Unit trusts controlled by Genghis Capital, including Mali Money Market Fund, lost a combined Sh628.5 million in assets in the first three months of the year to March, amid recent headwinds for the firm.
In January, the Nairobi-based investment bank ran into trouble when a South African businessman instructed auctioneers to seize office equipment for sale to recover a debt of Sh354 million ($2.74 million).
At the same time, Genghis Capital was involved in a dispute with Safaricom, the leading telecoms operator, at the end of 2024, when the latter ditched its partnership with the Mali unit trust scheme to form a new fund, Ziidi.
The assets under management (AUM) of the Mali money market fund (MMF), which was formed largely by Safaricom’s own staff, fell by Sh479.2 million from Sh2.79 billion at the end of 2024 to Sh2.31 billion at end of March, marking a 17 percent drop.
The AUM of Genghis Unit Trust Funds, meanwhile, fell by 19 percent in the same period or Sh149.2 million, dropping to Sh626.9 million from Sh776.2 million.
Genghis Capital chief executive officer Edward Wachira was not immediately available for comment when the Business Daily contacted him for further details on the performance of the firm’s collective investment schemes.
In contrast, the rival Ziidi MMF, approved by the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) on November 27 last year, saw its AUM increase by 331 percent in the quarter to March 2025, rising to Sh7.37 billion from Sh1.71 billion at the end of December last year.
Ziidi began as a partnership between Safaricom and three fund managers – Standard Investment Bank (SIB), ALA Capital limited and Sanlam Investments East Africa Limited.
Genghis Capital fired a protest letter to Safaricom on December 3, accusing the telco of discreetly launching Ziidi and declining to publicly launch Mali.
Safaricom had tapped the investment bank in 2019 as the partner fund manager for the rollout of the scheme before switching sides last year.
The Mali MMF ran as a pilot and did not undergo a soft launch.
Safaricom blamed Genghis for the fund’s delayed launch, terming the firm’s technology platform as rickety.
Sources, however, disclosed to this publication that top State officials had expressed dissatisfaction with the Genghis Capital over the firm’s alleged links with the family of the late President Daniel arap Moi.
At the end of January this year, the CMA directed Genghis Capital to submit a plan detailing how it intends to settle the debt owed to the South African businessman.
The regulator said that it had reached out to the firm for a debt settlement roadmap, while also allaying fears over the safety of funds invested through the investment bank.
“CMA would like to clarify that clients’ assets are held in segregated accounts separate from the funds of Genghis Capital Limited… Client assets managed under Genghis Money Market Fund and Mali Money Market Fund are held by a duly authorised custodian and oversighted by an independent trustee,” the regulator said in a statement dated January 22.
