I have not opened a Peruvian SAB account. Content based on BVL/CAVALI/SMV public materials, trii/Kallpa public FAQ, broker websites, nuam materials, and ADR/ETF market data.
Short answer
Peru is more accessible than it first looks, but the cleanest route for most foreign individuals is offshore-listed Peruvian exposure, not a direct Lima Stock Exchange account.
Direct local access to the Bolsa de Valores de Lima (BVL) requires a Peruvian Sociedad Agente de Bolsa (SAB). Foreign non-residents are not barred in principle, but the practical route is relationship-based onboarding with an established SAB. The cheap app route, trii Perú, is not available to foreign non-residents: its FAQ says registration requires a Peruvian DNI and that foreign persons cannot currently use the app.
The good news: Peru has one of the better offshore universes in Latin America. EPU, BAP, IFS, BVN, SCCO and CPAC cover much of the investable story without touching local onboarding.
Best practical route
| Route | Practicality | Visit needed |
|---|---|---|
| NYSE/NYSE Arca route: EPU, BAP, IFS, BVN, SCCO, CPAC | Best for most investors | No |
| Local SAB: Credicorp Capital, BTG Pactual Peru, Inteligo, Renta 4, Kallpa, Scotia Bolsa, BBVA, LarrainVial | Direct BVL access; case-by-case for non-residents | Ask broker |
| trii Perú / Kallpa app | Not viable for non-resident foreigners | N/A - Peruvian DNI required |
| nuam / MILA regional broker route | Possible if you already have Chile/Colombia/Peru broker relationship | Depends on base broker |
| IBKR / Saxo / Swissquote / DEGIRO | Good for offshore Peruvian listings; not direct BVL | No |
For most readers: start with EPU + BAP/IFS/BVN/SCCO. Only pursue direct BVL access if you specifically want local-only names such as Alicorp, Ferreycorp, Minsur, Cerro Verde, Volcan, InRetail, BBVA Peru, Rimac or Credicorp/IFS local lines in Lima.
Direct local-market access
Peruvian exchange trades go through a Sociedad Agente de Bolsa (SAB). The SMV financial-education page says investors who want to buy or sell securities through the exchange must use an SAB, and the SMV directory lists authorized agents.
The current SMV SAB directory includes, among others:
| SAB | Notes |
|---|---|
| Credicorp Capital SAB | Large local/regional broker; natural first call for larger accounts |
| BTG Pactual Peru SAB | Regional/institutional/private-client orientation |
| Inteligo SAB | Intercorp-linked; active in Peruvian brokerage/wealth |
| Kallpa Securities SAB | Powers trii, but the app itself requires Peruvian DNI |
| Renta 4 SAB | Retail-facing online broker; Spain-linked group |
| Scotia Bolsa SAB | Scotiabank-linked local broker |
| BBVA SAB | Bank-linked |
| LarrainVial SAB | Regional broker; potentially useful for nuam/MILA context |
| Diviso Bolsa SAB | Local broker |
| Grupo Coril SAB | Local broker |
| Seminario y Cia. SAB | Long-established local broker |
| Tradek SAB | Local broker |
Ask the first email very directly:
“Can you open a cash equity account for a non-Peruvian, non-resident individual who does not have Peruvian DNI or a Peruvian bank account? Can onboarding be completed remotely, and what documents are required?”
Expect passport, proof of address, tax-residence/FATCA-CRS forms, source-of-funds evidence, bank references, notarized/apostilled documents and manual review. A local bank account may not be a legal universal requirement, but it can become the practical bottleneck.
Trii warning
Trii is useful for Peruvian citizens, but not for this directory’s normal foreign-non-resident reader.
Trii’s Peru FAQ says:
- Registration requires a valid Peruvian DNI.
- Foreign persons cannot currently use the app.
- Users can live in Peru or abroad, but must have Peruvian DNI.
- US persons cannot complete validation.
- The app opens the account through Kallpa SAB.
So do not list trii as a foreigner-friendly Peru route. Contact Kallpa directly if you want to test whether Kallpa can onboard a foreign non-resident outside the app.
What you can actually buy on BVL
The BVL is heavily skewed toward mining, banks, holding companies, utilities, industrials and consumer staples. Important local or dual-listed names include:
- Financials: Credicorp, Intercorp Financial Services, BBVA Peru, Rimac Seguros.
- Mining / resources: Buenaventura, Southern Copper, Cerro Verde, Minsur, Volcan, Nexa Resources Peru, Poderosa.
- Industrials / infrastructure: Cementos Pacasmayo, UNACEM, Ferreycorp, Aceros Arequipa.
- Consumer / conglomerates: Alicorp, InRetail Peru, Lindley.
- Utilities / energy: Luz del Sur, Enel Distribucion Peru, Enel Generacion Peru.
