| dc.description.abstract | Kenya’s unit trust industry is relatively young having started off at the turn of the 21st
century. The number of unit trust providers has grown to 13 since then and the size of
the industry has grown to KShs 29 Billion (USD 340million) as at end of June 2011.
This is therefore a small industry presenting a large untapped market given the
number of players and contribution to the country’s GDP. Compared to more
developed CIS markets the Kenyan Unit Trust Industry is much smaller. For example
it is 300 times smaller than the South African CIS Industry pointing to a lot of room
for growth. The size of the industry and slow growth is an indication that companies
are experiencing challenges implementing their growth strategies. The study
objectives were to establish the challenges of implementing Growth Strategies of
firms in the Unit Trust Industry in Kenya. The study covered 11 members of the
Association of Collective Investment Schemes. Data was collected using
questionnaires which were administered using drop and pick method. Data was
analysed using descriptive statistics, which involved mean scores used to show the
average effect of the factors under investigation, the standard deviation used to check
the variability from the mean and the mode was used to evaluate the most popular
responses. The study found out that the minimum investment amounts, economic
conditions and lack of awareness are the most significant factors affecting the growth
of CIS in Kenya followed closely by Distribution network and political and social
conditions. The study recommends that Collective Investment firms should consider
lowering their minimum investment amounts to make their products affordable to the
public. The Collective Investment Industry and the Capital Market Authority should
collectively engage in investor education in order to educate the public and create
awareness on the opportunities available via the CIS products. The Capital Market
Authority as the Industry regulator needs to enlighten the public on the measures it
put in place to enhance investor protection since the public is not confident that they
are adequately protected. | en |
