The assets under management (AUM) of Spain’s individual pension plan system grew by 1.04 per cent in August, adding €893m to reach a total of €86.84bn at month-end, according to figures from VDOS.

Its data showed that growth was mainly driven by €745m in net inflows, supplemented by positive portfolio performance of €148m.

Banks captured the majority of inflows with €722m, followed by independent groups with €8m.

Banks also registered the largest percentage increase in assets, at 1.22 per cent, compared to 0.72 per cent for independent groups and 0.54 per cent for insurers.

As a result, banks expanded their dominant market share to 77.16 per cent, ahead of independent groups (7.82 per cent) and insurers (5.57 per cent).

By category, Spanish equity funds generated the best return in August, at 3.03 per cent, ahead of international equity Asia - emerging (1.17 per cent) and international equity Europe (0.63 per cent).

Contrastingly, US equity plans were the weakest performers, posting a negative return of -0.14 per cent.

Meanwhile, Caixabank maintained its position as the market leader, with €24.55bn in assets and a 28.27 per cent share.

BBVA followed with €16.70bn (19.23 per cent), while Santander held €10.56bn (12.17 per cent).

By product type, mixed plans attracted the highest net inflows in August, with €550m, followed by fixed income plans with €234m.

Guaranteed plans, by contrast, saw the largest net outflows, at €49m, while mixed plans remain the largest category overall, with €54.47bn in assets and a 62.72 per cent market share, followed by equity plans with €17.90bn.

On performance, Caser Pensiones led among the main managers with a monthly return of 1 per cent, ahead of Bankinter Seguros de Vida (0.45 per cent) and Occident Pensiones (0.34 per cent).

Among independents, Cobas Pensiones delivered the strongest result, with an average weighted return of 4.71 per cent, followed by Dunas Capital Pensiones (2.73 per cent) and Bestinver Pensiones (0.65 per cent).

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