Standard Chartered launches new investment platform in Kenya

Standard Chartered has launched a new investment platform in Kenya that gives eligible investors access to professionally managed global investment strategies as wealthy Kenyans increasingly look beyond traditional savings and local investments.

The Standard Chartered Signature Select Variable Capital Company (VCC), approved by the Capital Markets Authority (CMA), brings together different investment strategies and global fund managers under one platform.

The bank says affluent families are also facing challenges in planning how their wealth will be transferred to the next generation, with failure to select the right wealth-transfer vehicles and inadequate documentation exposing families to disputes.

According to Standard Chartered, these mistakes can undermine efforts to preserve wealth and ensure a smooth transition of family assets.

Speaking during the launch of the Signature Select VCC in Kenya, Standard Chartered Bank Head of Affluent and Wealth Solutions across EMEA & UAE Ayesha Abbas said wealthy clients were increasingly seeking opportunities beyond the domestic market.

“Increasingly, for the clients here in Kenya, as much as their needs are growing and taking a different shape, they are equally thinking internationally. No longer do they want to pack everything here, but they are equally looking for diversification, diversification of the business of their wealth,” said Abbas.

Standard Chartered MD and Head of Affluent Banking Paul Njoki said Kenya's growing pool of dollar millionaires was creating demand for more sophisticated wealth management solutions.

“This country has over 6,800 million-dollar millionaires, and these are clients who have a level of sophistication in terms of how they manage their wealth, the needs they have to protect, preserve, and transition wealth to the next generation,” said Njoki.

The bank's Head of Wealth & Retail Banking, Kenya and East Africa, Edith Chumba said the new platform is intended to provide investors with access to specialist investment expertise while supporting diversification.

“Standard Chartered Funds VCC – Signature Select represents a more sophisticated model of investment access for Kenya. It combines the expertise of industry-leading global fund managers with our worldwide asset-class specialists to create differentiated, custom-curated strategies. The strategies are designed to support long-term strategic asset allocation as part of a client’s foundation portfolio, aligned with the Bank’s advisory emphasis on diversification and resilient core holdings,” said Chumba.

Unlike a conventional single investment fund, the VCC structure allows multiple funds and investment strategies to operate within one framework.

Standard Chartered says this enables it to select specialist fund managers across different asset classes and markets, with its investment professionals overseeing manager selection and due diligence while appointed sub-investment managers handle investment decisions and day-to-day portfolio management.

The platform currently has four strategies available to investors in Kenya — Enhanced Gold Income by Allianz, APAC Allocation Plus by BlackRock, US Allocation by T. Rowe Price and Global Income Plus by Pimco.

Four months after the launch, the platform has accumulated more than 20 million US dollars in assets under management, a development the bank says points to growing demand for global investment options among Kenyan investors.

Njoki described the VCC as a platform rather than a single investment product.

“It’s not a single product. It is a platform. It is a well-orchestrated [platform] to bring in curated investment solutions to our clients, responding to changing global dynamics,” said Njoki.

The launch comes as Kenya's wealth market continues to evolve, with the bank estimating that the country has about 7,000 US-dollar millionaires.

Standard Chartered said the wider African millionaire population is projected to grow by 65 per cent over the next decade, potentially increasing demand for access to international markets and alternative investment opportunities.

Abbas said the expansion of Signature Select into Kenya and Nigeria follows its rollout in other markets where Standard Chartered operates.

“Since Standard Chartered established its VCC in Singapore, Signature Select has expanded across our international wealth network, including Hong Kong, the UAE and Jersey, through partnerships with leading global asset managers. Bringing the platform to Kenya and Nigeria is a natural extension of that network and reflects our ambition to connect African investors to differentiated strategies and global expertise across markets and asset classes,” said Abbas.

The platform is available in Kenya to eligible Sophisticated Investors, targeting clients seeking broader diversification and specialist investment management across global markets.

Standard Chartered said the platform's open-architecture model allows it to work with different global fund managers rather than relying on a single investment provider.

The Signature Select platform is being launched simultaneously in Kenya and Nigeria as the bank expands its wealth management offering across Africa.