Kenyans investment into foreign currency instruments grew by Sh15 billion in just three months an indication of more people seeking to cushion themselves against currency fluctuations.
New data from the Capital Markets Authority shows that the amount of money held in these funds rose 15 per cent to Sh110.5 billion by June 2026, up from Sh95.9 billion in March.
Compared to March 2023 where the investments stood at Sh6.6 billion, this is a 17 per cent investment growth into these funds.
Foreign currency funds are investment products that allow people to put their money into assets held in currencies such as the US dollar, British pound or South African rand.
They include money market funds, which generally invest in short-term investments, as well as fixed-income, equity and special funds.
According to CMA, the growth suggests that more investors are looking for ways to spread their savings across different currencies rather than keeping all their money in Kenyan shillings.
“The number of investors in the various collective investment funds has continued to grow steadily over time, buoyed by increasing awareness in the market to save and invest especially, post Covid era,” said CMA its latest Collective Investment Schemes (CIS) Quarterly Report
“In the last one year for instance, the number of investors has grown by 68 per cent from 2.5 million in June 2025 to 4.1 million in June 2026.”
Dollar-based funds are by far the most popular among the foreign currency products available in the market.
According to the CMA, there were 47 foreign currency-denominated funds by June, made up of 45 dollar funds, one British pound fund and one South African rand fund.
The increasing interest in these funds is also part of a wider expansion of Kenya’s investment industry.
The total amount of money managed by collective investment schemes rose to Sh948.7 billion in June, from Sh851.7 billion in March, an increase of 11 percent.
Collective investment schemes are investment pools where many people put their money together, with professional fund managers investing it on their behalf.
They include familiar products such as money market funds, fixed-income funds, equity funds and balanced funds.
The CMA said the wider growth in the sector has been supported by existing funds attracting more money, new funds coming into the market and increased efforts by fund managers to educate and attract investors.
Foreign currency funds have been growing steadily over the past year. Their total value stood at Sh70.6 billion in September 2025, rising to Sh79.1 billion in December, Sh95.9 billion in March 2026 and Sh110.5 billion in June.
Several funds recorded significant growth during the period. The Mansa-X Special Fund, for example, increased from Sh17.4 billion in March to Sh20.6 billion in June. The SanlamAllianz Fixed Income USD Fund grew from Sh37 billion to Sh42.5 billion over the same period.
Money market funds denominated in dollars have also attracted substantial amounts. Jubilee Money Market Fund USD had about Sh5.7 billion in assets by June, up from Sh4.7 billion in March, while Dry Associates Money Market Fund USD rose from Sh3.6 billion to Sh4.6 billion.
The increase comes at a time when more Kenyans are turning to professionally managed investment products.
The number of people investing through collective investment schemes reached 4.15 million in June 2026, up 68 per cent from 2.5 million a year earlier. Local retail investors ordinary Kenyan savers and individuals accounted for 98 per cent of investors.
