If you live in Argentina and want exposure to the S&P 500 - the benchmark index of the 500 largest U.S. companies - you do not need a foreign brokerage account or thousands of dollars. You can buy it in pesos, on the local exchange, through an instrument called a CEDEAR. This guide explains how it works in 2026, which CEDEARs track the S&P 500, what it costs, how it is taxed, and the one mechanic most people get wrong: the double price.
Verified data as of July 2026. Ratios, fees, tax thresholds and the exchange-rate regime change over time - confirm the current figures with your broker and a licensed accountant before you invest.
Buying global stocks from Argentina, in pesos
Until 2024, many Argentines bought CEDEARs mainly to get around the cepo - the currency controls that capped dollar purchases at US$200 a month. That reason is largely gone. Since 14 April 2025, individuals can buy and hold dollars without a volume cap, under a floating-band regime whose edges are adjusted monthly, and the gap between the official and financial dollar has narrowed from more than 100% in 2024 to a low single-digit range by mid-2026.
So the reason to hold a CEDEAR today is not a currency trick. It is straightforward: exposure to global equities plus a peso instrument whose value tracks the dollar, which acts as a hedge against local currency depreciation. That reframing matters, because a lot of older Argentine content still sells CEDEARs as a way to beat the cepo. In 2026, think of them as a way to own the U.S. market from a peso account.
What is a CEDEAR?
A CEDEAR (Certificado de Depósito Argentino) is a certificate that trades on BYMA, the Buenos Aires exchange, and represents a fraction of a foreign share or ETF unit. You buy and sell it in pesos (some also trade in dollars). The certificates are issued by Banco Comafi, with custody at Caja de Valores. There are more than 300 CEDEARs listed, over a million accounts hold them, and they have accounted for roughly half of BYMA's equity trading volume in early 2026.
The key concept is the conversion ratio: how many CEDEARs equal one real unit of the underlying asset. A ratio of 60:1 means 60 CEDEARs represent one unit of the underlying, so each CEDEAR is worth about 1/60 of that unit. The ratio exists so the peso price of a single CEDEAR stays small and accessible - you do not need the full dollar price of a share to get started.
What is the S&P 500?
The S&P 500 is a market-capitalization-weighted index of the 500 largest publicly traded U.S. companies, maintained by S&P Dow Jones Indices. It is the main benchmark for the U.S. stock market, so owning it is a bet on the broad American economy rather than any single company. Over the long run it has returned roughly 10% per year on average in nominal terms since 1957 (total return with dividends reinvested), or about 6.5% after inflation.
Past returns do not guarantee future returns. The S&P 500 has fallen sharply in individual years - no equity investment is risk-free, and a long-term average hides the volatility along the way.
How to get the S&P 500 through CEDEARs
Two S&P 500 ETFs have a CEDEAR on BYMA. The most traded is SPY; IVV is a valid but far less liquid alternative. VOO, the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, does not have a CEDEAR, so you cannot buy it this way.
A quick note on why you might still see 20:1 quoted: SPY's ratio changed from 20:1 to 60:1 with a split around 29 May 2026, and BYMA's official "CEDEARs Negociables" document was dated 14 May 2026 - two weeks before the split - so older references still show the old number. Always check the current ratio in your broker on the day you buy.
Here is the ratio in practice, as an illustrative example (prices vary): say you put $100,000 pesos into the SPY CEDEAR. Divide your pesos by the CEDEAR's peso price to get the number of CEDEARs you own. Divide that number by 60 and you get your equivalent exposure in SPY units. It is a simple two-step conversion once you know the ratio.
Step by step: how to buy
Open a cuenta comitente (brokerage account) at a licensed broker - an ALyC. Brokers that offer CEDEARs include IOL (InvertirOnline), Balanz, Cocos Capital, Bull Market Brokers and PPI. This is a list, not a recommendation.
Fund the account by transferring pesos from your bank.
Search for the SPY ticker, check the live ratio and price, and place your order. A market order fills at the current price; a limit order lets you set a maximum price you are willing to pay.
How much it costs
The all-in cost of a CEDEAR trade is a small stack: your broker's commission, BYMA's market fee, and 21% VAT charged on top of both. Custody is generally free for small retail investors. The table shows typical 2026 figures.
