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Stanbic seeks to increase investor participation in capital markets activities
SBG says it has designed a unit trust to offer investment options to give investors a good return. Photo / File
What you need to know:
- The investment vehicle, structured as a unit trust, allows investors to pool money, which then can be invested in profitable capital market products
SBG Securities, a subsidiary of Stanbic Holdings has launched an investment vehicle through which Ugandans can pool resources to participate in capital markets activities.
The investment vehicle, which will be structured as a unit trust, will allow a pool of investors to mobilise money, which will then be invested in profitable capital markets products.
The Stanbic Unit Trust, Mr Grace Semakula, the SBG chief executive offer, said has been designed to offer investment options that will give investors a good return.
The pool will require an investor to make an initial investment of a minimum of Shs100,000 and subsequent deposits of at least Shs50,000.
“We want to shatter traditional barriers to entry [and] make investment accessible to a wider audience. We want to accommodate various investment goals and needs, offering three distinct funds including money market (short-term), bond fund (medium-term), and balanced fund (long-term),” he said, noting that provisions for joint investment plans under saving groups have been provided.
Unit trusts have become popular and profitable investment vehicles, offering an annual return of above 10 percent.
It is estimated that the total number of unit trust investors stands at above 66,188, while the value of assets stands at about Shs2.7 trillion.
Mr Semakula said SBG will leverage its experience as fund managers to diversify investment portfolios across treasury bills, bonds, fixed deposits, and shares to minimise risk and maximise returns for customers.
Mr Francis Karuhanga, the Stanbic Holding chief executive officer, said today, many Ugandans are reluctant to invest in conventional tools, preferring to invest in land or rentals.
However, he noted recent trends have shown a surge in uptake in unit trusts, indicating that “in Uganda the unit trust industry [is] showing strong growth, with assets under management increasing by 20 percent in the past year alone, according to reporting by Capital Markets Authority”.
“We want to enable Ugandans tap into this impressive growth and not be left behind ensuring that they have access to financial investment services,” he said, noting that in Africa, the collective investment scheme industry has also grown significantly, with assets under management reaching $120b, while at the global stage, the mutual fund industry currently manages more than $60 trillion in assets, according to a 2022 survey by Africa Collective Investment Scheme.
