Capital Markets

New fund manager I&M Capital assets grow to Sh700m

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I&M branch on Kenyatta Avenue, Nairobi. FILE PHOTO | NMG

Start-up fund manager I&M Capital has seen its assets under management rise to Sh700 million after bagging 45 high-net-worth clients since it opened its doors in July 2021.

The firm was launched as part of its parent company I&M Group’s strategy to grow into the wealth management business and reduce reliance on mainstream banking.

Fund management offers stable and recurring revenues besides developing relationships with wealthy clients who also need other financial services, including banking and insurance.

“As of December 2021, the assets under management were over Sh700 million with over 45 newly acquired customers since its launch in July 2021,” I&M Group said of the wealth management unit in its latest annual report.

“The focus for this offering to our customers is services in financial planning, estate planning, investment advisory, and tax advisory. Investment products being offered include local government bonds, sovereign bonds, offshore investment, leverage products and money market funds.”

I&M invested Sh6.6 million in the subsidiary that will be contributing to the group’s non-interest income consisting mainly of fees and commissions.

The banking group reported commission and fee income of Sh4.8 billion last year, up from Sh4.1 billion in 2020.

“I am also delighted to note the launch of I&M Capital Ltd through which the group will offer wealth management and advisory business. This is expected to drive business growth through revenue diversification,” I&M Group chairman Daniel Ndonye said in the report.

The Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed firm joins other established players in the wealth management business, including Standard Chartered Bank Kenya and Citibank.

Most of the lenders offering investment services have historically been strong in corporate banking and serving wealthy individual clients.

Standard Chartered Bank Kenya is one of the biggest players in the segment, managing Sh131 billion in the year ended December and growing the funds from Sh129 billion the year before.

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