Britam Asset Managers has officially launched two special funds that widen the menu for Kenyan investors who want more than local equities, government paper and money-market returns. The Britam Enhanced Global Equities Special Fund targets global companies and industries, while the Britam Multi Asset Special Fund spreads money across local and global equities, fixed income and commodities. Both were approved by the Capital Markets Authority (CMA).
The timing matches a fast-growing collective investment industry. CMA data show assets under management in collective investment schemes reached KSh948.7 billion in June 2026, a 59.1 percent growth from the previous year. Britam Asset Managers itself oversees more than KSh300 billion, ranking it among Kenya’s five largest managers, and it leads the fixed-income category with more than KSh55 billion as of July.
How The Enhanced Global Equities Special Fund Will Work
The Britam Enhanced Global Equities Special Fund is structured as a USD special fund under Britam’s existing unit trust umbrella. CMA’s approval announcement described it as giving investors exposure to global equity markets without the need to hold foreign currency accounts directly. At the October launch, Britam presented the product as a way into companies shaping technology, artificial intelligence, healthcare and life sciences, energy and the digital economy.
Some of the most sought-after global equities include Tesla, Nvidia, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, Apple, Meta, Netflix and Adobe. These are not guaranteed holdings, they illustrate the kind of businesses the fund is built to reach.
The Enhanced Global Equities Special Fund will limit the bulwarks associated with buying overseas shares. Buying individual overseas shares usually involves strict guidelines on foreign brokerage, currency conversion, custody fees and tax paperwork that sometimes proves to be a stumbling block for brokers.
A regulated local special fund collapses those steps into one subscription, with professional selection and ongoing risk checks handled by the manager. Investors still take equity-market risk, currency effects and the chance that a concentrated growth theme underperforms. Britam has stressed research, governance and continuous review of whether each position still earns its place.
How the Multi Asset Special Fund is built
The Britam Multi Asset Special Fund is denominated in Kenyan shillings. CMA describes it as pursuing long-term capital growth and income through an actively managed mix of local and global equities, local and global fixed income, alternative assets and tactical overlay strategies. Launch coverage added commodities and exchange-traded funds to that list, and noted the use of foreign-exchange strategies to manage shilling movements.
Entry terms are clearer here than for the equity fund. The minimum initial investment is KSh500,000, with top-ups from KSh250,000. There is a six-month lock-in, and Britam positions the fund for a three-to-five-year horizon. It is also structured as a leveraged strategy, meaning the manager can borrow to increase market exposure. Leverage can amplify gains; it can also magnify losses, so the risk is higher than a plain balanced fund.
Why Special Funds Are Multiplying
Special funds have become the industry’s growth pocket. They sit inside the collective investment scheme rules yet allow strategies that ordinary money-market or pure fixed-income funds do not: global equities, multi-asset mixes, overlays and, in other approvals, green or goal-based mandates. In the second quarter of 2025, special-fund assets were already rising faster than money-market funds, according to market commentary at the time. By mid-2026 the CMA was approving clusters of them from Britam, Absa, Zimele and others.
For Britam the launch also extends a franchise built heavily on fixed income. Adding a global equity sleeve and a multi-asset sleeve lets the firm keep clients who might otherwise move money offshore or into rival special funds once their local allocation feels complete.
What Investors Should Weigh
A few practical points follow from the published terms. The multi-asset fund’s KSh500,000 entry and six-month lock-in make it unsuitable for short-term cash. The equity fund’s global tilt means performance will track overseas markets and the dollar more than the Nairobi Securities Exchange.
Leverage on the multi-asset side is an explicit risk, not a footnote. Fees, exact benchmark and full portfolio holdings were not detailed in the launch statements, so the scheme particulars and key investor information document remain the documents that matter before any subscription.
Kenya’s fund industry is no longer only a parking place for shillings. With nearly KSh949 billion already in collective schemes and managers racing to register specialised products, the Britam Enhanced Global Equities Special Fund and its multi-asset sibling are part of a broader opening. They do not remove market risk. They do give regulated, locally distributed access to companies and asset mixes that most retail investors could not reach cleanly on their own.
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