Steve Umidha @UmidhaSteve

Kenya’s top 14 active fund managers have contributed to the sector’s Sh215.7billion growth in the last 10 years despite a tough period experienced during the decade.

The latest survey by Zamara Actuaries, Administrators and Consultants further shows that the average rates of return declared during the period under review grew from 5.9 per cent to 12.7 per cent.

“As can be seen, the range of returns the rates declared over the period varies from 2 per cent to 16 per cent.

The range for the entire period for all insurance companies considered stood at 9.5 per cent,” noted the nine-page scanty survey released yesterday.

Scheme trustees

The Deposit Administration Survey by Zamara is an industry’s first – an initiative which attempts to offer scheme trustees — especially those holding investments in Deposit Administration funds an opportunity to compare performance of their schemes‘ assets held in a deposit administration fund relative to other deposit administration funds. 

As at June 2020, there were over 20 fund managers in the country which include banks and insurance firms that oversee mutual funds, conduct research and make investment decisions on behalf of trustees.

A trustee is any type of person or organisation that holds the legal title of an asset or group of assets for another person, referred to as the beneficiary while a fund manager is typically a firm involved in the management of funds or assets on behalf of individuals, investors, or an organisation.

In most situations, the fund managers manage funds from retirement benefit schemes.

Fund management covers all functions that maintain the value of any entity. They can include tangible assets like real estate or intellectual property and goodwill.

Last year saw nearly all fund managers’ returns appreciate in valuation even in the face of an economy ravaged by the Covid-19 pandemic.

During that period largely interrupted by the Coronavirus pandemic in which retirees’ funds were significantly gnarled by poor performance of the stock market.