Kenya’s pension industry assets under management (AUM) grew by 12.7 percent 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.
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 percent of total AUM by the end of June 2026, a drop from the 90.43 percent concentration observed in December 2025.
“This represents a reduction from the 90.43% concentration observed in December 2025, signaling a growing appetite among schemes for alternative investment vehicles,” the brief notes.
Kenyan pension schemes assets distribution
Government Securities remained the largest asset class at Ksh 1.49 trillion, but its share fell to 46.35 percent from 52.14 percent in December 2025. The asset class grew by only 2.03 percent in the half-year period.
Guaranteed Funds was the second largest at Ksh 597.07 billion (19.35%), up 14.29 percent, while Quoted Equities surged by 40.43 percent to Ksh 430.32 billion, raising its share to 13.37 percent from 11.13 percent.
Immovable Property grew 7.05 percent to Ksh 257.95 billion, accounting for 7.97 percent of the total.
Alternative assets surge for pension schemes
The half-year saw strong growth in alternative investments:
- Private Equity jumped 43.98 percent to Ksh 43.10 billion
- Cash and Demand Deposits more than doubled, up 97.66 percent to Ksh 65.36 billion
- Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) grew 36.42 percent to Ksh 19.61 billion
- Commercial Paper, Non-Listed Bonds rose 263.35 percent to Ksh 43.81 billion
- Listed Corporate Bonds rose 32.61 percent to Ksh 37.52 billion
- Offshore Investments grew 23.23 percent to Ksh 104.99 billion
Decliners in the period were Unquoted Equities, down 12.23 percent to Ksh 7.81 billion, and Fixed Deposits, down 5.54 percent 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 categorized into Traditional Assets, comprising the four primary classes plus Fixed Deposits, and Alternative Assets, which capture the remaining investments.
