Investment fund assets in Mexico started the year on the right foot, reaching a new historic figure along with double-digit annual growth.
According to data from the Mexican Association of Securities Intermediaries (AMIB), as of the end of January, the total net assets of investment funds in Mexico reached a value of 4.335 trillion pesos (210.372 billion dollars), based on an average exchange rate of 20.60 pesos per dollar. This represents a 1.87% increase compared to the end of December last year and an annual growth of 24.43%, meaning compared to January 2024.
The financial assets of investment funds now rank third among the largest in the Mexican financial system, equivalent to 12.62% of the country’s GDP. They are only behind the assets managed by Afores, which account for nearly 21%, and banks, whose total assets represent 48% of the country’s GDP.
Promotional efforts within Mexico’s investment fund industry by authorized asset managers, along with the strengthening of a retirement savings system, continue to yield results in the Mexican market and are a key factor explaining this market growth.
Exponential Increase in Clients
Perhaps the most striking result is the number of clients in the system, which has skyrocketed exponentially over the past year.
According to AMIB figures, by the end of January, a total of 12.13 million clients were reported, reflecting a monthly increase of 4.35% and an annual growth of 78.92%. Since recordkeeping began, there had never been such a significant increase in the number of clients within a 12-month period.
This exponential growth is also evident over the past decade, as demand for investment funds has surged. Comparing the number of clients registered at the end of 2019, there are now 4.81 times more than in that year. Some analysts consider the pandemic to be the turning point that sparked this exponential rise in clients in the Mexican funds market, reinforcing the idea that crises also create opportunities.
The Leadership of GBM and BBVA
Out of the total 12.13 million clients in Mexico’s investment fund market, GBM stands out as a key player, with 5.55 million clients. This means the firm accounts for 45.34% of all investment fund accounts in the country.
However, despite GBM‘s dominance in the number of clients investing in funds, the largest fund manager in terms of assets is not GBM, but rather the Mexican subsidiary of the Spanish bank BBVA.
According to official figures, BBVA México manages assets totaling 1.054 trillion pesos, equivalent to 51.165 billion dollars. These amounts, both in pesos and dollars, represent 24.32% of the total assets in the system—nearly a quarter of the market.
The Challenge of Diversification
Despite the rapid increase in demand, fund diversification remains a major challenge for financial intermediaries in the coming months and years. This is because Mexican funds remain highly concentrated in the debt segment.
AMIB figures show that of the 636 investment funds in Mexico, 255 (40%) are debt instrument funds. While they do not constitute the majority in terms of number, they hold a dominant 74.14% of the total net asset volume. The security of these investments—reflecting a highly conservative investor profile—is a key factor in the dominance of debt funds in the Mexican market.
