Trust & Governance
Institutional Trust Framework
Your equity is secured by a Mexican Bank Trust (Fideicomiso) — the original sovereign contract for property ownership. Administered by Covalto Bank, whose digital-first infrastructure enables Covest to eliminate every office visit.
Fideicomisos: the original sovereign contract — constitutionally protected, institutionally governed, publicly recorded.
Your Ownership Record
Your Fideicomiso agreements are digitally secured and independently verifiable — an immutable verification layer atop sovereign legal ownership. Every clause, every beneficiary right, every amendment is permanently recorded with bank-level encryption and NOM-151 compliance. The legal instrument is constitutional. The verification is unalterable.
Bank Administered
Administered by a CNBV-regulated financial institution acting as fiduciary trustee. Your trust exists in the sovereign legal system, independent of any platform or operator.
Digitally Secured
Every signed agreement is recorded with tamper-proof integrity. Verify document authenticity at any time against the secure digital record.
Perpetual
Renewable every 50 years, in perpetuity. Your ownership outlasts any platform, any operator, any technology cycle.
Structure
Four parties. One purpose.
The Fideicomiso is a constitutionally protected bank trust that separates administrative title from beneficial ownership. Your ownership is secured in a tamper-proof digital vault — independently verifiable, immutable, and sovereign.
Party 2
Fiduciario
The Bank
Covalto Bank, a regulated Mexican financial institution, holds administrative title and acts as trustee.
Party 1
Fideicomitente
The Seller
The owner’s title is protocolized to the fiduciary vehicle.
Party 3
Fideicomisario
You
The beneficiary. You hold all beneficial rights: sell, rent, improve, bequeath. The bank claims no equity.
Party 4
Coordinator
Covest
We coordinate everything — orchestrating digital agreements across banks, notaries, registries, and property managers.
Critical distinction
Your ownership is secured in an independently verifiable digital vault.
You can sell, rent, improve, and bequeath your ownership. The trust is renewable every 50 years, in perpetuity.
Sovereign Trust Infrastructure
Legally structured from the ground up
Every Covest property acquisition is governed by a Fideicomiso — a legally binding trust agreement established under Mexican federal law. Unlike informal ownership arrangements, every term, protection, and obligation is institutionally enforced, publicly registered, and constitutionally grounded.
Legally Binding Trust Agreements
Fideicomisos are not informal agreements — they are formally notarized trust instruments governed by the Mexican Credit Institutions Law (Ley de Instituciones de Crédito). Every clause, beneficiary right, and trustee obligation is precisely defined, publicly recorded, and legally enforceable.
Institutional Governance
Covalto’s infrastructure enables Covest to deliver a trust administered by a CNBV-regulated financial institution. The bank acts as fiduciary trustee — holding administrative title, overseeing compliance, and ensuring every obligation under the trust is fulfilled with institutional rigor.
Public Registry Recording
Your beneficial ownership interest is recorded in Mexico’s Public Registry of Property (Registro Público de la Propiedad). This creates a sovereign, publicly verifiable ownership record that exists independently of any platform, operator, or company.
Regulatory Oversight
Every Fideicomiso operates under the continuous oversight of the CNBV (Comisión Nacional Bancaria y de Valores) — Mexico’s federal banking regulator. This is not optional compliance; it is a structural requirement of the trust framework itself.
Comparison
Why the Fideicomiso wins
Three ownership models compared across the criteria that matter most to long-term property investors. Only the Digital Fideicomiso provides deeded rights, institutional oversight, and tamper-proof record integrity under a single sovereign framework.
| Criteria | Digital Fideicomiso(Covest) | US LLC(Pacaso model) | Blockchain Token(Crypto ownership) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legal Sovereignty | |||
| Legal standing | Constitutional (Mexican federal law) | Corporate entity (foreign jurisdiction) | Contractual at best (no sovereign backing) |
| Asset protection | Segregated from trustee’s balance sheet | Corporate piercing risk | Code-dependent, no institutional backstop |
| Institutional oversight | CNBV-regulated bank trustee | Self-governed or operator-dependent | None — permissionless protocol |
| Deeded ownership | |||
| Public registry recorded | |||
| Dispute resolution | Mexican federal courts + CNBV | Courts (jurisdiction risk) | No formal mechanism |
| Regulatory compliance | |||
| Survives operator failure | |||
| Right to sell | |||
| Right to bequeath | |||
| Digital Infrastructure | |||
| Immutable ownership record | |||
| Transparent audit trail | |||
| Tamper-proof document sealing | |||
Triple Sovereignty
Protected on three fronts
The Fideicomiso’s strength comes from the intersection of three independent sovereignty frameworks — Mexican federal law infrastructure, investor-enforceable property rights, and a secure digital vault. No single pillar can be removed without dismantling the others.
