The presence of international investors in the Spanish stock market remains predominant, although it has experienced a slight reduction. According to the recent Share Ownership Report of BME's Research Service, foreign investors control 48.7% of the market, a decrease of 0.3 percentage points compared with the previous year. Meanwhile, the public sector has reached a 4.1% share, its highest level in nearly three decades.
The study, which collects data through the end of 2024, reveals that more than 8,600 institutional private funds actively participate in the IBEX 35®, with an accumulated value of €207.3 billion at the beginning of 2025. Of the funds involved, 70.7% are European and 25% originate from the United States. 72 asset managers stand out with significant weight, including BlackRock, Vanguard, and Capital Group.
Although international investment in listed companies nearly doubles that in unlisted ones, foreign participation in the latter reaches 25.1%. Over the last two decades, foreign ownership in listed companies has increased by 11.6 percentage points, compared with only a 2.7 percentage point increase in unlisted companies. These data highlight the importance of listing on the stock exchange to attract foreign capital.
On the other hand, household participation in the stock market has fallen to 15.8%, the lowest level in 32 years, in contrast with the more than 35% reached during the privatizations of the 1990s. The report highlights the need to foster the participation of retail investors, in line with the European Saving and Investment Union (SIU) initiative and the OECD's backing.
Currently, non-financial corporations control 21.6% of ownership in the market, collective investment institutions own 5.8%, and banks hold 4%. These changes in the ownership structure reflect significant dynamics in the Spanish stock market, marked by the dominant role of foreign capital and a decline in interest among individual investors.
