Speaking during the 9th annual general meeting at Four Points by Sheraton Hotel in Kampala, the Old Mutual Investment Group Chief Financial Officer, John Golooba said the unit trusts recorded a 36% year-on-year growth from shs2.46 trillion reported in 2024.
“This growth was mainly fuelled by rising strong net inflows supported by rising investor participation and the compounding effect of income earned across portfolios,” he said.
The performance
Golooba said the flagship Umbrella Trust Fund remained the main contributor to overall growth, accounting for the majority of inflows and increasing by 34.4% to shs3.31 trillion and drove about shs255billion investment income, recording a 28.4% growth and a profitability of shs173 billion.
On the other side, the Dollar Fund grew to $63 million, with a 61.2% growth and a $3.22 million income, indicating a 100.9% growth which raked in $2.34 million in profit.
Golooba also highlighted the areas where the unit trust money by the Old Mutual Investment Group is invested, indicating that the largest chunk at shs2.61 trillion, representing 78.8% is invested in government securities while shs675 billion goes into bank deposits.
Old Mutual Investment Group Managing Director, Zac Kisesi attributed the growth to a number of factors that he said are playing in their favour.
“Financial literacy that has been taking place in the country has contributed to this growth. Right now, if you look around, there are so many circles, investment clubs opening, companies actually opening interest accounts to manage liquidity, treasury management and so on and so forth,” Kisesi said.
He also mentioned efforts by the regulator, Capital Markets Authority to educate Ugandans on investment.
“Many Ugandans have lost money in the past to so many unscrupulous investment schemes but the beauty about the regulator is that they have given credibility to people to entrust their pension money and their hard-earned savings. These factors combined have led to growth in the unit trust sector.”
He also pointed to the “consistent and delivered on time” which he said has earned Old Mutual clients’ trust.
“ Clients are able to see visibility through their statements. I also see innovation playing a big role. Clients are now able to log into systems, check their balances as they grow, access their money within a short period of time, and make deposits. All these are factors that have contributed to the growth we are seeing in the unit trust space.”