The entry of new fund managers has cut the dominance of Kenya’s old guard in the unit trust funds/collective investment schemes, as competition intensifies.
CIC, NCBA, Britam, Sanlam and ICEA unit trust funds have largely lost their market share, with their combined market share dipping to 49.5 percent as of December 2025 from 82.28 percent in December 2021.
New entrants, including Standard Investment, Etica, Ziidi Money Market Fund, and Nabo Africa Funds, have eaten into the market share of the top shots, now controlling a 5.9 percent stake.
Stiff competition in the collective investments space has seen the number of approved schemes rising to 59 in December 2025 from 29 previously.
The newer funds have also brought with them fresh asset classes like special funds which have grown in appeal among local investors.
‘Back in the day, we only had money market funds (MMFs). Now we can see that the second largest fund is a special fund and the top manager has benefitted from partnerships,’ said Etica Capital Portfolio Manager Kenneth Maina.
‘This also shows that investor knowledge has changed over time to where we are now seeing investors taking on riskier asset classes.’
CIC Unit Trust Scheme, which was the largest unit trust fund in 2021 with a market share of 41.79 percent has since fallen to third place with a smaller share of 13.5 percent as of December 2025 as per regulatory filings.
NCBA, Britam and ICEA have also marked a drop from 13.37 percent, 10.82 percent and 9.91 percent respectively to 6.9 percent, seven percent and three percent.
Sanlam Unit Trust Scheme is the only outlier among the old guard, growing its market share from 6.39 percent in December 2021 to 19.1 percent to become the largest collective investment scheme with assets under management of Sh144.3 billion.
Sanlam’s rise was aided by partnerships with other financial institutions including the Standard Chartered Bank, which has helped grow the fund manager’s client base and asset under management (AUM).
Standard Investment Trust Fund which offers the MansaX fund has meanwhile emerged as the second largest unit trust fund with an AUM of Sh125.3 billion as of December 2025.
The scheme pioneered special funds in the market beginning in 2019 hence its growth signifies the rising appeal for riskier asset classes among investing Kenyans.
New fund managers have taken up significant market shares in recent years with Etica, Ziidi Money Market Fund and Nabo Africa Funds having an AUM of more than Sh10 billion each.
The top three schemes, Sanlam, Standard Investment, and CIC, collectively control nearly half of the unit trust market or a 49.1 percent market share while the top five funds account for 63.1 percent of total AUM.
The top 10 schemes meanwhile control 80.1 percent of the market. The total assets under management held by fund managers as of December 31, 2025, was Sh756.2 billion.
The Capital Markets Authority (CMA) credits the 11 percent increase in AUM from Sh679.6 billion reported in September 2025 to the creation of additional funds and increased marketing.
‘The increase can also be attributed to intensified marketing efforts by the fund managers,’ CMA said.
Collective investment schemes pool funds from multiple investors, creating units which then earn a return for the investors.
The funds primarily invest in short-term instruments like Treasury bills, fixed bank deposits, and equities/stocks.