A Deep Dive into the Newly Approved Special Funds and Digital Licenses issued by CMA
By BoardLotSultan May 26, 2026
The Capital Markets Authority (CMA) has just dropped a major regulatory update that is set to significantly diversify Kenya’s investment landscape. While the headlines include new fintech licenses and standard unit trusts, the real story for sophisticated investors lies in a wave of newly approved Special Funds and Alternative Investment Vehicles.
These specialized funds offer unique, actively managed strategies that go far beyond your typical money market or fixed-income funds. Here is everything you need to know about the new specialized offerings, followed by the broader market updates.
The Headline: A New Era for Specialized and Alternative Funds
To cater to investors seeking tactical asset allocation, event-driven opportunities, and alternative asset classes, the CMA has greenlit several highly anticipated specialized vehicles:
1. Nabo Capital’s Ubuntu Transition
The News: Approved to convert the Nabo Africa Balanced Fund (USD) into a specialized vehicle renamed the Nabo Ubuntu Special Fund.
The Strategy: This fund isn’t sticking to traditional boundaries. It will pursue long-term capital appreciation through a dynamic, multi-asset allocation strategy across equities, fixed income, derivatives, commodities, currencies, and fund-of-funds, alongside opportunistic alpha-generation strategies.
2. Faida Investment Bank’s SACCO-Focused Alternative Fund
The News: Authorized to register the KETSA Alternative Investment Fund, established under the Capital Markets (Alternative Investment Funds) Regulations, 2023.
The Strategy: This trust-based fund is uniquely positioned to intermediate institutional capital into prudently structured liquidity and investment opportunities specifically within the SACCO ecosystem. It will invest across private debt, equities, money market instruments, and fixed-income securities.
3. Capital A’s Multi-Asset Strategy Funds
The News: Authorized to register two new sub-funds under its existing unit trust—the Capital A Multi Asset Strategy Special Fund (KES) and the Capital A Multi Asset Strategy Special Fund (USD).
The Strategy: These funds will pursue an actively managed, event-driven multi-asset strategy, targeting investors who want tactical, diversified exposure across multiple asset classes during shifting market cycles.
4. Meridian Asset Management’s Absolute Return Launch
The News: Approved to register the Meridian Asset Management Scheme, debuting with its first sub-fund: the Meridian Kenya Shilling Total Return Special Fund.
The Strategy: This fund explicitly seeks to maximize absolute returns while preserving capital through a calculated combination of capital appreciation and income generation.
Expanding Digital Access: Two New Fintech Licenses
To help retail investors actually access these growing collective investment schemes, the CMA also granted two new Intermediary Service Platform Provider (ISPP) licenses under the 2023 regulations:
Moneto Ventures Limited (Chumz): The team behind the Chumz mobile app—which aggregates and connects retail investors to investment schemes—has officially transitioned out of the CMA Regulatory Sandbox into a fully licensed market intermediary.
Pesa Bridge Limited: Licensed to operate a secure, mobile-first digital infrastructure bridging retail investors with licensed fund managers and custodians, with an eye on scaling distribution across the wider East African region.
The Standard Slate: New Umbrella Unit Trusts
Finally, for investors looking for traditional risk-return profiles, the regulator approved a massive expansion of standard unit trusts:
EDC Asset Management (Kenya) Limited: Registered the EDC Kenya Unit Trust Funds, an umbrella scheme with five sub-funds covering Money Market, Fixed Income, Dollar Income, Balanced, and Equity profiles.
Pergamon Investment Bank Limited: Registered the Pergamon Unit Trust Scheme, featuring six sub-funds, notably including both KES and USD Money Market Funds alongside Equity, Fixed Income, Balanced, and Special Diversified Income options.
The Bottom Line
Today’s announcement shows a regulator actively pushing the envelope. By approving sophisticated multi-asset strategies, derivatives-inclusive special funds, and alternative pipelines into the SACCO sector—while simultaneously licensing the fintech infrastructure to distribute them—the CMA is laying the groundwork for a much more sophisticated capital market in Kenya.
As always, the CMA reminds investors to thoroughly review scheme documentation and deal strictly with licensed and approved intermediaries.
Which of these new Special Funds caught your eye? Are you looking to diversify into commodities or alternative private debt? Let us know your investment strategy in the comments
The CMA has been on this for a while now. I’m just curious where all the liquidity is coming from to justify this level of licensing for so many investment-driven companies.