Barclays Capital launches Eco Trio, FTSE100 deposit accounts

Barclays Capital, the investment banking division of Barclays PLC, has launched the ‘Structured Deposit Series for Offshore Bonds’ with two new deposit accounts: The Ecological Trio Deposit Account and The Five Year Guaranteed FTSE 100 Deposit Account, available up to April 28.

The Ecological Trio offers protected exposure to a basket of three ecological funds: Pioneer Funds – Global Ecology; KBC Eco Fund – Water; and Vontobel Fund – Global Trend New Power. The Five Year Guaranteed FTSE 100 Deposit Account provides exposure to the FTSE 100 Index.

Access to the deposits is via most offshore life bond providers, with the brochures and fact sheets available for download from www.BarclaysOffshoreSolutions.com .

“We’ve recently seen a significant shift in focus towards climate change and wider ecological themes reflected in regular press coverage, governmental policy change and increasingly in investment products that contribute to increased sustainability,” said David Macdonald, Director, Barclays Capital.

“Strong investment flows, wider awareness and favourable regulation now make many of the companies in the environmental and ecological sectors great opportunities for the equity investor.”

“This year we’ve observed the launch of many new funds seeking to benefit from the huge growth within these sectors. For example, New Energy Finance recently reported a 41% increase in new money invested in the clean energy sector in 2007 ($117 bln), and Ernst & Young estimated that annual global investment in renewable energy will reach $750 bln by 2016.”

Requiring a minimum investment of GBP 50,000 or USD 75,000 for the Ecological Trio Deposit Account, or GBP50,000 for the Five Year Guaranteed FTSE 100 Deposit Account, investors are guaranteed a full return of their initial capital investment, provided the product is held until its full five-year maturity.