10:10 Plan matures with 105.75% gain

By: Ian Lowes

The longest running retail autocall matured on 7^th April 2026 returning 105.75% gain over 9 years.

I have long subscribed to the firmly held – and I believe well‑proven – view that you simply cannot time the markets. None of us truly knows what will happen tomorrow, next month, or next year. This is one of the key reasons why I so strongly stand by the strategy that The 10:10 Plan represents. And the latest maturity provides one of the clearest illustrations of why.

In early 2015, after briefly climbing above its previous all‑time high – set some 15 years earlier – the FTSE 100 moved beyond 7,000 points, only to fall back sharply during a period dominated by concerns over China, US interest rate policy and a renewed Greek debt crisis. The index slumped towards the 5,500 level before later recovering and settling back above 7,000 in late 2016. By the time the April 2017 10:10 Plan commenced the FTSE stood at 7,349.47.

As with all 10:10 Plans, the April 2017 edition offered a range of options, each with its own early maturity trigger level, influencing how soon – and how likely – an early maturity might be. The adventurous choice, Option 3, offered a simple coupon of 11.75% for each year the Plan remained in force. It would mature on the first anniversary (from the third onwards) on which the FTSE closed above 8,084 points – 10% above the starting level.  Crucially, the Plan had up to ten years to achieve that hurdle.

For the first 34 months the FTSE was relatively benign, and two months before the first potential maturity date it was only 117 points above where it had started. Then came the pandemic driven market crash, which briefly pushed the FTSE below 5,000. An April 2020 maturity became highly unlikely – however, with a gain of 11.75% accruing each year, a delayed maturity was far from a bad outcome.

It took a further four years for the index to push confidently above 8,000. A 2025 maturity began to look probable, but the temporary trade‑driven market disruption in April that year caused another postponement – adding yet another 11.75% to the potential return. Early surrender outside of a triggered maturity was possible throughout the term and by way of an example, doing so in early December 2025 would have realised a gain of over 96%. Investors who let the Plan mature naturally ultimately benefited from a gain of 105.75% when maturity was triggered on the ninth anniversary; 7^th April 2026.

With a compound return achieved at maturity equating to 8.35% p.a. the result is very much in line with the annual returns historically delivered by the average 10:10 Plan maturity.  Admittedly, this did take 9 years to mature but with a 10% hurdle required it was always expected to take longer than the stepdown option, which matured on its fourth anniversary and the level option which matured on its fifth anniversary.

Markets will always surprise us, but well-designed investment structures should not. The 10:10 Plan delivered because it was built to.  Attempting to time markets isn’t possible, with long duration autocalls it isn’t necessary. 

The 10:10 Plan – April 2017 Option 3

The May 2026 Issue of the 10:10 Plan issued by Goldman Sachs has three options, all of which will mature on the first anniversary, from year three when maturity conditions are met:

Option 1: Step Down 102.5% to 82.5% – potential return 8.25% per year

Option 2: Level @ 100% – potential return 10% per year

Option 3: Hurdle @ 105% – potential return 11% per year

Maximum term 10 years – 70% capital protection barrier on final date if not matured earlier.

Details available at www.idad.co.uk, Autocalls.uk & StructuredEdge.co.uk

Past performance is not a guide to the future. Capital at risk.

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