PE firm gets fund manager licence

By John Gachiri

Posted  Tuesday, February 5  2013 at  19:55

In Summary

• Fusion Capital becomes the 22nd asset management firm authorised by the Capital Markets Authority to handle investors’ portfolios.

Private equity fund Fusion Capital has been granted a licence to manage investors’ cash by the capital markets regulator.

Fusion Capital becomes the 22nd asset management firm authorised by the Capital Markets Authority to handle investors’ portfolios.

“The CMA has licensed Fusion Capital Asset Management Limited to operate as a fund manager after meeting the Capital Markets (Licensing Requirements) (General) Regulations, 2002. The licence is effective January 31, 2013 and is valid until December 31, 2013,” said the regulator in a statement.

Last week, a subsidiary of CIC Insurance announced it had acquired a licence to be a fund manager in the Sh403 billion pensions industry, which requires additional approval from the Retirements Benefits Authority (RBA).

(Read: RBA licenses CIC subsidiary to manage pension funds)

The RBA has 17 licensed pension fund managers.

Fusion Capital’s entry into fund management is set to create another revenue stream for the investment firm. The pensions industry is expected to grow as the expanding middle class raises its old-age investment nest.

Fusion had earlier said that it plans to list on the Nairobi Securities Exchange to raise additional capital from the public.