Credit Linked Notes – Where Yield Meets Risk (and a Lot of Legal Paperwork)

Bonds are fine – steady, predictable, polite. But if you want something a bit more exciting (and don’t mind a bit of legal risk on the side), a Credit Linked Note might just be your thing.

They look like ordinary bonds, but with one key difference: your return doesn’t just depend on the issuer – it also hangs on whether a separate company or country runs into financial trouble. If all stays calm, you earn a higher rate of interest. If not, you could be left sharing in someone else’s bad news.