Tradiam Asset Managers

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  • What an ETF is, and how to buy one in Kenya

    What an ETF is, and how to buy one in Kenya

    Guide

    What an ETF is, and how to buy one in Kenya

    Tradiam investment teamOctober 20265 min read

    An exchange traded fund, or ETF, is a fund whose units are listed on a stock exchange. You buy and sell it through a stockbroker, the same way you would buy a share in a bank or a telco.

    One share, many companies

    An index ETF holds the companies in an index, in roughly the same weights. Buying one unit gives you a slice of all of them. If one company has a bad year, it moves your holding less than if you had put everything into that single share.

    How it differs from a unit trust

    • Where you buy it: an ETF trades on the exchange through a stockbroker. A unit trust is bought directly from its fund manager.
    • Price: an ETF’s price moves through the trading day. A unit trust is priced once a day.
    • What you pay: ETF buyers pay brokerage and exchange charges on each trade, plus the fund’s own annual costs.

    What you need to buy one in Kenya

    • A CDS account, opened through any licensed stockbroker.
    • Funds in your brokerage account.
    • The ETF’s trading code, published when it lists.

    The WSA Banking Index ETF

    Tradiam is the fund manager of the WSA Banking Index ETF, which tracks Kenya’s listed banks. The Capital Markets Authority approved it in August 2026, and its listing on the Nairobi Securities Exchange is expected in Q4 2026. It won’t be sold through the Tradiam investment portal: once it lists, you buy it through your stockbroker.

    Keep reading

    All insights
    Guide5 min read

    Money market fund or fixed deposit: which suits your cash?

    What each does with your money, what it costs, and how fast you get it back.

    Read the guide
    Guide6 min read

    How to invest in Kenya from abroad

    The documents you need, how to send money in, and which currency to hold.

    Read the guide

    Ready to invest with pride?

    Open your account online from KES 1,000, or ask us to call you first.

    Start investing

    Unit trusts are investments, not bank deposits. Their value can fall as well as rise, and past returns do not guarantee future ones. Please read each fund’s information memorandum before you invest.

  • How a chama can invest its savings

    How a chama can invest its savings

    Guide

    How a chama can invest its savings

    Tradiam investment teamOctober 20264 min read

    A chama’s savings often sit in a bank account earning little while members decide what to do next. A unit trust account lets the group earn in the meantime, with the same controls it already uses.

    Agree the goal first

    Money the group may lend or pay out within the year belongs somewhere it can be reached quickly. Money set aside for a plot, a building or a bigger investment two or more years away can be invested for longer.

    • Ready cash: Mfalme Money Market Fund, with no lock-in and withdrawals paid within two business days.
    • Longer goals: Wekeza Fixed Income Fund, best held three months to five years, with income added as new units.

    Keep the controls you trust

    The account is opened in the group’s name, and withdrawals need the signatories named in your minutes. No single member can move the money alone.

    What to prepare

    • The group’s registration certificate.
    • Minutes naming the signatories.
    • Each signatory’s ID and KRA PIN.

    Statements for every meeting

    Every month the group receives a statement showing contributions, withdrawals and the value of its units, so the treasurer’s report and the fund’s record say the same thing.

    Keep reading

    All insights
    Guide5 min read

    Money market fund or fixed deposit: which suits your cash?

    What each does with your money, what it costs, and how fast you get it back.

    Read the guide
    Guide6 min read

    How to invest in Kenya from abroad

    The documents you need, how to send money in, and which currency to hold.

    Read the guide

    Ready to invest with pride?

    Open your account online from KES 1,000, or ask us to call you first.

    Start investing

    Unit trusts are investments, not bank deposits. Their value can fall as well as rise, and past returns do not guarantee future ones. Please read each fund’s information memorandum before you invest.

  • How to invest in Kenya from abroad

    How to invest in Kenya from abroad

    Guide

    How to invest in Kenya from abroad

    Tradiam investment teamOctober 20266 min read

    Building at home from abroad used to mean waiting for a trip back to sign forms. With a fund manager that onboards online, the paperwork can be done from wherever you live.

