Top 5 Fund Managers in Nigeria by asset value

Nigeria’s mutual fund managers are always “fighting” for positions by growing their assets month over month.

The dynamics of Nigeria’s mutual funds industry keeps changing. Changes are being noticed in the size of the total asset value, as well as in the number of funds and fund managers. Another area that has witnessed some significant changes is the ranking of fund managers by asset value. Here is how they rank:

Stanbic IBTC Asset Management Limited

It retains its position as the largest mutual fund manager by asset, a position it has held since 2000.

Stanbic IBTC Asset Management Limited manages 14 mutual funds with total asset under management of N649 billion, as at October 30th 2020. This represents 41.04% of Nigeria’s total mutual fund asset under management.
Stanbic IBTC money market fund is the largest single mutual fund in Nigeria.
With about N330.8 billion in AUM, Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund accounts for 20.9% of Nigeria’s total mutual fund asset value as at October 30th 2020.

FBN Capital Asset Management Limited

FBN Capital Asset Management Limited is the second largest asset management company in Nigeria.

It currently oversees 17.21% of total mutual fund assets, which translates to an AUM of N272.2 billion.
FBN Capital Asset Management Limited has 7 mutual funds under its management.
Its money market fund, FBN Money Market Fund, with asset under management of N242 billion, is the second largest single mutual fund in Nigeria.
With that much asset value, FBN Money Market Fund houses 15.3% of Nigeria’s total mutual fund assets as at October 30th 2020.

UBA Asset Management Company

UBA Asset Management Company is the 3rd largest asset manager in Nigeria, having overtaken Asset Resources Management (ARM) Limited.

UBA Asset Management Company now manages 9.5% of Nigeria’s total mutual fund assets with an asset under management of N150.2 billion.
UBA Asset Management Company manages 6 mutual funds, the largest of which is UBA Bond Fund with asset value of N106.7 billion as at October 30, 2020.
UBA Bond Fund is however, the 5th largest single mutual fund in Nigeria.

Asset and Resources Management Limited

Asset and Resources Management Limited comes 4th in the ranking of fund managers by asset size.

Prior to this period, the fund manager occupied the 3rd position until it got pushed over by UBA Asset Management Company.
Asset and Resources Management Limited currently manages 6.72% or N106.3 billion of Nigeria’s N1.58 trillion mutual fund industry.
It has 6 funds under its belt with ARM Money Market Fund’s N93 billion in asset value as the largest.
ARM Money Market Fund is the 6th single largest mutual fund in Nigeria.

Chapel Hill Denham Management Limited

Chapel Hill Denham Management Limited made a giant leap from its previous 7th position to become the 5th largest asset manger in Nigeria.

As at October 30th, 2020, its asset under management stood at N61.9 billion.
Chapel Hill Denham Management Limited manages 4 mutual funds, with Chapel Hill Denham Nigeria Infrastructure Debt fund as the largest.
With asset under management of N58.6 billion, Chapel Hill Denham Nigeria Infrastructure Debt fund is the 7th largest single mutual fund in Nigeria.

The good news about Nigeria’s mutual fund industry is that the fund managers are always “fighting” for positions by growing their assets month over month. For example, FSDH and AXA Mansard have now been relegated to the 6th and 9th positions respectively – from 4th and 5th positions previously. First City Asset Management Limited and Quantum Zenith Asset Management and Investment Limited also moved to new positions.

Too Big to Fail

The industry seems to be sitting on the too big to fail risk as 41.04% of the total mutual fund assets in Nigeria is being managed by Stanbic IBTC Asset Management limited, while Stanbic IBTC Money market Fund and FBN Money Market Fund (the first 2 largest single funds) account for 36.2% of Nigeria’s total mutual fund assets.

Too big to fail is a concept that a financial institution is so important to the economy that the authorities must ensure that such an organization does not go bankrupt or cease to continue its business as a going concern. This is because when and if that happens, the effect on the economy or investors could be devastating. The position of Stanbic IBTC Asset Management Limited in the Nigerian mutual fund industry, where it manages approximately N0.65 trillion out of the N1.58 trillion mutual funds asset, calls for a close watch by the regulatory authorities.