The figures presented by the life insurer last week showed that the expansion of commission-based business has paid off so far. Since the beginning of the year, Swiss Life has increased income from this business area by 13%. Thanks to the robust economic situation in Switzerland and the stable demand for real estate, Swiss Life has also been able to record appreciation gains on its properties - an important asset class for the company.

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Many of the quarterly results reported by European banks in recent weeks exceeded analysts' profit estimates. In particular, financial institutions from the euro zone were able to increase their profits noticeably in the third quarter. A key source of income for all universal and retail banks is the interest margin business, the profitability of which is significantly influenced by the general interest rate situation in the respective economic area.

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When the outlook from economic journalists is bleak and markets send mixed signals, it becomes more difficult to find attractive risk-return profiles, especially for risk-conscious investors.

In such situations, barrier reverse convertibles with defensive parameters may be suitable. The still elevated volatility provides attractive option premiums, while low barriers reduce the probability of a barrier hit event.

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The German stock index DAX was not spared losses this year either. Since the beginning of the year, the leading index has lost over 19%, reflecting the rather pessimistic outlook for the domestic economy. High energy prices are weighing on households as well as companies and their earnings, geopolitical upheavals are fuelling uncertainty.

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Some companies have been able to defy the more difficult conditions, one of them being the American mobile communications group T-Mobile. Compared to its main rivals Verizon (-12% YTD) and AT&T (0% YTD), the telecom company's stock is up over 26% year-to-date - not only impressive when compared within the sector, but also a strong performance across industries.

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One of the ways to mitigate the probability of a barrier event is to use "last look" BRCs. These have the characteristic that the barrier is not tested until the product expires. This means that the performance of the underlying stocks during the life of the product is irrelevant, regardless of whether they temporarily fall below the barrier. As long as all the underlying stocks are above the barrier at expiration, the investor gets back the entire capital invested - unlike with "classic" BRCs, where the barrier is continuously monitored.

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The Swiss stock market heavyweights Nestlé, Novartis and Roche together account for more than half of the weights of the leading SMI index. The implied volatility of these three stocks is generally well below the mean of the SMI stocks, suggesting relative price stability. This makes them popular underlyings for yield enhancement products.

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One of the most frequently observed key figures in investment decisions - in addition to fundamental data - is the (expected) dividend yield. It expresses how much dividend an individual share pays in relation to its price and is therefore a good way of comparing different shares. Investors naturally try to achieve the highest possible returns, which is why stocks with high dividends combined with an attractive share price and sound fundamentals are often convincing, especially in longer-term strategies.

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