La Jornada: Afore give capital gains of 239.4 thousand million pesos

In May, the 10 retirement fund administrators (Afore) achieved capital gains for workers; That is, unconsolidated profits, for 239,481 million pesos, the second most important so far this year, reported the body that regulates the sector.

According to the National Commission of the Retirement Savings System (Consar), during the first five months of the year, the system generated capital gains of 476,411 million pesos, which represented an advance of 5.5 percent compared to the same period in 2025.

In turn, the capital gain of the recent 12 months generated with the investments of the resources received by the workers, their employers and the government to the Afore was 1.2 billion pesos.

A capital gain is an increase in the value of an asset, in this case the savings charged to the Afore. When the value goes down, it is a handicap. Both situations become respectively losses or gains when the investment instrument is sold or the asset is withdrawn, which happens when people reach retirement.

According to Consar, Coppel has the most account holders, with 12 million 31; followed by Banamex, 8 million 462 thousand, and Azteca, with 8 million 418 thousand. Behind them are Banorte, with 7 million 12 thousand; Sura, 5 million 116 thousand; Profuturo, 4 million 774 thousand; Principal, 2 million 272 thousand; Invercap, with one million 871 thousand; Pensionissste, one million 863 thousand and Inbursa, 910 thousand accounts.

In a statement, the Mexican Association of Afore (Amafore) stated that the capital gains in May show the recovery observed since April, after the episode of volatility recorded in March.

“As is usual in long-term investments, financial markets can present temporary variations that are reflected in monthly capital gains or losses; however, what is relevant for retirement savings is the long-term trajectory,” he said.

The administrators make investments professionally, the association added, with a long-term vision and that short-term volatility can generate temporary variations in the value of the portfolios.

He detailed that the SAR manages around 9 trillion pesos and has generated a historical nominal yield greater than 10.5 percent and close to 5 percent above inflation.

“These results reinforce that even in contexts of financial volatility, the SAR remains a solid instrument aimed at protecting the savings of Mexican workers in the long term,” said Amafore.

After the record of historical losses last March, for 417 billion pesos, the 10 Afores that operate in the country recovered close to 80 percent of that amount in April, amid significant gains in the financial markets, despite the turbulence in the financial markets due to the war in the Middle East. During April, capital gains totaled 347,525 million pesos. In March, unemployment withdrawals that workers made in their Afore shot up 37 percent.