Desjardins named Best House, Capital Protection Americas at the Structured Retail Products Americas Awards

Montreal, September 28, 2023 – For the 12th year in a row, Desjardins made its mark at the SRP Americas Awards. The UK-based firm Structured Retail Products External link. This link will open in a new window. (SRP) held the 2023 edition on September 27 in Chicago, where it honoured Desjardins with the Best House, Capital Protection Americas. The winner was chosen based on total sales and external client satisfaction for its principal-protected structured products.

"The awards we've won recently are a testament to the quality of the structured products we offer to our members and clients. It proves that Desjardins structured products are meeting a need, and it inspires us to develop even more innovative and better performing investment solutions," said Benoit Bélanger, Manager, Guaranteed Product Development and Financial Modelling, at Desjardins Investments. "Desjardins has earned many international awards over the past 25 years. We'll continue to work hard to remain a leader and to develop and grow across Canada," added Bélanger.

In addition to this prestigious title, Desjardins also won the following SRP Americas 2023 Awards:

• Best House, Canada for the fourth year in a row. Desjardins had the best overall sales and external client satisfaction for its range of structured products.
• Best Capital Protected Distributor, Americas. This award is presented to the financial institution with the highest sales and overall performance for its capital-protected structured products across the whole Americas.
• Deal of the Year, Canada. Desjardins earned top honours for its Responsible Option Aggressive Guaranteed Portfolio, which offers exposure to companies that have been carefully selected for their environmental, social and governance (ESG) commitments.
• Best Educational Initiative. Desjardins earned top honours for the quality of its online experience for market-linked guaranteed investments (MLGIs).

In addition, at the second annual SPi Canada Awards for Excellence External link. This link will open in a new window., held on September 20, 2023, Desjardins took home the award for Canada's Best GIC Issuer. This award recognizes the Canadian issuer of market-linked guaranteed investments, also known as market-linked guaranteed investment certificates (GICs), that scored highest in innovation, sales, product diversity and performance.

About the research firms
Structured Retail Products Ltd. External link. This link will open in a new window. (SRP) is a British research company providing highly detailed data, collected over more than 20 years, on all structured products sold in over 54 countries, representing over 30 million products. The SRP Americas Awards are highly coveted in the industry. They recognize world leaders in structured products.

Structured Products Intelligence External link. This link will open in a new window. (SPi), part of WSD, is a company based in London, England, that provides market intelligence, reference data and life cycle information for the structured product industry. The SPi Canada 2023 Awards Conference celebrates Canadian financial institutions that offer structured products.

About structured products

Structured products can be broken down into two categories: market-linked guaranteed investments (MLGIs), also called market-linked GICs in the banking world, and structured notes.

An MLGI is a term deposit, as defined by the Deposit Insurance Act, which guarantees the initial investment and the minimum return, if any, at maturity. The variable portion of the return is linked to market performance. That means this type of guaranteed investment has a higher level of risk than traditional fixed-rate investments. At maturity, depending on how the markets perform, the variable return could be zero. However, any guaranteed interest will still be paid out. There's no way to be sure what the return based on market performance will be until the maturity date. Guaranteed investments are not a direct investment in the securities that make up the variable return portion. This means investors are not entitled to the same rights and benefits as shareholders, including the right to receive distributions or dividends, or the right to vote or attend shareholder meetings.

Principal protected notes: This is a debt instrument issued by a recognized financial institution (Desjardins) with the initial investment guaranteed at maturity. The return potential is higher than for traditional fixed-income securities, due to the market exposure provided by a diversified reference portfolio, such as abasket of securities, or exchange-traded fund (ETF). Notes can also be redeemed at any time under certain conditions.

Non-principal protected notes: This is a debt instrument issued by a recognized financial institution (Desjardins). The invested capital is not guaranteed. The client benefits from exposure to stock markets via a varied reference portfolio, and from different levels of protection at maturity. The potential return is generally higher than market-linked principal protected notes, to compensate for the risk of capital loss if the reference portfolio performs below a certain level. It is also possible to redeem the notes at any time under certain conditions.

For more information (media inquiries only):
Public Relations
514-281-7000 or 1-866-866-7000, ext. 5553436
media@desjardins.com

The variable return of market-linked guaranteed investments (MLGIs) may be nil at maturity. However, the initial investment and the annual guaranteed return, if any, are always guaranteed at maturity. Please read the investment agreement before investing.

Principal protected notes may not be suitable for all investors. Important information is contained in the information statement and oral disclosure document for each principal protected note. These documents are provided on the summary page for each issue. Before purchasing investments, investors should read these documents carefully and discuss the investment's suitability with their investment advisor or dealer representative. The notes can only be purchased in the Canadian jurisdictions where they are legally distributed, and only from people who are registered and authorized to sell them. Investments in these notes carry certain risks. Returns on notes are determined by the change in value of the underlying assets over the course of the term. There may be no return payable to the investor. Returns cannot be determined before maturity and past performance is not indicative of future returns. Some notes may be subject to caps, participation rates or other limits affecting returns. For principal protected notes, the full principal amount is only repaid at maturity.

Non-principal protected notes may not be suitable for all investors. Important information is contained in the base shelf prospectus, prospectus supplement and pricing supplement for each non-principal protected note. Before purchasing investments, investors should read these documents carefully and discuss the investment's suitability with their investment advisor or dealer representative. The notes can only be purchased in the Canadian jurisdictions where they are legally distributed, and only from people who are registered and authorized to sell them. Investments in these notes carry certain risks. Repayment of the full principal amount is not guaranteed and depends on the performance of the reference portfolio. You could lose part or virtually all of your initial investment. Returns on notes are determined by the change in value of the underlying assets over the course of the term. There may be no return payable to the investor. Returns cannot be determined before maturity and past performance is not indicative of future returns. Some notes may be subject to caps, thresholds, participation rates or other features affecting returns.

Neither principal protected notes nor non-principal protected notes are considered insured deposits under Quebec's Deposit Institutions and Deposit Protection Act, the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation Act, or any other deposit insurance plan.