A worked example: on a $200,000 peso purchase at a 0.50% broker commission, you pay about $1,000 in commission, $100 for the BYMA market fee, and $231 in VAT (21% of the $1,100), for roughly $1,331 - about 0.67% all-in. A full round trip (buy and sell) costs roughly double that. The expense ratio of the underlying ETF is separate and is baked into the price, not billed to you.
The simplest way to remember the tax treatment is: selling is exempt, the dividend is taxed. The capital gain from selling a CEDEAR is exempt from income tax for resident individuals when traded on CNV-authorized markets. That is the friendly part.
Dividends are the opposite. For a CEDEAR over a U.S. stock, the United States withholds 30% at source - Argentina has no operative treaty that lowers this, so ignore any "7%" or "10% by treaty" figures you may read elsewhere; they do not apply here. On top of that, for an Argentine resident the dividend is foreign-source income that is taxable under Ganancias on a progressive scale up to 35%, usually with a credit for the tax already paid in the U.S. The exact mechanics of that credit are an accountant question, not a do-it-yourself one.
There is also a cost that is not a tax: collecting a dividend triggers a depositary/broker fee of roughly 6-8% plus VAT of the dividend amount. Treat it as a drag on income, not a tax. And on Bienes Personales (the wealth tax), CEDEARs are covered with no exemption - unlike local shares and ADRs, there is no substitute withholding agent, so you declare them yourself. There is an annual non-taxable minimum that is updated each year, so do not rely on a memorized number; check the current threshold when you file.
Tax rules change and depend on your personal situation. This is general information, not tax advice - confirm current thresholds and your own treatment with a licensed accountant.
In pesos, and as a dollar hedge: MEP vs CCL
Because a CEDEAR is priced in pesos but tracks a dollar-denominated asset, it doubles as a hedge: its peso price rises when the dollar rises. Two related operations often come up in the same brokerage account, but neither is the same as buying a CEDEAR. The dólar MEP ("dólar bolsa") means buying a bond in pesos - typically the AL30 - and selling it for dollars that stay in a local account. The dólar CCL (contado con liquidación) uses the same mechanic, but the dollars end up in an account abroad, and it usually trades a little more expensive than MEP.
Risks you need to understand
The most important one is the double price. A CEDEAR's peso price moves for two reasons at once: the underlying asset's price, and the implied CCL dollar embedded in the CEDEAR. That means your CEDEAR can rise or fall purely because the dollar moved, even if the S&P 500 did not budge - and vice versa. If you only watch the index, you will misread your own position.
Double price: peso price depends on both the underlying and the implied dollar - the single most misunderstood point.
Liquidity varies by CEDEAR; SPY is among the most liquid, IVV much less so.
Ratio changes: ratios can be adjusted, as SPY's split in May 2026 showed - your number of certificates changes even though your economic exposure does not.
Market and currency risk: you carry both U.S. equity risk and Argentine currency risk at the same time.
Frequently asked questions
Can I buy the S&P 500 in pesos from Argentina?
Yes. Through a CEDEAR on BYMA you get S&P 500 exposure while paying in pesos, without a foreign brokerage account. The most traded option is the SPY CEDEAR.
How many SPY CEDEARs equal one unit?
As of July 2026, the ratio is 60:1 - 60 CEDEARs represent one SPY unit, following a split in late May 2026 (it was previously 20:1). Confirm the live ratio in your broker before you trade.
How much tax do I pay?
Selling a CEDEAR is exempt from income tax for resident individuals on CNV-authorized markets. Dividends are taxed: the U.S. withholds 30% at source, and the dividend is also taxable under Ganancias, usually with a credit for the U.S. tax. Check your situation with an accountant.
What is the difference between SPY and IVV?
Both track the same index. The practical difference for a CEDEAR buyer is liquidity and ratio: SPY is far more traded (60:1), while IVV is a valid but thinner alternative (692:1).
Does the CEDEAR go up if the dollar goes up?
Yes - that is the double price. A CEDEAR's peso value tracks both the underlying asset and the implied dollar, so it can rise when the dollar rises even if the S&P 500 is flat.
Legal Notice: Education, not advice. Past results do not guarantee future returns. Investing always involves risks.
Cost stack for a CEDEAR trade (typical, 2026)
Illustrative single-side rates. Broker commission ranges from 0% to about 0.60% depending on the broker and plan.
Source: Broker fee schedules; BYMA (market fee 0.050% since 1 Oct 2025), July 2026
