BBVA is advancing its private markets strategy with the goal of quintupling the proportion of private assets within its Private Banking clients’ portfolios in Spain. Currently, private markets—which include private equity, private debt, infrastructure, and specialized real estate—represent around 2% of client portfolios, but the bank aims to reach 10% and make decisive progress in the establishment and management of venture capital entities.
As part of this strategy, BBVA plans to invest €30 million as seed capital in its BBVA Open to Partners Private Markets IX fund, the first multistrategy ‘evergreen’ fund in Spain, in partnership with Partners Group. This vehicle is part of a long-term strategy based on the conviction that private markets provide real value to clients’ portfolios.
BBVA’s private markets offering leverages strong capabilities from both BBVA Asset Management and Private Banking, combining in-house product design and management expertise with open architecture and partnerships with top-tier international managers. This approach allows BBVA to offer innovative products in a segment where direct investment requires significant resources and diversification is only achievable through specialized partners.
In this context, the new fund focuses on a flexible private markets structure: the evergreen fund. BBVA has partnered with Partners Group, a global leader in private markets and in evergreen structures, to maximize potential growth and investor access.
“Private markets deliver clear value to our clients’ portfolios, offering higher long-term returns, diversification, and access to growth opportunities unavailable in public markets. These assets are linked to the real economy, less exposed to short-term noise, and aligned with a long-term wealth perspective,” said Fernando Ruíz, Head of High Net Worth Clients at BBVA Private Banking and Personal Banking Spain. He added, “They are not suitable for all profiles, as they require a long-term horizon, sufficient wealth, and tolerance for illiquidity. At BBVA, we emphasize rigorous advice and new structures, such as semi-liquid funds, which allow more investors to access these opportunities without sacrificing flexibility.”
“At BBVA AM, we have extensive experience in private markets. We were pioneers in Spain, starting our investments in 2007. We have launched eight fund-of-funds with private market assets and manage private markets portfolios for institutional clients with excellent results,” commented Belén Blanco, CEO of BBVA AM.
“With BBVA Open to Partners Private Markets IX, FIL, we continue to support our clients with solutions that increase the potential returns and diversification of their portfolios. This fund is an innovative milestone in Spain: it provides access to the joint capabilities of BBVA AM and Partners Group in private markets, and as an evergreen fund, it is open-ended and perpetual, with diversified investments by vintage year, multistrategy allocation, and geographical exposure. As a FIL, it also allows for tax deferral of capital gains in case of transfers—there is no other fund like this in Spain,” added Belén Blanco.
Commitment to Diversification
Private markets have become a key component for high-net-worth portfolios, offering diversification, low correlation, and access to opportunities unavailable in public markets. In addition to potential returns, these assets typically demonstrate lower volatility and reduced correlation with other financial assets, supporting portfolio stability over long investment horizons.
In recent years, open structures have increased in availability, providing periodic liquidity windows and making these strategies accessible to a broader range of investors.
BBVA has been developing its private markets offering for nearly two decades. Since 2007, the bank has offered fund-of-funds vehicles that provide clients with access to carefully selected international private market funds, historically reserved for institutional investors. Through Spain-domiciled vehicles, BBVA Private Banking has facilitated access to private equity, multistrategy private debt, infrastructure, and real estate funds for both individual and corporate clients, always under strict diversification and risk management criteria.
Specialized Teams Supporting the Strategy
BBVA Asset Management maintains a dedicated private markets team, while BBVA Quality Funds, the unit responsible for selecting and analyzing third-party funds, includes specialists focused exclusively on private markets, including a due diligence team that continuously evaluates managers and vehicles to ensure the highest standards of quality and risk control
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