Kenya’s pension industry assets under management (AUM) grew by 12.7 per cent in six months to hit Ksh 3.16 trillion as of June 2026, up from Ksh 2.81 trillion in December 2025, according to the Industry Brief for June 2026 released by the Retirement Benefits Authority (RBA).
The report shows that while the industry’s core portfolio remains anchored in traditional investments, pension schemes are increasingly diversifying into alternative asset classes.
The four primary asset classes — Government Securities, Guaranteed Funds, Quoted Equities and Immovable Property — collectively accounted for 88.04 per cent of total AUM by the end of June 2026, a drop from the 90.43 per cent concentration observed in December 2025.
“This represents a reduction from the 90.43% concentration observed in December 2025, signalling a growing appetite among schemes for alternative investment vehicles,” the RBA notes in the brief seen by Uasin Gishu News.
Kenyan pension schemes assets distribution
Government Securities remained the largest asset class at Ksh 1.49 trillion, but its share fell to 46.35 per cent from 52.14 per cent in December 2025. The asset class grew by only 2.03 per cent in the half-year period.
Guaranteed Funds was the second largest at Ksh 597.07 billion (19.35%), up 14.29 per cent, while Quoted Equities surged by 40.43 per cent to Ksh 430.32 billion, raising its share to 13.37 per cent from 11.13 per cent.
Immovable Property grew 7.05 per cent to Ksh 257.95 billion, accounting for 7.97 per cent of the total.
Alternative assets surge for pension schemes
The half-year saw strong growth in alternative investments:
- Private Equity jumped 43.98 per cent to Ksh 43.10 billion
- Cash and Demand Deposits more than doubled, up 97.66 per cent to Ksh 65.36 billion
- Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) grew 36.42 per cent to Ksh 19.61 billion
- Commercial Paper, Non-Listed Bonds rose 263.35 per cent to Ksh 43.81 billion
- Listed Corporate Bonds rose 32.61 per cent to Ksh 37.52 billion
- Offshore Investments grew 23.23 per cent to Ksh 104.99 billion
Decliners in the period were Unquoted Equities, down 12.23 per cent to Ksh 7.81 billion, and Fixed Deposits, down 5.54 per cent to Ksh 53.37 billion.
Overall AUM has more than doubled in two years, from Ksh 1.97 trillion in June 2024 to Ksh 3.16 trillion in June 2026, underscoring the sector’s rapid growth.
The portfolio is categorised into Traditional Assets, comprising the four primary classes plus Fixed Deposits, and Alternative Assets, which capture the remaining investments.
