Standard Life Investments, the UK buyside institution with £86bn (€125bn) in assets under management, has warned investors of the dangers of asset-backed securities, which have seen an explosion of demand in the past decade.

John Cummins, head of treasury at Standard Life, said: "The ABS market does have potential downsides, and investors need to be alert to these dangers. While it is a source of relatively higher yielding securities for investors and a source of cheaper alternative funding for companies, there exists a real need for a strong investment process."