    The documents you need

    • Your Kenyan ID or passport.
    • Your KRA PIN. If you don’t have one, it can be applied for online, and our team can tell you how.
    • Details of the bank account withdrawals will be paid to.

    Which currency to hold

    Start with what the money is for. If you will spend it in Kenya, on land, school fees or family support, saving in shillings avoids converting twice. If you earn in dollars and expect costs priced in dollars, such as university abroad, holding dollars keeps you out of exchange-rate swings.

    Tradiam runs both: Tau Fixed Income Fund in US dollars, from USD 2,500, and Mfalme Money Market Fund in shillings, from KES 1,000.

    How the money gets in

    You pay in by bank transfer to the fund’s collection account at I&M Bank, the custodian. Use the reference shown in the investment portal so your money is matched to your account on arrival.

    What to watch

    • Bank charges on international transfers vary. Sending fewer, larger amounts usually costs less.
    • If you measure your wealth in shillings, a dollar fund’s balance will move with the exchange rate, both ways.
    • Tau has a three-month lock-in. Keep money you might need sooner in Mfalme.

    If you’d like to talk it through first, book a call and we’ll ring you at a time that suits your time zone.

    Keep reading

    All insights
    Guide5 min read

    Money market fund or fixed deposit: which suits your cash?

    What each does with your money, what it costs, and how fast you get it back.

    Read the guide
    Guide4 min read

    How a chama can invest its savings

    Signatories, statements, and choosing a fund that matches the group’s goals.

    Read the guide

    Ready to invest with pride?

    Open your account online from KES 1,000, or ask us to call you first.

    Start investing

    Unit trusts are investments, not bank deposits. Their value can fall as well as rise, and past returns do not guarantee future ones. Please read each fund’s information memorandum before you invest.

  • Money market fund or fixed deposit: which suits your cash?

    Money market fund or fixed deposit: which suits your cash?

    Guide

    Money market fund or fixed deposit: which suits your cash?

    Tradiam investment teamOctober 20265 min read

    Both earn something on cash you would otherwise leave in a current account. The difference is in how you get the money back, and what happens to the rate while you wait.

    What a fixed deposit does

    You lend a bank a set amount for a set term, often three, six or twelve months, at a rate agreed on the day. The rate is fixed for the term, which is its strength. The catch is access: break the deposit early and most banks cut the interest or charge a penalty.

    What a money market fund does

    A money market fund pools money from many investors and places it in Treasury bills, bank deposits and other short-term instruments. You own units in the fund. The return moves with short-term rates, so it can rise or fall from week to week, and it isn’t guaranteed.

    The trade for that variable rate is access. With Mfalme Money Market Fund there is no lock-in, and a withdrawal is paid within two business days of your request.

    Five questions to settle it

    • When might you need the money? If the honest answer is “I’m not sure”, a fund you can leave at any time suits it better than a term you have to break.
    • How much are you starting with? Mfalme starts from KES 1,000 and takes top-ups from KES 500. Many fixed deposits ask for far more.
    • Do you want the rate fixed? A deposit gives certainty for the term. A fund follows the market in both directions.
    • What does it cost? Mfalme charges a management fee of 2.0% a year, taken daily inside the price, with no entry or exit fee. Ask a bank what it charges to break a deposit early.
    • Who holds the money? A unit trust’s assets are held by a custodian bank, apart from the fund manager. For Tradiam’s funds that custodian is I&M Bank.

    The short answer

    Use a fixed deposit for money with a fixed date that you are certain you won’t touch. Use a money market fund for your reserve and for cash between decisions, where reaching it quickly matters more than locking in a rate.

    Keep reading

    All insights
    Guide6 min read

    How to invest in Kenya from abroad

    The documents you need, how to send money in, and which currency to hold.

    Read the guide
    Guide4 min read

    How a chama can invest its savings

    Signatories, statements, and choosing a fund that matches the group’s goals.

    Read the guide

    Ready to invest with pride?

    Open your account online from KES 1,000, or ask us to call you first.

    Start investing

    Unit trusts are investments, not bank deposits. Their value can fall as well as rise, and past returns do not guarantee future ones. Please read each fund’s information memorandum before you invest.