Kenyan investors are rapidly increasing their exposure to foreign-currency investment funds, with assets held in the products rising to Sh110.5 billion by June 2026, up from Sh95.9 billion three months earlier.
The 15% quarterly increase comes as Kenya’s wider collective investment scheme industry approaches the Sh1 trillion mark. Foreign-currency products now account for roughly 12% of total industry assets, with US dollar funds dominating the category as individuals and institutions seek currency diversification and access to offshore investments.
Key Overview
- Foreign-currency fund assets rose 15% to Sh110.5 billion in the quarter to June 2026.
- Assets stood at Sh95.9 billion in March 2026 and Sh79.1 billion in December 2025.
- The category has grown from just Sh6.6 billion in March 2023, an increase of roughly 1,574%.
- Kenya had 47 foreign-currency funds by June, including 45 denominated in US dollars.
- Total collective investment scheme assets reached Sh948.7 billion.
- The investor base climbed to approximately 4.15 million, with local retail investors representing about 98%.
- Special funds and foreign-currency strategies are taking a larger share of the rapidly expanding market.
Foreign-Currency Assets Jump 15% in Three Months
The amount invested in foreign-currency collective investment funds increased by Sh14.6 billion between March and June, moving from Sh95.9 billion to Sh110.5 billion.
The growth has been sustained over several quarters. Foreign-currency assets stood at Sh70.6 billion in September 2025 before rising to Sh79.1 billion in December and then accelerating through the first half of 2026.
The longer-term expansion is even more striking. Dollar-denominated funds had assets of only Sh6.6 billion in March 2023, before rising to Sh23.8 billion by June 2024, when demand for foreign-currency investment products was already gaining momentum.
From Sh6.6 billion in March 2023 to Sh110.5 billion in June 2026, the market has therefore expanded roughly 16.7 times, equivalent to growth of about 1,574%. This corrects the 17% growth figure contained in the original report.
Dollar Products Dominate Investor Demand
US dollar funds overwhelmingly dominate Kenya’s foreign-currency investment market. By June 2026, there were 47 foreign-currency-denominated funds, comprising 45 US dollar products, one British pound fund and one South African rand fund.
The products span money market, fixed-income, equity and special-fund strategies, allowing investors to hold assets whose returns and underlying investments may be linked to currencies other than the Kenyan shilling.
Foreign-currency funds can appeal to investors with future dollar expenses, businesses involved in imports, people receiving income in foreign currency and savers seeking broader portfolio diversification. Earlier growth in the market was linked to demand for dollar-denominated investments, particularly among investors seeking exposure outside traditional shilling assets.
However, foreign-currency funds are not automatically safer than shilling funds. Returns can still be affected by movements in exchange rates, interest rates, underlying securities and the investment strategy used by each fund.
Larger Funds Capture Billions in New Assets
Some individual foreign-currency strategies recorded substantial increases during the second quarter.
The Mansa-X Special Fund USD increased to approximately Sh20.6 billion, with its assets rising strongly during Q2 as investors continued seeking diversified exposure across global markets.
SanlamAllianz’s Fixed Income USD Fund also expanded from around Sh37 billion in March to Sh42.5 billion by June, while Jubilee’s USD Money Market Fund reached roughly Sh5.7 billion. Dry Associates’ dollar money market fund rose to approximately Sh4.6 billion over the same period.
These figures show that demand is spread across different investment approaches rather than being confined to one type of dollar fund.
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Kenya’s Unit Trust Market Nears Sh1 Trillion
Foreign-currency growth is occurring within a much larger expansion of Kenya’s collective investment industry.
Total assets under management reached Sh948.7 billion at the end of June 2026, up 11% from Sh851.7 billion in March. Compared with Sh596.3 billion a year earlier, industry assets grew by almost 60%.
The number of investors also climbed to approximately 4.15 million, from about 2.45 million a year earlier, while local retail investors accounted for 98% of CIS investors during the second quarter.
The regulator has continued widening available investment choices, including approving new multi-currency and multi-asset funds as fund managers compete for the country’s growing pool of retail savings.
Currency Diversification Becomes Mainstream
The rise to Sh110.5 billion suggests foreign-currency investing is shifting from a niche product used mainly by wealthy or internationally exposed investors into a more established part of Kenya’s retail investment market.
Dollar funds can help investors match assets with future foreign-currency liabilities and diversify portfolios geographically. But the suitability of each product depends on its underlying investments, fees, liquidity, risk and the investor’s own currency needs.
The broader trend is clear: as Kenya’s managed-investment industry approaches Sh1 trillion in assets, investors are spreading money across more currencies, strategies and asset classes rather than relying solely on conventional shilling money market funds.
Sources
The Star / Capital Markets Authority / Business Daily / Standard Investment Bank
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