January 2024 Market Wrap-up Report

1. MONEY MARKET FUNDS (MMFS)

The year began with a surge in money market fund rates, causing Cytonn Money Market Fund to drop out of the top 5 in terms of daily effective rate returns. The average daily effective rate for money market funds rose to 13% per annum, up from 12.51% in December 2023. This increase was driven by rising interest rates in government securities, a key asset class for these funds.

In terms of individual performance, Etica Money Market Fund led the way with an average daily yield of 15.68% per annum. Following closely were Lofty Corban, Apollo, Nabo Capital, and GenAfrica Money Market Funds, with daily average effective rates of 15.26%, 15.05%, 14.89%, and 14.80%, respectively.

Daily Average Yields for MMFs in January

NO.	FUND MANAGER	FUND NAME	DAILY AVERAGE YIELD (%)
1	Etica Capital Limited	Etica Money Market Fund	15.68
2	Lofty-Corban	Lofty-Corban Money Market Fund	15.26
3	Apollo Asset Management Company Limited	Apollo Money Market Fund	15.05
4	Nabo Capital Limited	Nabo Capital Money Market Fund	14.89
5	GenAfrica Asset Managers Limited	GenAfrica Money Market Fund	14.80
6	Cytonn Asset Managers Limited	Cytonn Money Market Fund	14.49
7	Enwealth Financial Services	Enwealth Money Market Fund	13.91
8	Kuza Asset Management Limited	Kuza Money Market Fund (KES)	13.74
9	Madison Investment Managers Limited	Madison Money Market Fund	13.58
10	Co-op Trust Investment Services Limited	Co-op Money Market Fund	13.37
11	Genghis Capital	GenCap Hela Imara Fund	13.12
12	Sanlam Investments East Africa Limited	Sanlam Money Market Fund	13.03
13	ABSA Bank	Absa Shilling Fund MMF	13.02
14	Jubilee Financial Services Limited	Jubilee Money Market Fund	12.81
15	Mayfair Asset Managers	Mayfair Money Market Fund	12.27
16	Old Mutual Investment Group	Old Mutual Money Market Fund	12.23
17	Orient Asset Managers	Orient Kasha Money Market Fund	12.18
18	KCB Group	KCB Money Market Fund	12.14
19	Dry Associates	Dry Associates Money Market Fund	11.95
20	African Alliance	African Alliance Kenya Money Market Fund	11.73
21	CIC Asset Managers Limited	CIC Money Market Fund	11.39
22	ICEA Asset Lion Asset Management Limited	ICEA Lion Money Market Fund	11.13
23	Equity Bank	Equity Money Market Fund	10.93
24	Britam Asset Managers (Kenya) Limited	British-American Money Market Fund	9.33
	Cumulative Monthly Average Return (%)		13.00

2. DOLLAR MONEY MARKET FUNDS RETURNS

In January, Cytonn USD Money Market claimed the top spot with an average return of 6.12%, trailed by Lofty Corban, Sanlam, and Dry Associates with average returns of 5.94%, 5.88%, and 5.74%, respectively. Investing in USD Money Market Funds is a prudent strategy to safeguard the value of your USD currency, especially considering the potential for a stronger dollar against the shilling in the future.

NO.	FUND MANAGER	FUND NAME	AVERAGE (%)
1	Cytonn Asset Managers Limited	Cytonn Money Market Fund	6.12
2	Lofty-Corban	Lofty-Corban Money Market Fund	5.94
3	Old Mutual Investment Group	Old Mutual Money Market Fund	5.88
4	Sanlam Investments East Africa Limited	Sanlam Money Market Fund	5.74
5	Dry Associates	Dry Associates Money Market Fund	5.57
6	Kuza Asset Management Limited	Kuza Money Market Fund (KES)	5.53
7	ABSA BanK	Absa Shilling Fund MMF	5.47
8	CIC Asset Managers Limited	CIC Money Market Fund	5.30
9	KCB Group	KCB Money Market Fund	4.93
10	Nabo Capital Limited	Nabo Africa Money Market Fund	4.71
Cumulative Monthly Average Return (%)			5.52

3. FIXED-INCOME FUNDS

Fixed-income funds are investment vehicles that primarily focus on allocating their assets to a diverse range of fixed-income securities. These securities typically include government bonds, corporate bonds, Treasury bills, and other debt instruments. The primary objective of fixed income funds in Kenya is to generate income through regular interest payments and, in some cases, to achieve capital appreciation.

Lofty Corban Special Money Market Fund, operating as a fixed-income fund, secured the leading position with an impressive average return of 15.69%. Following closely were Etica, Nabo, Madison, and Zimele Fixed Income Funds, posting average daily effective returns of 14.66%, 14.33%, 14.05%, and 13.27%, respectively.

NO.	FUND MANAGER	FUND NAME	AVERAGE (%)
1	Lofty Corban Asset Management	Lofty-Corban Special Money Market Fund	15.69
2	Etica Capital Asset Management	Etica Fixed Income Fund	14.66
3	Nabo Africa Asset Management	Nabo Capital Fixed Income Fund	14.33
4	Madison Asset Management	Madison Fixed Income Fund	14.05
5	Zimele Asset Management	Zimele Fixed Income Fund	13.27
6	British American Asset Management	British Bond Plus Fund	13.07
7	Kuza Asset Management	Kuza Fixed Income Fund (KES)	13.05
8	NCBA	NCBA Fixed Income Fund	11.35
9	Mayfair Asset Management	Mayfair Fixed Income Fund	10.40
10	African Alliance Asset Management	African Alliance Fixed Income Fund	10.22
11	Orient Asset Management	Orient Hifadhi Fixed Income Fund	10.16
12	CIC Asset Management	CIC  Wealth Fund	7.91
13	Sanlam Asset Management	Sanlam Fixed Income Fund	6.86
Cumulative Monthly Average (%)			11.92

4. BONDS

In January, the government unveiled an amortized infrastructure bond, IFB1/2024/8.5, with an 8.5-year duration set to be auctioned from 24/01/2024 to 14/02/2024. This type of bond allows for partial redemption before maturity, following a specific schedule: 20% amortization of the outstanding principal amount in February 2027, 30% in February 2030, and full redemption in August 2032. Notably, any amounts up to KES. 1.0 million per CSD account at amortization will be fully redeemed.

Particulars of the Bond

Name	Duration (years)	Maturity Date	Coupon Months	Coupon Rate	Tax	Investment
IFB1/2024/8.5	8.5	9-Aug-2032	Feb, Aug	Market Determined	Tax free	Min 50,000