- Foreign investors now account for twice as much of listed companies as of unlisted ones: 50.4% versus 24.6%
- More than 9,200 institutional private funds from around the world hold positions in the IBEX 35®, with a combined value of 307,634 million euros as of the end of June 2026
- Household participation in the Spanish stock market rebounded in 2025 to 16.7%, its highest level in the past four years, after hitting historic lows the previous year
International investors are consolidating their position as the largest owners of the Spanish stock market and have reached a new all-time high, while households are regaining some of the ground they had lost. These are some of the main conclusions of the BME Report on the Ownership of Listed Spanish Shares, prepared by the BME Research Department using year-end 2025 data and, for institutional investment, data from June 2026.
International investors’ share of the Spanish stock market stands at 50.4%, up 1.7 percentage points from a year earlier and a new all-time high. Since 2000, when they accounted for 34.7%, their share has increased by 15.7 percentage points. In unlisted companies, foreign ownership stands at 24.6%, meaning that the share of international investors in listed companies is now double that of unlisted companies.
The presence of large institutional investors is also growing. As of the end of June 2026, 9,226 private institutional funds held positions in IBEX 35® companies, with a combined value of 307,634 million euros—a 48.4% increase from March 2025. Europe accounts for 51% of the value, with 156,898 million, and North America for 45.6%, with 140,340 million, while the United States is the leading country of origin, with 135,890 million.
The number of large asset managers with more than 500 million euros invested in the IBEX 35® rose from 72 to 106 between March 2025 and June 2026, while the number of those invested in the 35 companies in the index increased from 11 to 15. BlackRock, with 46,560 million euros, Vanguard, with 38,295 million, and Capital Group, with 15,227 million, lead in terms of investment volume and collectively total 100,083 million euros—a 43.4% increase from March 2025.
Meanwhile, Spanish households’ share of listed stock ownership rebounded in 2025 to 16.7% , nine-tenths of a percentage point higher than the previous year and the highest level in the last four years, following the all-time low recorded in 2024. However, it remains below the peak of 35.1% reached in 1998. According to the Bank of Spain’s Household Financial Survey, 12.2% of households, about 2.4 million, directly own publicly traded stocks.
As of the end of 2025, public administrations held a 4.0% stake, one-tenth of a percentage point less than the previous year and the second-highest figure in the last 28 years, with an approximate value of 45,000 million euros. Among the major holdings, SEPI’s 27.99% stake in Indra and the government’s 10% stake in Telefónica stand out. Sovereign wealth funds and public pension funds also maintain a significant presence in the IBEX 35®, led by Norges Bank Investment Management, with 16,075 million euros.
Rounding out the ownership structure of listed Spanish stocks are non-financial companies, with 19.4%; collective investment institutions, insurance companies, and other non-bank financial institutions, with 5.5%; and banks and savings banks, with 4.1%. The share held by non-financial companies fell by 1.2 percentage points to its lowest level in the last ten years, while banks have seen an increase of one percentage point over the last three years.
As of the end of 2025, the ownership structure of the Spanish stock market is composed of 50.4% held by international investors, 19.4% by non-financial companies, 16.7% by households, 5.5% by collective investment institutions, insurance companies, and other non-bank financial institutions, 4.1% by banks and savings banks, and 4.0% by public administrations. The report thus highlights the high degree of international openness of the Spanish stock market and the importance of continuing to expand and diversify the domestic investor base—both retail and institutional—to strengthen the financing capacity of Spanish and European companies through capital markets.
Read full report here