About This Fund
FIEX (Fondo para Inversiones en el Exterior) is a Spanish public investment fund managed by COFIDES (Compañía Española de Financiación del Desarrollo), established by Law 66/1997 of December 30, 1997, on behalf of the Spanish State. The fund is designed to promote the internationalization of Spanish companies and the broader Spanish economy by providing temporary minority equity holdings in Spanish companies undertaking international expansion and in companies located abroad.
The fund's investment strategy centers on providing risk capital—primarily in the form of temporary minority equity stakes—to Spanish companies seeking to establish subsidiaries, expand existing facilities, acquire foreign companies, or develop international market positions. FIEX also invests in private equity funds and expansion capital vehicles that support the internationalization of Spanish businesses. Individual operations range from €250,000 to €30 million, with COFIDES frequently co-investing alongside FIEX to reach total financing volumes of up to €40 million per transaction. The fund targets a wide array of sectors including manufacturing, infrastructure, energy, healthcare, food and agribusiness, logistics, and tourism across all global geographies.
By end of 2016, FIEX had accumulated endowments totaling €878 million, reflecting its role as Spain's primary government vehicle for catalyzing private-sector cross-border investment. COFIDES, as fund manager, is a member of the International Development Finance Club (IDFC) and the Association of European Development Finance Institutions (EDFI), underscoring FIEX's position within the global development finance community. The fund operates on a revolving basis—reinvesting returns to finance new international expansion projects—and remains one of Spain's most important instruments for supporting sustainable internationalization and economic diplomacy.