- The Daily Brief, by The Kenyan Wall Street
- Posts
- Kenya's Unit Trusts Soars Close to Half a Trillion, Industry Braces for Declining Rates
Kenya's Unit Trusts Soars Close to Half a Trillion, Industry Braces for Declining Rates
Here's what you need to know to start your week
Kenyan Wall Street
June 09, 2025
Direct to your inbox every Monday at 9am (EAT)
What's Inside
Kenya’s Unit Trusts Boom Stares at an Uncertain Future
Kenya’s unit trust industry has entered 2025 at full throttle with Assets under management (AUM) smashing every record, surging to KSh 496.2 billion in March—up 28% in just three months and nearly doubling in two years.
Over two million Kenyans are now invested in collective investment schemes (CIS), a number unthinkable just a few years ago.
In 2016, industry assets under management (AUM) stood at just KSh 57 billion.
Since then, the market has expanded almost ninefold, reaching KSh 496 billion by March 2025.
While the early years saw steady progress, the last two years have been transformative—AUM has more than doubled since 2023 alone, driven by aggressive fund marketing, digital onboarding, and the rapid entry of new retail investors.
Kenya Collective Investment Schemes (CIS) Assets Under Management 2016 - Q1 2025
The headline story of Q1 2025 is Sanlam’s dramatic leapfrog of CIC to become Kenya’s largest unit trust manager.
In just four years, Sanlam’s AUM has skyrocketed from KSh 6.8 billion in Q1 2021 to KSh 90.2 billion—an extraordinary thirteenfold increase. This quarter alone, Sanlam’s AUM jumped 44% to outpace CIC’s KSh 87.5 billion, ending CIC’s long reign at the top for the first time since the modern CIS.
The headline story of Q1 2025 is Sanlam’s dramatic leapfrog of CIC to become Kenya’s largest unit trust manager.
In just four years, Sanlam’s AUM has skyrocketed from KSh 6.8 billion in Q1 2021 to KSh 90.2 billion—an extraordinary thirteenfold increase. This quarter alone, Sanlam’s AUM jumped 44% to outpace CIC’s KSh 87.5 billion, ending CIC’s long reign at the top for the first time since the modern CIS.
Looking ahead, the industry faces a key question: will Kenya’s millions of new investors stay patient with shrinking returns, or will they seek out riskier alternatives in search of higher yields? Ultimately, the coming quarters will test how well both managers and investors adapt as Kenya’s “easy yield” era winds down.
Stay updated on this and other important news on The Kenyan Wall Street.
The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax.
Headlines You Might Have Missed
Interview of the Week
Have a great week!