Absa Bank Kenya PLC is one of the largest banks in Kenya, with total assets exceeding 3.5 billion USD, and it has a lot of customers. For that, now, when the central bank rates are high and savings accounts lucrative, many are interested in knowing the rates of its money market fund, minimum deposit and how it works so they can invest and earn something.
In this article, we are going to talk about everything you should know about the Absa money market fund in 2024, which aims to give a higher return than a cash savings account, including how to get started:
First, you should know that Absa Bank offers two types of money market fund accounts – Absa Shilling Money Market Fund and Absa Dollar Money Market Fund but Kenyans are more familiar with the former (the shilling account) because of its convenience and ease of investing and accessing cash.
What is the Absa Shilling Money Market Fund?
Like all other money market funds in Kenya, the Absa Shilling Money Market Fund seeks a high current income while preserving capital and maintaining liquidity.
“The objective of the Fund is to generate interest income for an investor from a wide range of Kenya shilling-denominated short-term interest-bearing securities to meet both their short-term and long-term investment plans,” Absa Bank, formerly Barclays, says in the Fund’s Fact Sheet for September last year.
Starting in February of 2022, it is considered one of the lowest-risk investment options in the country’s financial market, investing in high-quality equity securities (e.g. shares) of companies that make up the benchmark index, commercial paper and government treasury bills.
Many investors prefer putting their cash in money market funds rather than in normal bank savings accounts because MMFs are stable, secure and pay enticing interest rates.
What is the current interest rate on the Absa money market?
Absa Bank Kenya PLC does not calculate the interest rates of its money market fund accounts based on balance tiers. That means your exact interest rate depends not on your account balance.
Today, the average Absa Shilling Money Market Fund rates fall between 8% APY and 10% APY, and to be exact, in March 2024, the nominal rate was 15.45% before deducting taxes and the 1.75% management fee, therefore becoming 9.22% Real Returns.
What is the minimum deposit for an Absa Bank money market account?
Absa Bank requires a minimum deposit to open the Absa Shilling Money Market Fund account and start investing. A minimum Ksh1,000 opening deposit is required, but afterwards, one can top up any amount while expanding your portfolio size.
How to open an Absa money market account in Kenya
You can sign up and start investing in any of the two Absa money market fund accounts by visiting their website, going to ‘Corporate and Investment,’ clicking on Absa Asset Management Limited and in the contact form, selecting Absa Shilling Fund and scrolling down to the contact form where you will fill it and wait for a call from Absa on how you will get the money market account.
