Top mutual fund assets hit Sh57b
By John Otini, July 28, 2022CIC Unit Trust increased its share of assets managed by collective investment schemes (CIS) to 40 per cent to make it the single largest and dominant fund manager, says latest data from the regulator.
Capital Markets Authority (CMA) says assets under CIC management rose to Sh56.9 billion in March 2022 from Sh56.2 billion as at the end of last year after shares rose from 39 per cent.
“CIC Unit Trust Scheme maintained the lead in managing the highest assets under management (AUM) of Sh56.92 billion which represents 40 per cent of the total AUM, followed by NCBA Unit Trust Scheme which managed Sh19.76 Billion,” said CMA in its June 2022 statistical bulletin.
Frequently known as ‘investment funds’ or ‘mutual funds’ they are owned by the fund as a portfolio, and they are managed by a professional fund manager.
As at March 2022, the total assets under management by the CIS were Sh140.67 billion, a 4.45 percent increase from Sh134.67 billion managed in the quarter ended December 2021.
A quarter-on-quarter comparison of performance between Q1 of 2022 and Q4 of 2021 indicates that Sanlam Unit Trust Scheme registered the highest percentage increment of 18 per cent. This after it recorded assets Sh10.21 billion worth of under management as at March 2022, up from Sh8.61 billion, recorded in the previous quarter.
CIC scheme’s control of the total of Sh140.34 billion managed by the 19 active collective investment schemes regulated by the CMA. NCBA Unit Trust also rose to the second largest fund overtaking Birtam and ICEA who have been the biggest names in the industry for years to manage Sh19 billion worth of assets. Britam is managing Sh14 billion, ICEA Sh13 billion, while Sanlam has Sh10 billion.
“In the quarter ended March 2022, 45.6 per cent of the total assets under management (AUM) were invested in securities issued by the government,” said CMA.
This was a 7 percent increase from December 2021 where Sh59.72 billion was invested in government securities compared to Sh64.17 billion as at the end of the second 2022.
The least proportion of asset classes invested in was immovable property, accounting for 0.15 percent of the total portfolio held by unit trust schemes as at March 2022. The top five schemes commanded market share of over 80 per cent, leaving the rest with about Sh14.69 billion assets.