Mexican Federal Law Infrastructure
Your ownership is anchored in Mexico’s constitutional and banking law framework — the same sovereign infrastructure that governs every bank, every public institution, and every legally recorded property transaction in the country.
- Constitutional protection under Article 27 of the Mexican Constitution
- Governed by the Ley de Instituciones de Crédito (Banking Law)
- Administered by a CNBV-regulated financial institution (Covalto Bank)
- Recorded in the Public Registry of Property (Registro Público de la Propiedad)
- Trust assets legally segregated from bank deposits (not covered by IPAB deposit insurance)
Investor-Enforceable Property Rights
Beyond legal structure, every Fideicomiso is built to give you direct, enforceable rights as the beneficial owner — rights that exist independently of Covest as a platform and independently of any single operator.
- Deeded beneficial ownership recorded in the Public Registry
- Right to sell your interest to any third party
- Right to bequeath your ownership to heirs
- Right to rental income as contractual beneficiary
- 50-year renewable term — in perpetuity
Secure Digital Vault
Your ownership documents and beneficial rights records are secured in a tamper-proof digital vault — independent of any single institution, immune to unilateral alteration, and verifiable by any party at any time.
- Ownership records secured in a tamper-proof digital system
- Document authenticity independently verifiable
- Independent of any single institution, platform, or operator
- NOM-151 compliant digital legal certainty (Certeza Jurídica Digital)
- Immutable audit trail of every trust amendment and beneficiary change
ISO-9001 Compliant Operational Standards
We separate asset ownership from tailored management. While you own the asset, the operation is conducted by certified partners audited annually for financial transparency and service quality.
Transparent Accounting
Real-time access to operating expenses, reserve funds, and rental revenue distribution.
Service Audits
Quarterly inspections of physical plant and concierge performance metrics.
Insurance Framework
Eight coverage categories including property, liability, and Mexico-specific catastrophic endorsements (earthquake, hurricane, flood). Coverage limits and carrier documentation are disclosed to all beneficiaries annually and verified during property audits.
Reserve Fund Management
A minimum 10% reserve fund is maintained as part of each trust’s patrimonio separado — covering capital expenditures without emergency capital calls. Reserve contributions are mandatory under the trust deed and reported quarterly to all beneficiaries.
Vendor Governance
All service providers — property managers, maintenance contractors, auditors — are engaged through ISO 9001-compliant vendor protocols with documented performance standards, annual reviews, and contractual audit rights. No vendor relationship is permitted to create undisclosed conflicts of interest.
Digital Infrastructure
Every step, digitally
Covalto Bank's digital infrastructure enables Covest to eliminate the friction of traditional Mexican real estate. From identity verification to public registry filing — no flights, no office visits, no paper.
Digital Signatures
Legally binding, remotely executed
Execute trust documents with advanced electronic signatures recognized under Mexican law. No physical presence required — sign from anywhere in the world.
Biometric Identity Verification
Bank-grade KYC, zero paperwork
Complete identity verification through biometric analysis — facial recognition and document validation — meeting full CNBV Know-Your-Customer requirements digitally.
Remote Notarization
Notarial acts without office visits
Notarize trust documents remotely through authorized digital notarial protocols. The same legal weight as in-person notarization, executed from your living room.
Public Registry Filing
Digital recording of ownership
Your ownership is recorded in Mexico's Public Registry of Property through digital filing. The deed exists in the public record — verifiable, permanent, sovereign.
Blockchain-Sealed Contracts
Immutable, encrypted, NOM-151 compliant
Every signed trust document is sealed within a private blockchain using Distributed Ledger Technology — making each contract unique, unrepeatable, and unalterable. Encrypted storage in SAS-70 certified data centers with NOM-151 compliance ensures legal conservation of all data messages. Verify document integrity at any time against the blockchain record.
Transparent Financial Reporting
Real-time visibility into your asset
Access quarterly financial reports, maintenance records, and trust administration updates through a digital dashboard. Full transparency, zero opacity.
: 100% remote Fideicomiso formation through Banco Covalto
Covalto's regulated digital channels allow sovereign property ownership in Mexico to be established without the traditional 12-15 office visits — compressing months into weeks.
Banking Partner
Institutional Trust Administration by Banco Covalto
Every Covest Fideicomiso is secured and administered by a CNBV-regulated banking institution — with digital infrastructure purpose-built for remote trust operations.
