The value of assets under the management (AUM) of unit trusts or collective investment schemes has crossed the Sh500 billion mark, rising by 20.1 percent to Sh596.3 billion in June 2025, up from Sh496.2 billion in March.
A unit trust is an arrangement whereby investors’ funds are pooled together and used to invest in a portfolio of securities and other financial assets, with beneficial interest in the assets of the trust divided into units.
New data from the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) shows the AUM of the pooled investments has now grown by 953 percent since the first quarter of 2018.
The markets regulator has attributed the growth in assets for the schemes to heightened marketing by fund managers who oversee the investments, alongside a lift from new entrants.
“The increase can be attributed to overall growth reported by existing CIS funds as well as additional funds registered by existing umbrella schemes and commenced reporting in 2025,” CMA said.
“The increase can also be attributed to intensified marketing efforts by the fund managers.”
CMA has continued to approve new collective investment schemes and sub-funds in recent months, mirroring the underlying demand for pooled investments in the Kenyan market.
Sanlam Investments East Africa, which remained the largest unit trust business at the end of June with an asset base of Sh113.6 billion, received approval in July to establish a new sub-fund, Sanlam Special GBP Fixed Income Fund, while ALA Capital Limited was approved to register the ALA Capital Collective Investment Scheme with six sub-funds.
VCG Asset Management Limited was similarly approved to register three new funds.
“These approvals reflect growing investor confidence and increased appetite for diversified investment options, including foreign currency-denominated and offshore funds,” CMA chief executive officer Wycliffe Shamiah said previously.
The number of investors in the funds has also continued to grow steadily and reached 2.46 million at the end of June from 2.01 million as of March 2025.
The ranking of the top five-unit trust schemes has remained largely unchanged, with other top players outside Sanlam being CIC, Standard Investment Bank (SIB), NCBA, and Britam.
The top five schemes commanded a market share of 64 percent and had an asset base of Sh381.7 billion.
The CMA had approved 55 unit trusts as of June 30, 2025, which comprised 234 funds, where 40 were active.
The markets regulator noted that the fund management segment has continued to attract great interest, which is evidenced by an increased number of applications for the grant of fund manager licenses while investment banks, which were initially not in the business, are applying to join.
“Additionally, the market has experienced aggressive marketing by various players ranging from fund managers, content creators, podcasts, digital and social media platforms, and investor awareness programmes championed by the authority and other stakeholders in the market.”
Money market funds (MMFs), which invest primarily in short-term government securities and commercial bank fixed deposits, remain the most popular form of unit trusts.
Other types of funds cover fixed income, balanced, and special funds which invest in diversified asset classes.
