Families are losing interest in the stock market.

BarcelonaThe stock market and capital markets have yet to fully capture the interest of Spanish families. The level of investment by Spanish households in these markets remains low compared to other eurozone countries. Currently, savings allocated to listed shares, bonds, investment funds, and other products represent the equivalent of 66% of gross domestic product (GDP), well below the European average (94%). This figure also differs significantly from economies such as Denmark (194%) and the Netherlands (164%), according to the latest report from the Association of Financial Markets in Europe (AFME), covering the first half of this year.

These figures, which reflect a high rate of household savings being held in banks, especially through current accounts and fixed-term deposits, are in line with those provided in the latest report by Bolsas y Mercados (BME), the main stock exchange operator owned by the Swiss group SIX. According to the report, "Spanish households' share of stock ownership will fall to 15.8% in 2024, the lowest figure since this study began 32 years ago."

In fact, with the wave of privatizations in the late 1990s, Spanish households' share of stock market investments reached a peak of 35.1% in 1998. Now it stands at around half that. Even the recent rise in share prices following the decline during the 2020 pandemic has not increased household participation in the stock market. The Survey of Household Finances, compiled by the Bank of Spain (the latest is from 2022), also pointed in that direction.

Fewer IPOs

Non-financial companies are also turning less to stock exchanges and more to debt. Market financing grew by 6% in the first half of the year, reaching €16 billion, primarily due to bond and debt issuance. These operations, with investment-grade ratings (the rating that guarantees the issuer's solvency), totaled €10.8 billion, registering "the highest level in recent years," with an annualized increase of 3%, according to this organization that represents banks and other financial institutions. In contrast, initial public offerings (IPOs) experienced a year-on-year decrease of 49% compared to the same period last year, reaching €800 million. Last year saw some significant listings, such as that of Puig, which, more than 12 months later, is trading around 40% below its initial public offering price. IPOs like that of Cirsa, owned by Blackstone, last July have not improved the comparison. And capital increases fell by 31%, to €400 million. The fragmentation of capital markets in the EU has meant that most IPOs do away with the tranche for small shareholders, unlike what happened at the end of the last century and the beginning of this one, and investment funds have also gained considerable ground.

And, despite the growth, SME investment through venture capital stood at 1.7% of the total, compared to 0.4% in the same period of 2024, also far from the European average of 3.5% and even further from the UK (17%). Nor did the so-called unicorns (Fast-growing companies valued at over one million dollars) are turning to the stock market. More than 70% of companies of this type in 2016 went public within four years. Only 18% remained unlisted. In contrast, this year 90% of the unicorns European companies scheduled to go public in 2021 still haven't done so, and only 5% have. The AFME highlights that the EU continues to lag behind other regions, such as the US, with fewer IPOs, greater dependence on private markets (primarily banking), and significant differences between countries. All of this "demonstrates the need for reforms to improve competitiveness and mobilize savings."