The rise in popularity of listed products amongst financial planners and clients has been driven by a range of factors, including disappointing investment returns from traditional fund managers, pressure on fees, and the wave of new listed products which target the needs of the direct investor (and their adviser). At the crest of this wave are the multitude of hybrids issued by Australian companies as capital management tools.

Hybrids have been successfully issued since the early 1990’s and, in their most powerful form (the Converting Preference Share, or the Reset Convertible Preference Share), they provide a capital protected and yield enhanced invest...