The Spanish stock market is the preferred choice among professional investors in Europe, according to the latest European Fund Manager Survey by Bank of America . In the survey, conducted between 7 and 13 August 2026, nearly 25 per cent of the 203 panellists – who together manage assets worth 581 billion US dollars – named the Spanish market as a candidate for an overweight position over the next twelve months. Germany followed at around 18 per cent, while France performed significantly worse.
The high weighting of banks in the benchmark index Ibex 35is considered a key reason. The six major institutions BBVA, Banco Santander, CaixaBank, Banco Sabadell, Bankinter and Unicaja account for more than 40 per cent of the index combined, shaping how the market is perceived. The preference is also supported by the index’s strong performance over 2026: the Ibex 35 has recently been close to 20,000 points and is significantly up year to date. Many participants partly attribute this to expectations that earnings-per-share estimates in Europe will be raised.
The survey also points to an increased appetite for risk: a large proportion of respondents expect European equities to rise further and company earnings forecasts to be revised upwards. These are respondents’ expectations, not facts about future returns.
Market observers point to the downside of the heavy weighting towards banks: concentration in a small number of heavily weighted stocks makes the market more vulnerable to sector-specific shocks, such as unexpected regulatory intervention, rising credit risk costs or an abrupt shift in the interest-rate environment. This sector concentration is particularly relevant for Spain because European Central Bank monetary policy decisions and economic developments in the euro area have a significant bearing on banks’ valuations.
The Bank of America survey results therefore point to a tactical preference for Spain, driven mainly by bank stocks and hopes of rising earnings. Whether this translates into a lasting overweight, many market participants believe, will depend on further developments in the financial sector and external factors such as monetary policy and geopolitical risks. Respondents’ views are opinions, not guarantees of future share-price movements.
Editor: Daniel Mayer (Article created with AI assistance).