Cartesio

What Cartesio does

Cartesio Inversiones, SGIIC, S.A. is a Madrid-headquartered, CNMV-registered (registration number 221) mutual fund management firm founded in 2004 by Juan Antonio Bertrán, Cayetano Cornet, and Álvaro Martínez. The company operates a deliberately concentrated two-fund product strategy: Cartesio X, a conservative fixed-income fund with 0–100% bond and up to 40% equity flexibility benchmarked against the Bloomberg Series-E Euro Govt 7-10 Yr Bond Index; and Cartesio Y, a moderate-to-high risk equity fund with 0–100% equity flexibility benchmarked against the MSCI Europe Net Total Return Index. Both strategies are also offered as Luxembourg-domiciled replicas (Cartesio Income and Cartesio Equity) to enable cross-border distribution via platforms such as Allfunds. Investment decisions are driven by fundamental analysis on a concentrated portfolio of 30–40 securities with a long-term horizon and no fixed asset allocation constraint, and the founding partners have remained in place with zero manager turnover since launch.

Cartesio's economic model is asset-based, deriving revenue from fixed annual management fees (0.65%–1.55% depending on share class), custody fees passed through BNP Paribas Securities Services (~0.045%–0.055%), and performance fees of 7.5% on positive returns above a five-year high-water mark — with no subscription or redemption fees charged to clients. Distribution is direct-to-consumer via a self-serve onboarding platform (onboarding.cartesio.com), in-person at the Madrid office, and through fund transfer coordination from other distributors at no cost to the client. The firm is 100% owned by its fund managers and employees; in May 2024, Itziar Álvarez (Risk Control Director), Juan Ignacio González (CFO), and Jorge Losa (Portfolio Manager) were admitted as partners alongside existing partners Ignacio de Carvajal and Ignacio Sanz, deepening ownership alignment.

Cartesio's competitive positioning rests on extreme product focus, principal-agent alignment (all managers invest 100% of their personal financial assets in the funds), and a 20+ year track record validated by maximum 5-star Morningstar ratings, the Morningstar Medalist Rating, Lipper Leaders 5/5 ratings on Total Return/Consistent Return/Preservation, and Sharpe ratios 29%–82% above benchmarks over 20 years. The firm maintains a low-profile go-to-market with no paid advertising, relying on a monthly factsheet newsletter, content marketing via its Ideas y Noticias blog, and organic social presence for client acquisition. Technology infrastructure is limited to standard financial data (Bloomberg), custodian banking (BNP Paribas), email marketing (Mailchimp), and a proprietary onboarding portal; no AI, quantitative, or API capabilities are disclosed.

Name

Cartesio

Legal name

Cartasio Inversiones, SGIIC, S.A.

Website

https://cartesio.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Cartesio Inversiones is a Madrid-based, CNMV-registered (number 221) independent mutual fund manager operating a focused two-fund strategy: Cartesio X (conservative multi-asset) and Cartesio Y (equity-tilted), with Luxembourg replicas for European distribution. It serves retail and professional investors with 100% manager ownership and a 20-year track record.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Madrid

HQ country

Spain

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Management and custody fees from investment funds: Cartesio generates revenue through fixed annual management fees charged as a percentage of fund assets under management, and performance fees (for certain share classes) linked to positive returns above a high-water mark. Custody fees are charged by BNP Paribas. No subscription or redemption fees are charged to clients. Revenue is derived from two funds: Cartesio X (defensive/mixed) and Cartesio Y (moderate/high risk equity), along with their Luxembourg replicas.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Cartesio is an independent investment fund manager that operates and distributes two Spanish-domiciled active mutual funds (Cartesio X, a flexible bond-focused fund, and Cartesio Y, a flexible equity-focused fund) together with their Luxembourg replicas (Cartesio Income and Cartesio Equity). The firm charges recurring management fees and performance fees on assets under management, with no subscription or redemption fees, and serves retail and professional investors seeking concentrated, risk-adjusted long-term returns.

