Banca Privada y Asesores Financieros Forum takes place at CUNEF Universidad
10 June 2026
The 16th Foro de Banca Privada y Asesores Financieros, organised by Inversión magazine and Grupo Economía Digital, took place in the Auditorium of CUNEF Universidad’s Almansa Campus and brought together more than 140 attendees to hear the financial outlook from experts including economist Javier Santacruz, Nicolás Barquero, Head of Specialised Solutions at Santander Private Banking, Óscar Esteban, Iberia Business Head at Fidelity International, and Sol Hurtado de Mendoza, Country Head for Spain and Portugal at BNP Paribas Asset Management, among others.
Iván Blanco, Director of the Master’s Degree in Finance at CUNEF Universidad, opened the event by emphasising that financial education is essential, as financial decisions shape both our lives and our future.
In this regard, Javier Santacruz noted that, today, the main threat to many investment portfolios is no longer taking on too much risk, but rather avoiding it. This view was echoed by Nicolás Barquero, Xavier Blanquet (Banco Sabadell), Juan Llamas (Caixabank), and Olga Montañés (BBVA).
According to Santacruz, “the global economy is moving towards a period characterised by moderate growth, structurally higher inflation, and higher interest rates for longer.” This represents a markedly different environment from the one that prevailed throughout much of the previous decade and requires investors to rethink many traditional investment decisions.
Liquidity, inflation and wealth management
During the opening banking panel, Barquero, Blanquet, Llamas, and Montañés agreed that liquidity remains an essential tool for managing uncertainty and taking advantage of opportunities. However, they warned that holding excessive amounts of cash can become a source of wealth erosion when inflation remains higher than the returns generated by that capital.
“Today, remaining in cash means having less wealth,” summarised Diego Abaitua, Secretary General and Head of Private Banking at Renta 4, warning that preserving wealth requires keeping capital invested through a coherent strategy tailored to each client’s needs.
From financial products to life goals
Another recurring theme throughout the forum was the transformation currently taking place within the private banking industry itself.
Industry professionals pointed out that high-net-worth clients increasingly seek guidance on decisions that go far beyond the mere selection of financial products. Estate planning, family wealth organisation, business ownership structures, and financing for future generations have become common topics of discussion between advisors and their clients.
In this context, added value no longer lies exclusively in portfolio construction, but increasingly in the ability to align clients’ goals, risk profiles, and investment time horizons.
The role of Artificial Intelligence in financial markets and investment was also discussed. In this regard, the experts agreed that AI represents a far-reaching economic transformation, while warning of the risks associated with concentrating too much investment attention on a small number of technology companies.
“We are entering a new phase of industrial transformation driven by AI,” said Óscar Esteban, Iberia Business Head at Fidelity International, arguing that the opportunities associated with this shift extend far beyond AI model developers and reach sectors such as industry, infrastructure, energy, automation, and telecommunications.
Participants highlighted the importance of combining active management, valuation discipline, and a long-term perspective in order to identify the winners of an economic transformation that is likely to unfold over many years.
Advisory services gain importance
The forum concluded with another message shared by many of the participants: the more complex the economic environment becomes, the more valuable personalised advice becomes.
The expansion of financial advisor networks and the growing demand for specialised professionals are clear reflections of this trend. Juan Massana, Chief Commercial Officer at Banco Mediolanum, argued that the growth of these models is driven by an increasing demand for stable and personalised relationships. In his words, “clients are always looked after by the same people, which makes it possible to offer solutions that are best suited to their profile and needs.”
For CUNEF Universidad, it is essential to support and host events of this kind, which help keep pace with the latest developments in the financial sector while continuing to strengthen high-quality academic education that remains up to date and aligned with the realities of the banking and financial markets.
