Kenya MMF Landscape — Mid-Year Review
Kenya Markets · Retail Investment Products — CMA-licensed KES MMFs, Jan 2026 to 8 Jun 2026
Across 27 CMA-licensed KES money market funds, average gross yield is 9.11% and median 9.30%, with a wide 5.07%–12.77% spread. Nabo, Cytonn, Etica, Lofty Corban and Arvocap lead. The mid-year picture shows widening dispersion, stronger distribution competition and a clearer need to compare net yield, fees, platform access, liquidity discipline and manager quality. CIS AUM has crossed KSh600 billion.
Desk conclusion
Kenya MMFs remain attractive for liquidity management. The mid-year picture shows widening dispersion, stronger distribution competition and a clearer need to compare net yield, fees, platform access, liquidity discipline and manager quality.
Across 27 CMA-licensed KES money market funds in the latest snapshot, average gross yield is 9.11%, median gross yield 9.30%, with a yield range of 5.07% to 12.77%. Data is as of 8 Jun 2026.
Executive read: what changed by mid-year
The market is broadening as yields compress unevenly and new products compete for digital, retail and treasury flows.
- 1Yield leadership remains concentrated: Nabo, Cytonn, Etica, Lofty Corban and Arvocap sit at the upper end of the latest KES yield screen. These funds are likely winning attention from yield-sensitive savers, but the desk should still test liquidity profile, portfolio duration, concentration and underlying paper quality before recommending a switch.
- 1Average yield is still strong, but dispersion is large: The latest sample average is 9.11% gross and 9.30% median, yet the spread from 5.07% to 12.77% creates a wide opportunity set. This is good for comparison tools but risky for users who focus only on headline yields.
- 1AUM story is positive, but fund-level AUM is missing: CMA has indicated that collective investment scheme assets crossed KSh600 billion, which confirms industry scale. The supplied yield sheet does not include fund-level AUM, so the AUM section of this report uses market-level context and flags fund-level AUM as a required next data layer.
1. Figure 1 — Latest yield leadership
Top-yielding KES funds in the latest available sheet snapshot (gross annualized yield, 8 Jun 2026): Nabo MMF 12.77%, Cytonn MMF 12.00%, Etica MMF 11.16%, Lofty Corban MMF 10.71%, Arvocap MMF 10.62%, Faulu MMF 10.49%, Kuza MMF 10.46%, Madison MMF 10.45%, Jubilee MMF 10.14%, Orient Kasha MMF 10.13%, Old Mutual MMF 10.11%, GenAfrica MMF 9.81%, Britam MMF 9.66%, Dry Associates MMF 9.30%, APA MMF 9.14%.
Interpretation: The top of the market remains above 10.5%, but the gap between high-yield and lower-yield funds is wide enough to justify investor segmentation.
2. Figure 2 — Yield dispersion by band
The market is split between high-yield funds and defensive/liquidity products. Number of KES MMFs by gross yield band: Low (<7%) 5; Defensive (7-9%) 5; Core (9-10.5%) 12; High (>10.5%) 5. Latest sample: 27 KES funds, average gross yield 9.11%, median 9.30%.
Interpretation: A single average yield hides a fragmented product market. Distribution, fund manager risk appetite and underlying paper selection are driving very different outcomes.
3. Figure 3 — Jan-to-date yield change
Common KES funds from the Jan 31 and Jun 8 snapshots show uneven repricing (change in basis points): Nabo +98, Madison +56, Etica +23, Cytonn +14, Equity +14, Genghis +6, Kuza -4, Old Mutual -5, CIC -6, Jubilee -12, Britam -24, KCB -28, Dry Associates -30, Lofty Corban -31, Co-op -34, APA -35, Stanbic -35, GenAfrica -44, Sanlam -47, ICEA Lion -74, NCBA -130.
Common-fund average moved from 9.38% to 9.22%, a change of -16 bps. The direction is not uniform: some managers defended yields while others repriced lower. (Note: Ziidi/Mali platform naming was excluded from the pure common-fund change set to avoid distorting the trend.)
4. Figure 4 — Gross vs net yield
Withholding tax materially changes the investor-visible yield outcome. Gross vs net yield (net after 15% withholding tax) for the top 12 latest KES MMFs: Nabo 12.77% / 10.85%, Cytonn 12.00% / 10.20%, Etica 11.16% / 9.49%, Lofty Corban 10.71% / 9.10%, Arvocap 10.62% / 9.03%, Faulu 10.49% / 8.92%, Kuza 10.46% / 8.89%, Madison 10.45% / 8.88%, Jubilee 10.14% / 8.62%, Orient Kasha 10.13% / 8.61%, Old Mutual 10.11% / 8.59%, GenAfrica 9.81% / 8.34%.
Interpretation: For investor-facing comparisons, net yield should sit next to gross yield. Headline rates are useful for screening, but after-tax yield is closer to the saver experience.
