: The Art of Telling All (and Not Getting Sued)

Disclosure in Bond Markets: The Art of Telling All (and Not Getting Sued)

If you’ve ever been to a dinner party where someone insists on chewing your ear off with their life story, you’ll know that too much information can be… well, a lot. In the bond markets, however, oversharing isn’t just polite – it’s the law. This article looks

Bond Covenants – Why Investors Don’t Just Cross Their Fingers

Bond Covenants – Why Investors Don’t Just Cross Their Fingers

Handing over money to a company without rules attached is a bit like lending your flatmate cash for “the food shop” and discovering they’ve bought a jet ski instead. Bondholders aren’t daft, so they insist on covenants – promises and restrictions buried in bond documents that keep issuers from

Benchmarks and the Law: Why Indices Have Their Own Rulebook

Benchmarks and the Law: Why Indices Have Their Own Rulebook

In our recent article on indices, we called them the quiet heroes of finance – the numbers that quietly decide whether your portfolio is soaring or sulking. But when an index graduates to “benchmark” status, things get serious. What looks like a harmless figure on Bloomberg suddenly comes with lawyers, regulators

Who Guards the Guardians? The Depositary in UK UCITS Funds

Foundations of Finance

Who Guards the Guardians? The Depositary in UK UCITS Funds

In our earlier article on UCITS in the UK, we looked at what makes these funds tick. Today we turn to one of the most important – and least glamorous – characters: the depositary. If UCITS were a theatre production, the fund manager would be the star on stage, the investors the

The VIX Files: Reading the Market’s Mood Swings

The VIX Files: Reading the Market’s Mood Swings

If the financial world had a mood ring, it would be the VIX. Known formally as the CBOE Volatility Index, the VIX doesn’t tell us whether markets are going up or down – it tells us how nervous investors are about what’s coming next. Consider it the financial world&

Guarantees in Securitisation: A Legal Safety Net (With Strings Attached)

Guarantees in Securitisation: A Legal Safety Net (With Strings Attached)

“If they don’t pay, I will.” That, in a nutshell, is a guarantee under English law – a promise by one party (the guarantor) to step in if another party (the principal obligor) fails to do what they said they’d do. Usually, that’s handing over money – but it

Picking a Corporate Vehicle: Not Just a Matter of Taste

Picking a Corporate Vehicle: Not Just a Matter of Taste

Ltd, LLP, CIC, CIO – the UK loves an acronym almost as much as it loves a well organised queue. But behind each of these lies a different type of legal structure, each with its own quirks, perks and pitfalls. Picking the right one isn’t just a box-ticking exercise for

Gilt Trip – A Beginner’s Guide to UK Government Bonds

Gilt Trip – A Beginner’s Guide to UK Government Bonds

Gilts might sound a bit old-fashioned – and in fairness, the name does come from a time when bonds were printed on paper with gold trim – but while the gold’s long gone, gilts remain one of the most important building blocks in the UK financial system. In this article, we’

Securing the Bag – A Guide to English Law Security Interests in Structured Finance

Securing the Bag – A Guide to English Law Security Interests in Structured Finance

When it comes to structured finance, one thing matters almost as much as the assets themselves: making sure they’re safely set aside and can’t be claimed by someone else if the borrower goes under. That’s where the security package comes in – not bouncers at the door kind,

What Makes a Receivable... Receivable?

What Makes a Receivable... Receivable?

Or: When “Pay Me” Isn’t Legally Binding Let’s set the scene. You’ve delivered the goods, sent the invoice, maybe even thrown in a “Please pay within 30 days or I’ll cry”. But in the eyes of English law, is that enough? Can you really treat that

Sovereign Immunity: When Your Counterparty Can Say “No Thanks” to Court

Sovereign Immunity: When Your Counterparty Can Say “No Thanks” to Court

The Limits of Legal Protection Securitisation deals are built on one comforting assumption: if someone doesn’t do what they’re supposed to, you can take them to court and sort it out – sue, enforce, maybe even seize an account or two. But that assumption starts to wobble when one

What Is an Index?

What Is an Index?

Or, why your pension, portfolio, and that friend who always checks the FTSE before checking the weather all care deeply about the FTSE 100. You’ve probably heard the word index thrown around in financial circles – often with great seriousness and a furrowed brow. “The index is down today,” someone

So… What Are “The Markets” Anyway?

So… What Are “The Markets” Anyway?

Every time a politician frowns at a graph, a journalist panics on the evening news, or your mate down the pub says, “the markets didn’t like that,” you might find yourself wondering - who are these mysterious markets, and why are they always so moody? In this article, we’

Registered vs Bearer Notes: A Tale of Two Titles

Registered vs Bearer Notes: A Tale of Two Titles

So, What Are We Talking About? In the glitzy world of debt instruments – yes, we said glitzy, don’t laugh – there are two headline acts: registered notes and bearer notes. One likes keeping tabs. The other prefers to ghost you. This article lifts the lid on why both types exist,

Credit Ratings: Your Financial Report Card (But with Fewer Gold Stars)

Credit Ratings: Your Financial Report Card (But with Fewer Gold Stars)

Let’s talk credit ratings – the slightly terrifying, often misunderstood scorecards that tell the financial world whether you're a top-tier borrower or a walking default risk. They’re like a school report for companies, except the teachers are rating agencies and the detention is much more expensive. Whether

Custody of Assets: Or Why Your Shares Shouldn’t Live Under Your Mattress

Custody of Assets: Or Why Your Shares Shouldn’t Live Under Your Mattress

Custody. Not the kind where you argue over who gets the dog at weekends, but the financial kind. A dry term, you might think – but behind it lies a whole world of safes, spreadsheets, and some very serious people making sure your assets don’t mysteriously vanish like your concentration

Cross-Border Security: What You Need to Know (Before It All Unravels)

Cross-Border Security: What You Need to Know (Before It All Unravels)

This is a long one - and with good reason. Cross-border security might sound like a niche technicality, but it’s a key part of structured finance and securitisation, and it comes with more complications than a budget airline refund policy. Whether you’re dealing with assets overseas, foreign law

Understanding UCITs in the UK

Understanding UCITs in the UK

The regulated funds quietly powering millions of investment portfolios – without the fanfare or the drama. You’ve probably come across UCITs, whether you realised it or not. They’re in your pension, your ISA, your wealth manager’s carefully prepared pie chart – yet somehow they manage to fly under the

The Basics of Clearing and Settlement

The Basics of Clearing and Settlement

How to Move Trillions Without Anyone Crying, Screaming or Calling in the Legal Team They rarely get the glory but clearing and settlement are the difference between a functioning financial system and a very expensive shouting match. These two unsung heroes are the reason securities change hands safely, silently, and

Signed, Sealed… Not Quite Delivered: A Guide to Term Sheets

Signed, Sealed… Not Quite Delivered: A Guide to Term Sheets

If you’ve read enough of our articles, you’ll know we’re partial to a bit of imaginative scene-setting. So today, friends, let’s imagine you’re building a house (and no, Kevin McCloud and the Grand Designs crew are nowhere to be seen). Before you break ground, order