Property dominates readers' investments
Mexico News Daily's recent financial survey found a wide gap between property ownership and other investments among respondents. While 85% reported buying Mexican real estate for a home or another purpose, about 8% had purchased stocks or bonds. Roughly 10% had invested in a local business.
In her Mexico and My Money column, Dawn Stoner examines three alternatives to property: federal treasury certificates known as CETES, bank promissory notes called pagarés, and Mexican stocks.
CETES: returns, maturities and access
CETES, short for Certificados de la Tesorería de la Federación, are Mexico's counterpart to U.S. Treasury securities. The Bank of Mexico holds auctions most Tuesdays, with terms that include one, three, six and 12 months. Rather than making periodic interest payments, these zero-coupon securities sell below face value and pay that face value at maturity. Investors must hold them through the term to receive that return.
Stoner cites yields of 6.25% for one-month CETES and 6.79% for six-month securities, against Mexican inflation of around 3.5%. Her comparison puts one-month U.S. Treasury bills at a little over 4% and six-month bills at about 4.36%, with U.S. inflation at 3.7%. She describes CETES as low risk, noting that the Mexican government has never defaulted on their interest payments and assessing the likelihood of default as very low, particularly for short terms.
A separate set of Banxico auction results for the week of Oct. 20-27, 2026, reported by Imagen Radio, lists yields of 6.23% for 28 days, 6.75% for 91 days, 6.73% for 175 days, or about six months, and 7.89% for 707 days. Compared with the previous week, the 91-day yield increased by 20 basis points; the other three rates declined slightly.
Mexican citizens and legal foreign residents may buy CETES, but tourists and people residing outside Mexico may not. Foreign applicants must be over 18 and provide proof of temporary or permanent residency, a CURP number and an RFC, Mexico's tax identification number. They also need a debit card or CLABE number tied to a Mexican bank account they own; an overseas account cannot be linked.
Purchases start at 100 pesos, about US$5. Investors can use the government's cetesdirecto.com website or buy through a Mexican broker.
Pagarés: fixed yields with a lockup
A pagaré con rendimiento liquidable al vencimiento is a cash-funded bank term deposit that pays a fixed return at maturity. Much like a U.S. certificate of deposit, it involves lending money to a bank for an agreed period. Stoner describes these instruments as low risk and reports annual yields ranging from 3% to 11%.
Her figures put traditional banks such as BBVA, Santander and Banamex toward the lower end, at 3% to 7%, and fintech and digital providers such as Inbursa at 8% to 11%. Buyers deal directly with the issuing bank rather than a broker. Typical minimum deposits are around 5,000 pesos, or US$267, and foreign customers need legal Mexican residency and a Mexican bank account.
The commitment lasts until maturity. An early withdrawal or a sale on the secondary market means losing all accumulated interest and paying a penalty. These deposits therefore require funds the investor can leave untouched for the full term.
Pagarés from regulated banks carry IPAB deposit insurance up to 400,000 UDIs, cited by Stoner as 3.54 million pesos, or about US$193,000. That ceiling is per depositor at each bank, not a separate allowance for every account. As CONDUSEF explains, balances across a person's accounts and products at the same bank are combined when applying the limit.
IPAB protection does not extend to investments in investment funds, insurers, savings banks, savings-and-loan societies, brokerage houses or development banks. Offering such a product at a bank branch does not make it eligible for that insurance.
Stocks: market activity and investment risk
Unlike the fixed returns offered by CETES and pagarés, stocks provide no assurance of a profit and can cost an investor all of the principal committed. Stoner stresses the need for research rather than purchases based on tips or social media. An estimated 1% to 5% of Mexican households actively trade stocks.
Brokerage account numbers have nevertheless grown. Citing the National Banking and Securities Commission, Finance Magnates reported that Mexican brokerage firms had 22.3 million investment accounts at the end of September 2025, compared with 13.17 million a year earlier. These are stock brokerage accounts, not a count of individual investors: one person may have several.
As of May 10, 2026, the S&P/BMV IPC benchmark stood at 69,855.58 points, an 8.63% gain for the year, according to El Economista. A BMV official said foreign investors' trading amount had risen 10% in 2025 and another 20% so far in 2026, describing a cumulative increase of 30% over the preceding 15 months.
For research, Stoner recommends TradingView Mexico and Miranda Intelligence's Mexico Market Chatter. BBVA, Actinver and Monex also prepare equity research for private clients, alongside some foreign brokerage firms.
What foreign residents need to open a brokerage account
A legal foreign resident can buy and sell Mexican stocks through a licensed Mexican brokerage firm. GBM+, operated by Grupo Bursátil Mexicano, and Actinver's Bursanet are among the popular retail platforms. Foreign nationals must open their accounts in person, rather than completing the process online.
Applicants generally need a valid passport and a temporary or permanent residency card, along with their CURP and RFC numbers. Brokerages also typically request a Constancia de Situación Fiscal, the official tax-status document issued by the SAT.
The remaining paperwork usually includes proof of a Mexican address dated within the past three months, such as a CFE utility bill, and the CLABE number for a Mexican bank account held in the applicant's name.
