CIC piling into bullish Dollar positions with a new special fund

By Steve UMIDHA

CIC Insurance Group Wednesday, joined a growing list of companies piling into bullish dollar positions, with the unveiling of its latest investment vehicle,  the CIC Global Balanced Special Fund, a USD-denominated balanced collective investment scheme, and marking its entry into the global investment scene.

The product gives Kenyan investors access to a diverse portfolio of both domestic and offshore asset investments.

The Fund is managed under CIC Asset Management (CICAM), a subsidiary of the Group, a leading asset manager in Kenya, currently with a total Assets Under Management of KShs 183 billion.

The CIC Global Balanced Special Fund is designed to protect investors from major market fluctuations by diversifying investments across a broad range of assets, aiming to achieve returns through effective risk management.

It comes at a time when the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) reports that collective investment scheme assets have crossed the KShs 500 billion mark, with a growing appetite for foreign-currency and offshore funds.

Speaking during the launch, Mr Patrick Nyaga, Group Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer at CIC Group, said:

 

“We are launching this fund at a time when there is rising demand for diversified offshore investments.

 

Through the product, we will give investors access to local fixed income investments like Treasury bills and bonds, and global tools like ETFs, global equities, and mutual funds.”

 

CICAM has partnered with the Trade Development Bank (TDB) for strategic sponsorship and is strengthening offshore positioning through an operational partnership with Swiss private bank Vontobel that is also tasked with offshore execution support for the Fund.

On his part, Mr Humphrey Gathungu, Managing Director of CIC Asset Management Limited, said: “Our mission through this fund is to democratise access to investment opportunities in a market segment that has long been the preserve of institutions and high-net-worth clients.

Historically, special funds demanded high minimum investment and complex paperwork, and we are changing this model by making the initial investment one of the lowest in the market.”

The Fund aims to provide consistent capital growth in the medium to long term by reinvesting all income to enhance compounding returns, while maintaining the tactical discretion to deploy assets across global markets and chosen domestic fixed-income instruments when attractive opportunities arise.

Cooperative Bank will act as the custodian of the Fund which is domiciled in Kenya and has obtained approvals from CMA.