Building with Passion: How Heike Arbter Shaped Raiffeisen’s Certificates Franchise

As Head of Raiffeisen Certificates, Heike Arbter has spent two decades building one of Europe’s most respected structured products franchises. Her leadership philosophy — rooted in passion, prudence, and precision — continues to guide Raiffeisen’s evolution in a dynamic market.

Over the past twenty years, Heike Arbter has helped transform Raiffeisen’s certificates business into a cornerstone of Austria’s retail investment landscape. As Head of Certificates and Equity Trading at Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI), she attributes this success not to strategy documents or technical systems, but to something simpler — passion.

“Do what you do with passion,” she says. “Our team would not have achieved so much if we saw our work merely as a job. We are united by our enthusiasm for capital markets and for certificates in particular. Our customers and partners feel that passion — it’s the key to our success.”

Integration and Continuity

When the certificates business moved under the RBI umbrella in December 2022, Arbter ensured that this culture of excellence remained intact. “Honestly, not much has changed,” she reflects. “We are still the same experienced team, operating close to our customers’ needs. For me, it was crucial that integration did not affect our product quality or customer service.”

Her insistence on continuity paid off. Since the integration, Raiffeisen’s certificates business has recorded robust growth, underscoring its reputation for reliability in a shifting regulatory and market environment. “Our customers are not concerned with our internal structure,” Arbter adds. “They care about the value we deliver.”

Product Integrity and Investor Confidence

In an industry where complexity can easily blur suitability, Arbter’s team draws firm “red lines” around structure design. “Satisfied customers are the best customers,” she explains. “Those who have positive experiences with their certificate investments are far more likely to invest again. That’s why we prioritise diversified underlyings and robust safety mechanisms.”

Her approach reflects a long-term philosophy that values suitability over short-term sales. It is a principle that has helped Raiffeisen maintain investor confidence across market cycles — particularly in a retail-heavy market where trust is everything.

Resilience in Volatile Markets

As Head of Certificates and Equity Trading, Arbter oversees a complex ecosystem of pricing, hedging, and liquidity management. She describes the backbone of this system as a combination of “robust risk frameworks, real-time monitoring, and clear communication.”

When volatility struck following President Trump’s tariff announcements in April 2025, the stress test was immediate. “We saw increased volatility — yet on every single trading day, inflows into Raiffeisen certificates exceeded outflows,” Arbter notes. “It was a strong validation of our controls, and of investor confidence in our secondary market performance.”

Education and Behavioural Insight

For Arbter, investor education remains the most powerful form of protection. “Many retail investors focus too much on risks and overlook opportunities,” she observes. Others, she says, “want to enter the market but wait endlessly for better prices.” For these hesitant investors, capital-protected certificates provide a structured way to gain confidence in capital markets.

Her advocacy for education extends beyond Raiffeisen. As a long-standing voice in industry associations, she has helped shape European standards aimed at improving investor understanding and trust.

Regulation and Self-Governance

Arbter’s perspective on regulation is pragmatic. “I’m not against regulation,” she says. “The right balance is what matters — knowing where legitimate consumer protection ends and overregulation begins.”

As chair of both EUSIPA and Austria’s Zertifikate Forum Austria (ZFA), she has been instrumental in advancing self-regulatory initiatives. “The EUSIPA Principles represent a milestone for our industry,” she notes. “But I believe good financial education is the best investor protection — and it must start in schools. Unfortunately, many European countries still have a significant gap there.”

She is also a strong supporter of the EU’s Savings and Investment Union (SIU) initiative, which aims to bring more retail investors into capital markets. “Investment certificates can play a major role in that effort,” Arbter asserts.

Talent and Team Culture

Asked what defines a best-in-class structurer or market-maker, Arbter’s answer combines rigour with empathy. “I focus on challenging and supporting,” she says. “Young professionals need honest feedback — it’s how they grow and contribute to the team’s success.”

For her, the team’s strength lies in passion, precision, and a willingness to learn continuously. “Our two greatest assets are our people and our clients’ trust,” she emphasises. “We must nurture both, always.”

The Digital Edge

Technology, too, plays an increasingly central role. “Advanced pricing engines and scenario visualisers have significantly shortened time-to-market while keeping model risk under control,” Arbter explains. “They allow us to test different scenarios in advance, enabling efficient and well-informed decisions — especially during volatile market phases.”

Automation, she adds, has not diminished human oversight but enhanced it, freeing experts to focus on innovation and client value.

Looking Ahead

Two decades on, Arbter’s influence on Raiffeisen’s structured products franchise is clear. Under her stewardship, it has evolved from a niche business to a trusted brand synonymous with reliability, education, and integrity.

As European retail investors seek transparency and protection in equal measure, Arbter’s philosophy — combining technical excellence with human passion — offers a model for the next generation of market leaders.

“Ultimately,” she says, “our success comes from trust — trust in our people, our products, and our purpose. That’s what keeps clients coming back, and that’s what will shape the next twenty years.”