In Spain, fixed income funds have been the big bet of the year after the failure of debt in 2022 with the continuous rise in interest rates, causing an adjustment in the bond markets. Thus, the rise in bonds has left fixed income funds with large losses since August, as the bonds in which the fund invests become worth less and therefore the fund declines.
Fixed income markets have a clear direct relationship with interest rate developments as they influence the yields offered by bonds.
The rise in interest rates by central banks has a different degree of impact on fixed income depending on the maturity of the bond, i.e. it has a greater impact on the different sections of the interest rate curve, with a greater impact on the short sections of the curve – short-term interest rates – than on the long sections of the curve – long-term interest rates.
And now the big question arises: Can I claim the losses on the investment I have made? The answer is yes, and not because the investment expectations were not met, but because of the irregularities in which the entities tend to incur when contracting the fund.
When a fund is contracted, whether it is a fixed-income or equity fund, the institution must offer the customer the product it considers appropriate for their profile and, where appropriate, provide exhaustive information on the nature and risk of the product contracted. To this end, institutions must carry out a suitability and appropriateness test in order to be able to assess whether or not the customer’s profile is suitable for taking out the products.
However, carrying out such a test, the result of which is « suitable » for taking out fixed income, does not mean that this is the reality and that your claim will therefore be unsuccessful. The CNMV has already detected irregularities in suitability tests on several occasions, overestimating their knowledge and experience in investments, in order to offer clients products that are too risky for their profile.
As we have already explained, the entity must provide clear, complete and precise information about the product we are contracting, i.e. WHAT RISKS WE ASSUME WHEN CONTRACTING A FIXED-INCOME PRODUCT, which is not the case on most occasions.
For this reason, and depending on the circumstances of each case, a nullity action can be brought for lack of transparency when informing about the nature and essential characteristics of the contract that leads the client to contract under circumstances that are not the real ones.
In short, if you have suffered losses in this type of investment, contact Navas & Cusí Abogados, whose firm has lawyers specialising in banking law.
