The Spanish investor likes the dividend. It has always been this way, in a country in which listed companies have historically prioritized shareholder remuneration. But now he likes it even more. According to the study The Spanish retail investorprepared by the communication agency Evercom, to which he has had access elEconomista.es, 26% of investors are dividend-oriented, five points more than a year ago.
To draw these conclusions, interviews were conducted with Investor Relations directors of Ibex 35 companies, the Mercado Continuo and BME Growth (the SME stock exchange), with the aim of analyzing the present and future of the relationships between listed companies and retailers. It is the second edition of this survey, which was born in 2023.
Above that 26%, 40% of respondents pointed out that the main characteristic of the investor retail Spanish is his long term approach; This data does not change compared to last year. Another 20% of those interviewed see their minority shareholders as “speculators”, and only 6% perceive them as irrational, guided by their emotions and at the mercy of the fluctuations of the market. This last percentage is the only one that falls significantly compared to last year, when 16% of participants called the behavior of retailers “irrational.”
The attractiveness of Ibex 35 dividends has precisely increased in recent weeks. The index has dropped around 4% since mid-October, something that has favored the profitability of its remuneration, which already reaches 4.7% in 2024. This figure contrasts with the 3.3% offered by the EuroStoxx 50, 3.4% of the Stoxx 600 or 1.3% of the S&P 500. The estimates collected by FactSet indicate that, in view of the profits expected for 2025, the dividend yield of the Spanish index reaches 4.8%, and by 2026 it is already at 5.1%. Among the Spanish listed companies, some of the most attractive remunerations are offered by Unicaja (which offers 8.8% with its profits expected for 2025), Repsol (8.7%) or CaixaBank (8%). The European stock market is located at a 2% drop from its buy zone.
More weight of the individual investor
60% of those interviewed consider it “necessary” for the market to include a retail section again in IPOs, ten points more than in the previous survey. In the last 10 years, with the exception of Aena (and a small tranche in the Opdenergy IPO), we have not witnessed IPOs in Spain with a tranche reserved for small investors, after the losses caused by the Bankia scandal . The big IPO of 2024, that of the cosmetics firm Puig, with a valuation close to 14,000 million euros, did not include it, nor has there been an option in that of Inmocemento (since it premiered yesterday in the format of listing), nor in that of Cox Energy, which will go on the market this Thursday.
Retailers continue to have limited weight in listed companies, but the study reveals that they have fattened a little: in 60% of companies, small shareholders already exceed 10% of the capital. Last year, they only exceeded that weight of 10% in 53% of the companies.
What is not progressing is the participation of this type of investors in the Boards General Shareholders. Three out of four companies explain that their presence at this annual event does not exceed 10%, the same figure as a year ago. In most cases, companies do not offer incentives such as attendance bonuses to improve this data. On the other hand, 29% of companies indicate that participation in Boards has increased slightly thanks to the formats on-linewhile 31% believe it has remained stable and only 3% believe it has worsened. In 10 years, 100% of Shareholders’ Meetings will be only ‘online’, compared to 5% currently.
Communication with retailers improves: 43% of companies have a proactive communication strategy for investors retaila percentage that grows 11 points compared to the previous edition. Of course, only 38% of companies adapt the messages and tone of their communications with him in mind.
26% of listed companies in Spain communicate with retail investors at least monthly. Another 40% do not maintain regular communicationexcept in exceptional situations or at the request of the investors themselves. Regarding the information that listed companies share with their retail investors, 100% of the companies share financial information; More than seven in ten also include non-financial data (such as sustainability or corporate governance strategies) and 20% of companies offer loyalty programs and special promotions for its shareholders, four points more than in the previous study.
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