- BVL itself: Bolsa de Valores de Lima is listed locally and now sits inside the broader nuam integration story.
Peru also has a local foreign-securities segment: BVL publishes “valores extranjeros listados por agente promotor”, which allows foreign securities and ETFs to trade locally through promoter agents. That is mainly useful for Peru-tax-resident investors, not for a foreign investor who can already buy US/European securities directly elsewhere.
Offshore-listed alternatives
Broad ETF:
| Ticker | Exchange | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| EPU | NYSE Arca | iShares MSCI Peru ETF. Top holdings recently included Southern Copper, Credicorp, Buenaventura, Hochschild, Pan American Silver and Intercorp Financial Services. |
NYSE / international single-name routes:
| Ticker | Exchange | Company | Peru exposure |
|---|---|---|---|
| BAP | NYSE | Credicorp | Peru’s dominant financial group; also regional operations |
| IFS | NYSE | Intercorp Financial Services | Peruvian banking, insurance and wealth-management group |
| BVN | NYSE | Buenaventura | Peruvian precious-metals miner |
| SCCO | NYSE | Southern Copper | Large copper producer with major Peru and Mexico operations |
| CPAC | NYSE | Cementos Pacasmayo | Peruvian cement; watch potential NYSE ADS delisting after Holcim control transaction |
| HOC | LSE | Hochschild Mining | UK-listed precious-metals miner with important Peru exposure; not pure-play |
Do not overstate diversified miners as Peru stocks. SCCO is valid because Peru is structurally important to the company. Hochschild is a Peru-relevant mining name, but not a clean Peru pure-play. Broader miners with one Peruvian asset should be treated as partial exposure only.
Nuam / MILA context
Peru is part of the regional integration story with Chile and Colombia. nuam is the holding that integrates the Santiago, Lima and Colombia stock exchanges into a single market. The practical implication is not yet “open one foreign retail account and trade everything easily”; it is more modest:
- Regional brokers may become more useful over time.
- Cross-border Chile/Colombia/Peru order routing should improve.
- Liquidity and settlement infrastructure may gradually become less fragmented.
For now, treat nuam as a medium-term structural positive, not a substitute for onboarding with a Peruvian SAB if you want local BVL shares.
Broker stack for Peru
| Need | Best route |
|---|---|
| Broad Peru exposure | EPU through any US/ETF-capable broker |
| Peruvian banks | BAP and IFS through NYSE |
| Peruvian mining | BVN, SCCO, and selectively HOC |
| Local-only BVL names | Peruvian SAB: Credicorp Capital, BTG Pactual Peru, Inteligo, Renta 4, Kallpa, Scotia Bolsa, BBVA, LarrainVial |
| Peru resident buying foreign ETFs locally | BVL foreign-securities / agente-promotor segment through a local SAB |
| Foreign non-resident app route | None found; trii is DNI-only |
Verdict
Peru is one of the rare frontier/emerging markets where the offshore route is genuinely good enough for most investors. The NYSE universe covers banks, insurance/wealth, mining, cement and broad ETF exposure. The direct local route is worth it only if you want local-only Peruvian mid-caps or a specific BVL thesis.
For the directory, Peru should be labelled: offshore-accessible; direct local access possible but relationship-based.
The main trap is trii. It looks like the easy modern app route, but its own FAQ says Peru users need a Peruvian DNI and foreign persons cannot currently use it. For non-resident foreigners, talk to full-service SABs directly or stay with the offshore listings.
Sources & dates
Public sources checked:
- SMV education page on secondary-market investing and SAB requirement: https://www.smv.gob.pe/OrientacionyEducacion/MercadoSecundario.aspx
- SMV directory of authorized SABs: https://www.smv.gob.pe/SIMV/frm_SABDirectorio?data=9E18C6157CF20C8B78D7E44880379228CFF6F7FFC3
- trii Peru FAQ, DNI-only and foreigner restriction: https://trii.pe/faq
- Kallpa Securities SAB: https://www.kallpasab.com/es/
- Renta 4 SAB Peru: https://www.renta4.pe/productos-de-inversion/broker-online
- BVL foreign securities / agente promotor page: https://www.bvl.com.pe/productos/inversionistas/valores-extranjeros/valores-extranjeros-listados-por-bvl-y-agente-promotor
- nuam: https://www.nuam.com/en
- iShares EPU factsheet / fund page: https://www.ishares.com/us/products/239617/ishares-msci-all-peru-capped-etf
- EPU holdings snapshot: https://stockanalysis.com/etf/epu/holdings/
- IFS company profile: https://stockanalysis.com/stocks/ifs/company/
- CPAC / Holcim potential delisting report: https://www.cemnet.com/News/story/181127/holcim-signals-potential-nyse-delisting-for-pacasmayo.html