How a structured product works: the Volkswagen case, step by step
Volkswagen has lost nearly 30% on the stock market. Yet the 242 investors in this product have received their coupon every month for almost three years. Let's follow this real case to understand the mechanism.
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Launched December 2023 · ongoingKey points
- The coupon does not depend on the shares going up, only on the -45% barrier being respected.
- The sector has suffered (Volkswagen -29.3%, Mercedes-Benz -26.5%), and yet 33 coupons out of 33 have been paid.
- Even at the June 2026 low, at -38.8%, the barrier was not breached.
- At maturity in December 2026, the capital remains exposed if one share falls below -45%.
01The set-up
A structured product is a type of investment you often hear mentioned without really understanding how it works. Rather than explaining it in theory, let's take a real case and follow it from launch to today.
In December 2023, Goliaths launched a product on a basket of three carmakers: Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz and Ford. As with any structured product, everything is set from the start and nothing changes afterwards. It pays a coupon of 9% per year, paid monthly, as long as a single condition is met: none of the three shares falls more than 45% below its level on launch day. This threshold is called the protection barrier. Term: 3 years, maturing in December 2026.
02What sets this apart from a classic investment
If you had simply bought these three shares directly, your gain or loss would depend solely on their stock-market price. Here, the coupon payment does not depend on the shares rising, but on one thing only: whether the -45% barrier has been breached or not. As long as it hasn't, the coupon is paid, whether the sector is doing well or badly.
03What has happened since launch
The car industry has been through a difficult period. Since launch, Volkswagen is down 29.3% and Mercedes-Benz down 26.5%. Anyone who had bought these shares directly would be sitting on a loss today.
The most critical moment came in June 2026, with a low of -38.8%. Painful to read, but still above the -45% threshold. The condition was therefore met, and that month's coupon was paid, like all the previous ones.
04The picture so far
Since launch, the product's 242 investors have received 33 coupons out of 33, without interruption. More than €12,300 has been distributed on €50,000 invested, i.e. 24.7% of the capital already recovered in cash, regardless of the share price.
05What remains to be watched
The product matures in December 2026. Two scenarios are possible, and both were known from day one.
The capital is repaid in full, on top of the coupons already received.
The protection no longer applies. Part of the capital may be lost, in line with the fall of the worst-performing share in the basket.
06What to take away
A structured product does not remove risk, it transforms it. The question is no longer whether the market will go up, but whether a precise threshold, known in advance, will be breached or not. It is this mechanism, not a promise of gains, that explains why this product keeps paying while its sector goes through a rough patch.
The risk hasn't disappeared: it has changed shape.
Want to know whether this type of product suits your profile?
A Goliaths adviser walks you through how structured products work and helps you work out whether they have a place in your portfolio.
