Investing in Bolivia

Bolivian investment options include fixed-income securities such as BCB and TGN bonds, long-term and short-term bonds, bank bonds, promissory notes, securitization securities, government bills and green, social or sustainable bonds. Variable-income options include shares and cuotas of closed investment funds. Open investment funds, called Fondos de Inversión Abiertos (FIA), are managed portfolios that generally allow subscriptions and redemptions under their internal regulations. Closed investment funds, called Fondos de Inversión Cerrados (FIC), have a defined term and more limited liquidity; selling a cuota may depend on a secondary market. A DPF is a common bank deposit with a fixed term, but it belongs primarily to banking rather than investing and must be assessed under its own product rules. Property, land, agriculture, private business interests and gold can provide direct exposure to real or private assets, but they are often illiquid and require separate checks such as title, tenant, operating, weather or commodity risks. Digital assets, known locally as Activos Virtuales, have a separate risk profile. Resolution RD 082/2024 enabled certain purchases and sales through electronic payment instruments, but digital assets are not equivalent to securities and do not receive blanket ASFI investor protection. Foreign securities require a separate regulated foreign-broker process with additional checks for cross-border capital transfers, foreign exchange, tax, custody and sanctions. The usual domestic access process includes an identity document and, where applicable, a tax identification number (NIT), know-your-customer and anti-money-laundering checks, a risk profile, a service agreement and a cash account. An Agencia de Bolsa can place orders on the Bolsa Boliviana de Valores (BBV), while a SAFI handles subscriptions and redemptions in accordance with each fund's Reglamento Interno. BCB retail bonds are available only under the current product notice, so the availability window, transferability and conditions must be checked for that specific issue. For foreign investment, Law 516 and the applicable Central Bank of Bolivia (BCB) registration or certificate requirements can affect the process. Before committing money, verify the provider's ASFI registration in the Registro del Mercado de Valores, the BBV listing where relevant, the issuer, prospectus, audited financial statements, rating where applicable, coupon or yield, maturity, index, call rights, currency, redemption notice and expected liquidity. ASFI supervision does not guarantee repayment or prevent market, issuer or liquidity losses. The Entidad de Depósito de Valores de Bolivia (EDV) records and settles dematerialized securities, maintains custody records, handles compensation and settlement, and processes economic rights; investor ownership is reflected through an account annotation or certificate. SAFI records fund cuotas and their daily value, while FIC and FIA custody and withdrawal rules remain product-specific. Digital-asset custody instead depends on wallets, exchanges and control of private keys. Costs can include Agencia de Bolsa commissions, BBV and EDV or settlement fees, SAFI management commissions, fund expenses reflected in the net asset value, bid-ask spreads, foreign-exchange and transfer charges, tax withholding, early-redemption penalties and the opportunity cost of illiquidity. Request the complete fee schedule before placing an order; EDV publishes a 2026 tariff, but the total cost depends on the instrument and service. A portfolio can combine liquidity reserves, maturity ladders and diversification across issuers, sectors, instruments, currencies and durations. No standard allocation guarantees a result. Review credit quality, fund value, exchange-rate exposure, inflation-adjusted return and cash flow, and rebalance according to a written policy. Keep transaction receipts, monthly or annual statements and material-event notices. Investors bear market, issuer, default, interest-rate, inflation, currency, convertibility, operational, cyber, fraud, custody, counterparty and tax risks. Real assets add title, tenant, business, weather and commodity risks; cross-border assets add transfer and sanctions risks. For individuals, interest and other capital returns are generally considered under RC-IVA, with withholding possible when the investor is not directly registered with the Servicio de Impuestos Nacionales (SIN). Dividends are excluded from that treatment. Qualifying interest from DPFs or UFV-linked products and returns on debt securities held for at least three years may generally fall under exclusions in Law 843, while the SIN interpretation of Article 117 of Law 1834 limits the capital-gains exemption to qualifying share purchases and sales through a bolsa, not interest. Corporate, cross-border and product-specific cases require a current tax check. Bolivia's 2025–2026 monetary and foreign-exchange transition makes the applicable purchase, sale, convertibility and transfer costs date-sensitive. A proposed investment law published by the Ministry of Economy and Public Finance in August 2026 was not enacted law at that time. Treat unsolicited Telegram or AI investment offers, guaranteed returns and pyramid claims as fraud warnings, and verify every provider in the relevant register.