CIC units drive 17 percent growth in mutual funds

The assets under management (AUM) of collective investment schemes rose 16.8 percent in the first half of 2019 compared to a similar period last year, marked by a shift to government securities in asset allocation.

Latest sector data from the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) shows the growth in assets to Sh66.32 billion from Sh56.77 billion last year was primarily driven by the CIC Unit Trust Scheme, the leader in market share at 36 percent, that expanded assets under management by 48 percent or Sh7.8 billion to Sh24.05 billion.

“In the quarter ended June 2019, 49.9 percent of the total assets under management was invested in government securities, followed by fixed deposits at 26.1 percent. The least amount of the AUM at 0.8 percent was invested in immovable property,” said CMA in its third quarter 2019 statistical bulletin released last month.

Other schemes in the top five — which account for 80 percent of industry assets under management — recorded mixed performances in terms of asset growth.

Britam Unit Trust Scheme, which is the second in market share after CIC, saw its assets under management fall by 4.3 percent to Sh8.86 billion in the comparative periods.

ICEA Unit Trust Scheme recorded a 17.4 percent growth in assets under management to Sh7.57 billion, while the fourth ranked Old Mutual Unit Trust recorded a decline of 14.3 percent to Sh6.4 billion.

The fifth largest scheme, CBA Unit Trust, mirrored the growth of CIC with a jump of 46.5 percent in assets under management to Sh6.33 billion.