Product overview

Cartasio is an independent investment fund management company offering a focused two-fund portfolio strategy. The core products are Cartasio X (conservative fixed-income fund investing 0-100% in bonds with up to 40% equity exposure) and Cartasio Y (moderate-to-high risk equity fund with 0-100% equity flexibility). Both funds have Luxembourg-domiciled replicas: Cartasio Income (replica of X) and Cartasio Equity (replica of Y), allowing investors to choose between Spanish UCITS or Luxembourg SIF structures. The funds operate with no subscription or redemption fees, low management fees tied to performance, and share the same investment team and philosophy.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Cartesio X A Spanish-domiciled UCITS fund that invests 0-100% in bonds and up to 40% in equities, with total flexibility in asset allocation. Its objective is to outperform the Bloomberg Series-E Euro Govt 7-10 Yr Bond Index on a risk-adjusted basis while protecting capital. Targeted at investors seeking capital protection and real returns over the long term.
• Cartesio Y A Spanish-domiciled UCITS fund with full flexibility in asset allocation (0-100% equities) and a long equity bias. Its objective is to outperform the MSCI Europe Net Total Return Index in risk-adjusted returns while maintaining a long-term horizon. Targeted at investors seeking long-term capital appreciation.
• Cartesio Equity Luxembourg-domiciled SIF replica of the Cartesio Y fund, offering the same investment strategy under a Luxembourg structure for international distribution (ISIN LU1966822444 Class I, LU1966822527 Class R, LU1966822790 Class Z). Distributed via the Allfunds platform. Class I/R charge a 1.55% management fee, Class Z 0.9%, with a 7.5% performance fee on positive returns and a 5-year high-water mark.
• Cartesio Income Luxembourg-domiciled SIF replica of the Cartesio X fund, offering the same flexible fixed-income strategy under a Luxembourg structure for international distribution (ISIN LU1966822873 Class I, LU1966822956 Class R, LU1966823095 Class Z). Distributed via the Allfunds platform. Class I and R charge 1% management fees, Class Z 0.65%, with a 0.043% custody fee; no performance fee on Class I/R. Minimum initial investment €6,000 and minimum additional €1,000.

Quantifiable outcome

• Sharpe ratio 82% higher than benchmark over 20 years (0.71 vs 0.39 for Cartasio X)
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• BNP Paribas Securities ServicescoreOthersBNP Paribas Securities Services serves as the depositary and custodian for both Cartasio X and Cartasio Y (Spanish domiciled funds). The firm also serves as the bank where fund subscription transfers are deposited and from which redemption amounts are paid to clients. BNP Paribas was chosen for its high solvency ratio, which Cartasio considers a key criterion given that the custodian's solvency is more important than that of the management company.
• DeloittecoreOthersDeloitte serves as the independent auditor for both Cartasio funds, providing annual audit reports and semiannual review services.
• Mailchimp (Intuit Inc.)minorOthersMailchimp, operated by Intuit Inc. headquartered in the United States, is used to manage the sending of electronic communications to investment clients and newsletter subscribers. This involves international transfer of personal data to the USA under the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework certification.
• AllfundscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAllfunds is a fund distribution platform through which Cartasio funds (Luxembourg replicas Cartasio Income and Cartasio Equity) are distributed. Cartasio Equity won the Expansión-Allfunds 2026 award in the platform's quantitative awards.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Carmignac: French family-controlled active multi-asset and equity manager with similar concentrated, conviction-driven strategies and a 5-star Morningstar-recognised multi-asset franchise. Larger than Cartesio but philosophically aligned.
• Ruffer LLP: UK-based active multi-asset manager with a defensive, capital-preservation focus and concentrated security selection. Directly comparable multi-asset defensive philosophy and was named in Cartesio's 2023 Morningstar award comparison set.
• Magallanes Value Investors: Spanish boutique active manager (founded 2014) running concentrated European and global equity strategies with skin-in-the-game partner culture. Highly comparable to Cartesio in scale, philosophy, and Iberian HNW distribution focus.
• Flossbach von Storch: German independent multi-asset boutique manager with concentrated global equity and multi-asset strategies, partner-owned, with strong retail and HNW distribution across continental Europe. Closely comparable in philosophy, structure, and awards profile.
• Trojan Investment Management: London-based boutique active multi-asset manager with concentrated strategies and a long-term, capital-preservation bias. Similar boutique scale, philosophy, and London/European retail and HNW distribution footprint.
• Metagestión: Spanish boutique asset manager offering multi-asset and equity strategies with a similar concentrated-portfolio philosophy. Comparable in size, geography, and distribution focus on Spanish retail and professional investors.

Broad incumbents

• Bestinver: One of Spain's largest active asset managers (subsidiary of Acciona), offering a broader multi-strategy product range (equity, multi-asset, fixed income). Comparable in Iberian active management franchise but materially larger and part of a corporate group.
• Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management: European private-bank-affiliated active asset manager offering multi-asset and equity strategies. Comparable active multi-asset product suite at significantly larger scale and broader distribution than Cartesio.

Emerging players

• Fundsmith Equity Fund: UK boutique active equity manager known for concentrated, low-turnover strategies with multi-decade manager tenure. Comparable in fund-manager skin-in-the-game alignment, although the product set is single-strategy equity.

Regional players

• DWS Concept Kaldemorgen: German flexible multi-asset strategy explicitly named as a competitor Cartesio defeated for the 2023 Morningstar Best Flexible European Fund award. Comparable active multi-asset product even though wrapped inside a much larger asset manager.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Cartesioinv
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cartesio-inversiones

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cartesio