5. Latest KES MMF Yield Table (8 Jun 2026)
| Fund | Gross | Net | Fee | Yield band |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nabo MMF | 12.77% | 10.85% | 2.25% | High (>10.5%) |
| Cytonn MMF | 12.00% | 10.20% | 2.00% | High (>10.5%) |
| Etica MMF | 11.16% | 9.49% | 2.00% | High (>10.5%) |
| Lofty Corban MMF | 10.71% | 9.10% | 2.00% | High (>10.5%) |
| Arvocap MMF | 10.62% | 9.03% | 2.00% | High (>10.5%) |
| Faulu MMF | 10.49% | 8.92% | 1.50% | Core (9-10.5%) |
| Kuza MMF | 10.46% | 8.89% | 2.00% | Core (9-10.5%) |
| Madison MMF | 10.45% | 8.88% | 0.00% | Core (9-10.5%) |
| Jubilee MMF | 10.14% | 8.62% | 2.00% | Core (9-10.5%) |
| Orient Kasha MMF | 10.13% | 8.61% | 2.00% | Core (9-10.5%) |
| Old Mutual MMF | 10.11% | 8.59% | 2.00% | Core (9-10.5%) |
| GenAfrica MMF | 9.81% | 8.34% | 2.00% | Core (9-10.5%) |
| Britam MMF | 9.66% | 8.21% | 2.00% | Core (9-10.5%) |
| Dry Associates MMF | 9.30% | 7.91% | 2.00% | Core (9-10.5%) |
| APA MMF | 9.14% | 7.77% | 2.00% | Core (9-10.5%) |
| Sanlam MMF | 9.11% | 7.74% | 2.00% | Core (9-10.5%) |
| KCB MMF | 9.03% | 7.68% | 2.00% | Core (9-10.5%) |
| Genghis MMF | 8.87% | 7.54% | 2.00% | Defensive (7-9%) |
| CIC MMF | 8.43% | 7.17% | 2.00% | Defensive (7-9%) |
| CPF MMF | 8.14% | 6.92% | 3.00% | Defensive (7-9%) |
| Co-op MMF | 7.90% | 6.71% | 0.90% | Defensive (7-9%) |
| ICEA Lion MMF | 7.58% | 6.44% | 2.00% | Defensive (7-9%) |
| Ziidi MMF | 6.98% | 5.93% | 2.00% | Low (<7%) |
| NCBA MMF | 6.70% | 5.70% | 2.00% | Low (<7%) |
| African Alliance MMF | 5.95% | 5.06% | 2.00% | Low (<7%) |
| Stanbic MMF | 5.30% | 4.50% | 2.00% | Low (<7%) |
| Equity MMF | 5.07% | 4.31% | 2.00% | Low (<7%) |
Source: User-provided Kenya MMF data. Net yield reflects the sheet calculation after 15% withholding tax; management fee is presented separately.
6. AUM growth
| Area | Analyst desk read |
|---|---|
| Market scale signal | CMA indicated in late 2025 that collective investment scheme AUM had crossed KSh600 billion. This supports the view that MMFs are becoming a mainstream savings and cash-management product rather than a niche unit trust category. |
7. Regulatory and licensing lens
| Area | Analyst desk read |
|---|---|
| CMA-approved universe | The official approved CIS list includes multiple MMF products across large insurers, banks, specialist fund managers and digital distribution brands. This supports a broader licensed marketplace but also raises the need for clearer consumer comparison. |
| New product approvals | CMA approvals have included conventional MMFs, sub-funds, Shariah-compliant products and digitally distributed funds. Ziidi Shariah and other approvals show that the market is moving beyond generic KES MMFs into segmented propositions. |
| Regulatory watch | Key watch areas for 2026 are product disclosure, yield calculation consistency, liquidity stress management, underlying asset concentration, valuation standards and investor suitability messaging. |
The product universe is expanding under a more formal CIS licensing environment.
8. Portfolio and investor implications
| Area | Analyst desk read |
|---|---|
| Emergency cash | Prioritize liquidity, redemption speed, platform reliability and manager quality. Yield is secondary to access and capital preservation. |
| Short-term goal savings | Use higher-yielding funds selectively, but avoid concentration in one manager. Split between top-yield and defensively managed funds where the savings goal is time-sensitive. |
| Corporate treasury | Compare net yield, fund AUM, issuer concentration, credit risk controls and same-day liquidity. Large treasuries should request portfolio disclosure before moving material balances. |
| Digital savers | Mobile-access MMFs are important for adoption, but lower headline yields can erode value if users do not compare after-tax outcomes against better-yielding alternatives. |
MMFs should be segmented by use-case rather than ranked only by yield.
9. Desk watchlist for H2 2026
| Area | Analyst desk read |
|---|---|
| Yield compression | Track whether high-yield leaders remain above 10.5% or converge toward the 8-10% band as T-bill yields, liquidity and competition adjust. |
| AUM migration | Identify whether investors are moving toward the highest-yielding funds or toward distribution-heavy brands. This is the most important missing signal. |
| New entrants | Watch whether new entrants defend high introductory yields or normalize once they gather assets. |
| Regulatory disclosure | Monitor updates to CIS lists, fund manager licensing and any rules affecting valuation, disclosure, liquidity buffers or MMF-style products. |
What analysts should monitor next.
Appendix: source notes and data caveats
| Item | Note |
|---|---|
| Primary yield data | Serrari Group's compiled daily returns data feed. |
| CMA licensing context | CMA approved CIS and fund-manager lists were used to frame the licensed product universe and market structure. |
Use this page when updating the report for the next monthly review.
Disclaimer
Prepared for Serrari Group analyst desk. Informational market analysis, not investment, tax or legal advice. Data is as of 8 Jun 2026.