The Federation Treasury Certificates (cetes) allow the general population to invest their money in government securities directly without the intervention of banks, brokerage houses or other financial agencies. With this, people have the possibility of obtaining income at different terms.
Cetes can be acquired in periods of 28, 91, 182 and 350 days, or in 10-year fixed rate bonds and Federal Government Development Bonds denominated in Investment Units (Udibonos) to 30 years. These are issued by the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP) and protected by the Bank of Mexico (Banxico).
According to the Ministry of Finance, Cetes Direct It is a reliable platform since it has the support of the Government of Mexico and regulators such as the National Banking and Securities Commission, and is managed by the Nacional Financiera (Nafin), SNC, an entity that has operated since 1934.
It should be remembered that cetes are a financial instrument issued by the federal government that functions like a promissory note. Through them, you can obtain money in exchange for paying it with interest within a specified period. You can start investing if you are interested over 18 years who reside in the country, with curp and have a bank account in their name held in Mexico. It has no cost to open and does not charge commissions for account management.
To carry out the first operation, you must enter Cetes Directo of the SHCP, which operates 365 days a year and is available in the app store for iOS and Android mobile devices, or on the website (www.cetesdirecto.com).
Within the platform, what must be done is:
- Create a username and password, as well as enter the requested personal data
- Select the purchase section
- Choose one of the available instruments and an investment term
- Select the auction (date) in which you want to participate
- Enter the amount you wish to invest
- Select payment method
If you wish to reinvest the money automatically at the end, activate the corresponding box.
It is always a good option to invest in cetes due to the security provided by being a government instrument. However, due to the drop in interest rates, this may not be the ideal time to invest. In accordance with Gabriela Siller Pagazadirector of Economic and Financial Analysis at Banco Base, at this time it is better to put the money in long-term instruments.
“Now rates are about to go down, so it is better to ensure a good performance for the long term, and not for the short term like the cetes are,” said the specialist.
However, with the triumph of Claudia Sheinbaum in the presidency of Mexico, the stock markets and the exchange rate presented significant volatility, due to which even the head of the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP), Rogelio Ramírez de la Or, he had to “go out to calm the markets.”
Siller Pagaza added that small increases are important to take into account, especially in long-term instruments, since they may reflect the restrictive monetary policy of the Bank of Mexico.
“After the volatility on Monday, where the rates of Mexican government instruments rose significantly, greater calm is perceived on June 4. (…) The differentiated rise in yield rates may be due to a greater perception of long-term risk, since according to the conference of the Secretary of the Treasury, the deficit should be reduced until it reaches 3% of GDP in the medium term. The reduction of the deficit is positive on the one hand because otherwise it would have generated a slowdown in the economy and very possibly a recession, but on the other hand they will have to be very careful because it increases the probability of a cut in the credit rating of the company. sovereign debt of Mexico,” explained the Banco Base specialist.
If you are just starting to invest, or if you already manage cetes, it is important to know how much the certificates are worth and how much interest they accumulate and vary over time. According to Banxico, as well as the cetes direct page, the results of the most recent auction indicate that today, March 5, they behave as follows:
The 28-day cetes have a yield rate of 11.04%, that is, this figure rose .01% compared to the previous period, when it was at 11.03 percentage points.
Within a period of 91 days (3 months), the cetes have a current yield of 11.15%, which shows that there was no type of variation compared to the previous week.
In the case of 175-day cetes, the yield rate was placed at 11.24%, that is, it had a positive effect of +0.04 percent.
The 679-day cetes registered a reference rate of 11.54% in the most recent auction, which shows that the variation was +0.23% compared to the previous week, when it was placed at 11.31 percentage points.
In addition to the cetes with promotion below their face value (10 pesos), there are bonds that deliver profits every half year at a fixed rate, have a value of 100 pesos and can be obtained in installments; Udibonos or UDI’s pay interest every six months based on a fixed interest rate, plus a profit and a decrease; Bondes D have variable interest every 28 days according to the Weighted Bank Funding Rate, have a nominal value of 100 pesos and can be acquired for five years.
That said, in the most recent update, the Bondes D were as follows:
– At 301 days with current value of $99.94322 (0.07), that is to say that compared to the previous result there was no type of variation.
– At 1078 days with a recent value of $99.54118 (0.18) which compared to the previous one of $99.56588 (0.17) had a positive difference of +0.01 percent.
– At 6734 days it has a current value of $80.81460 (10.04) while in the previous period it was at $80.00499 (10.15), that is, a negative variation of -0.11 percent.
In the case of Udibonos, it is advisable to visit the Banxico site directly, since the deadlines vary. According to the Banxico website, the 3-year Udibonos, with a term of 910 days, were placed at 91.13801 (6.88), an upward variation of +0.32% compared to the previous period, when it was placed at 91.60192 (6.56).
This behavior regarding negative variations in Treasury Certificates already had a history for several weeks, which can confirm that the period of high yield is already running out, especially in short-term certificates.
The rate of return changes every day, so there are periods in which it manages to compensate for losses in inflation, but others in which it does not. Even though there are other factors that affect the value of the Certificates (such as the interest rate, inflation or economic growth), the reference rate of Banxico is the most important.
During 2022 and 2023, the global inflationary rise caused uncertainty and fear in central banks, however, now the outlook is different due to a reduction in inflation rates, which in turn lowers the rates of return on investment instruments.