Banco Covalto provides the fiduciary backbone for every Covest ownership structure. Their regulated banking license, digital-first operations, and institutional trust administration enable fully remote Fideicomiso execution — from biometric identity verification through public registry filing.
CNBV Regulated
Full compliance with Mexico's National Banking and Securities Commission
Digital-First Banking
Purpose-built infrastructure for remote financial operations
Fiduciary Trustee
Institutional administration of every Covest Fideicomiso
Institutional Infrastructure
Leading Mexico's transition to digital banking infrastructure
Institutional Partner Details
Covalto is a CNBV-regulated Mexican bank that became the first fintech in Mexico to acquire a banking license in 2021. Headquartered in Mexico City, Covalto provides digital banking, lending, factoring, leasing, and fiduciary services to individuals and businesses across Mexico.
Covalto's digital-first banking infrastructure is what enables Covest to offer fully remote Fideicomiso administration — from biometric identity verification to electronic signatures and digital notarization. Without Covalto's technology stack, the in-person requirements that traditionally slow Mexican real estate transactions would remain.
Every Covest Fideicomiso is secured and administered by Covalto Bank under CNBV oversight. Your trust assets are legally segregated from the bank's own balance sheet under Mexican banking law. As segregated trust property, they are not bank deposits and are not covered by IPAB (Instituto para la Protección al Ahorro Bancario) deposit insurance. Asset protection derives from legal segregation under the Fideicomiso trust structure.
Safeguards
Built for the “what ifs”
Every ownership structure must answer the hard questions before they arise. Our governance framework addresses default, maintenance, decision-making, platform survival, regulatory oversight, and succession with institutional rigor.
Default Clause
What happens if an owner stops paying?
Every Fideicomiso includes a mandatory default clause. If an owner fails to meet their financial obligations (maintenance fees, assessments), a structured resolution process activates: written notice, 90-day cure period, and if unresolved, a forced buyout mechanism at independently appraised fair market value. No owner can hold the group hostage.
Sinking Fund
How are major repairs funded?
A mandatory reserve fund is established from day one, funded by a percentage of each owner’s annual assessment. This fund covers capital expenditures (roof replacement, HVAC, structural work) without emergency capital calls. The fund balance and allocation are reported quarterly to all beneficiaries.
Operating Bylaws
Who makes decisions and how?
A comprehensive set of bylaws governs scheduling, maintenance priorities, voting rights, and dispute resolution. Voting is proportional to ownership share. Major decisions (sale, renovation above threshold) require supermajority approval. Day-to-day management is delegated to the ISO-certified operator.
Patrimonio Separado
What protects assets from platform failure?
Each Fideicomiso creates a patrimonio separado — a legally separate patrimony under the LGTOC (Ley General de Títulos y Operaciones de Crédito). Trust assets are ring-fenced from Covest’s corporate assets, Banco Covalto’s balance sheet, and all other trusts. If Covest ceases operations, the patrimonio separado remains fully intact under Banco Covalto’s continuing administration. Creditors of any third party have no legal claim against trust-held property.
CNBV Regulatory Oversight
Who supervises the trustee bank?
Banco Covalto holds a full banking license under continuous supervision by the CNBV — Mexico’s federal banking regulator. Fiduciary obligations are legally binding: Banco Covalto must act exclusively in beneficiaries’ interests as defined in the trust deed. Covalto’s infrastructure enables Covest to deliver federal-level oversight as a structural requirement of every trust, not a contractual commitment.
Trust Account Segregation
How is your capital kept separate?
CNBV regulations require trust assets to be held in separate accounts, independently accounted for, and isolated from the bank’s freely available assets. Banco Covalto cannot transfer trust property without written beneficiary consent. All capital flows occur exclusively through Banco Covalto’s regulated banking infrastructure — never through Covest directly.
Substitute Beneficiary
What happens to your ownership if you pass away?
Every Fideicomiso allows designation of substitute beneficiaries — your heirs receive your ownership interest directly through the trust structure without probate proceedings. The trust deed defines succession rights that survive any platform, operator, or service provider. Your ownership interest is a deeded beneficial right that can be bequeathed in perpetuity.
Independent Audit Protocol
Who verifies compliance annually?
Every Fideicomiso undergoes an annual independent CPA audit covering trust account reconciliations, reserve fund adequacy, and financial transparency reporting. USPAP-certified property appraisals are conducted every 3–5 years. All audit findings are reported to beneficiaries through Banco Covalto’s infrastructure, providing a sovereign-grade compliance record independent of Covest’s internal reporting.
See how these safeguards translate into enforceable investor rights.
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