The Capital Markets Authority (CMA) on Thursday, June 27, 2024, awarded companies and individuals with Collective Investment Schemes (CIS) Awards.
CMA is a statutory body established by the Capital Markets Authority Act, Cap 84 of the Laws of Uganda, to promote and facilitate the development of an orderly, fair and efficient capital markets industry in Uganda.
According to the capital markets regulator, the Assets under Management for Collective Investment Schemes (CIS) have witnessed tremendous growth from Ugx 127 billion in December 2018 to Ugx 2.8 trillion as of the end of March 2024.
The growth in assets and clients can be attributed to efforts by different stakeholders.
It is upon this background that CMA recognized and celebrated persons who have contributed to the growth of the CIS industry during an awards breakfast held at CMA head offices in Kololo, Kampala.
Winners
ICEA Lion Asset Management (U) Limited emerged as the Best-performing CIS Manager based on Year-on-Year Growth in CIS AUM for the years 2019 to 2024 (from 8,380,683,698 billion in March 2019 to 376,400,506,469 billion in March 2024 representing a Compound Annual Growth Rate of 114%).
The Best-performing CIS Manager based on Year on Year Growth in CIS Accounts for the years 2019 to 2024 was XENO Investment Management Uganda Limited (from 611 Accounts in March 2019 to 31,916 Accounts in March 2024 representing a Compound Annual Growth Rate of 120.6%).
Britam Asset Managers Company (Uganda) Limited was awarded for Most Innovative Fund of the Year based on products, customer centricity and contributing to the growth of long-term savings to be deployed in the economy.
Andrew Mwima took home the award for Best Performing Investor Resource Person based on Sessions made for the FY 2023 to 2024 (Accounting for 38 radio shows and 41 Physical in-person presentations).
The CIS Manager of the year based on total AUM for the FY 2023 to 2024 was Old Mutual Investment Group Uganda, formerly Known as UAP Investments (accounting for 1,952,015,764,945 trillion in Assets under Management as of March 2024).
CMA Director for Research and Market Development, Dickson Ssembuya, noted a positive trend in the growth of the awards, saying they will do even more to boost the CIS industry.
“We, as regulators, will ensure that this exponential growth continues. Ours is to facilitate you and ensure that we hit those targets so that we can make this a mass forum,” said Ssembuya who represented CPA Josephine Okui Ossiya, the CMA Chief Executive Officer.
“We dream of a time where a collective investments schemes account can compete with a bank account.”
He said when the Silicon Bank went under, there was an outflow of savings from the bank to capital markets
“So how can we position this industry as an alternative to the bank account? We need people to see that this can be a good alternative to having money in the bank account. Instead of having the money sit in the bank account, you can actually have it in a money market fund somewhere and you can gain access to it on short notice,” he explained.
He added: “From a regulatory standpoint, we are more than willing to listen to you and facilitate you. If it is opening as many doors as possible, we shall be there with you.”
He urged for increased collaboration, sharing ideas and lobbying together for a more positive outcome.
Why CIS?
According to CMA, CIS can be passive investment products for wealth creation and rather than struggle with actively managing a business (as an investment), individuals can turn over the management of their investments to a third party.
A collective investment scheme (CIS) can provide such a channel for one to invest passively, with the management of their investment being undertaken by an investment professional.
A CIS is a regulated investment product that involves several individuals contributing money into a common pool and having a licensed professional fund manager investing on their behalf based on the documents that establish a CIS.
In the contemporary financial landscape, collective investment schemes (CIS) have emerged as significant vehicles for both retail and institutional investors aiming to build wealth.
“Over 121,000 Ugandans have thus far invested in CIS to the tune of Ugx 2.5 trillion, which is barely scratching the surface. This in our estimate is expected to generate a minimum of Ugx 200 billion in wealth for investors this calendar year, who are currently able to invest as low as Ugx 10,000,” said CMA in a statement.
