Investors in structured finance products seem destined to remain among domestic ranks, with very few exceptions, if the commentary late in the opening day of the Australian Securitisation Forum's 2015 Annual Conference is any guide.Speaking in interview format, yesterday, several senior investment managers were asked to outline their views on Australian issued structured finance products. Nikki Patel, managing director, State Street Bank and Trust from the UK said that the biggest challenge for her will be managing the rate cycle in 2016. Apart from that, Australian dollar structured finance investments have yielded 3 per cent, versus 50 basis points on euros and one per cent for sterling, she is constrained by her bank's mandate - which has its head office in the US."We are limited in what we can invest in, due to the need for liquidity," she said. "Structured finance, as a whole, tends to suffer a hangover from the US sub-prime crisis."In a rare foray into the spotlight by a Japanese insto investor, Hiroyuki Kasama, general manager of the structured finance division at Mizuho Bank explained that there was limited issuance available in its domestic market of Japan, so his team was trying to execute more deals in Asia-Pacific, the largest segment in Mizuho's holdings. He said his intention is "to be more active in the Australian market" but was staying on the sidelines as far as RMBS investing is concerned until he was more comfortable, although he recognised the importance of mortgages to the Australian banking market.So far though he is sticking to "traditional ABS" - the auto loan sector - which is one asset class Kasama said Mizuho has wider regional experience with, and although Mizuho has not invested in Australian structured finance paper since the financial crisis, Kasama said his team had the competencies to catch up fast.The secondary market and its lack of liquidity was not such a concern for Mizuho, Kasama said, as the main strategy a buy and hold to maturity investment. However, he did note that the global financial crisis showed him the importance of liquidity in a market, especially as there is a mark to market exposure.On the other hand, Neil Calder, head of credit investments for the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, has had no qualms investing in Australian structured finance paper.His bank has a mandate to invest in quality instruments in countries where they don't have business interests. He said the overall weighted average weighting for his portfolio was AA+, and he is holding €6.8 billion, with €1billion allocated to Australia. Of that, two thirds are in covered bonds and the rest in structured finance. About 25 per cent of the structured finance investments are in ABS - and Calder had some in the full auditorium almost cheering from the sidelines when he said he too was lifting his investment in Aussie ABS paper.