Mansa‑X Special Fund KES returned 20.74% net of fees in 2025, its strongest year since launch, driven by a multi‑asset, long/short approach that blended local and global exposure across equities, fixed income, currencies, commodities, and derivatives.
Mansa‑X’s 2025 performance reflected a deliberate, cross‑market playbook rather than a single concentrated bet. The fund is structured as a multi-asset long/short strategy that actively trades both Kenyan and international instruments, utilizing leverage and hedging to generate returns across various market environments. That framework enabled managers to rotate between asset classes as opportunities arose and to protect capital when markets became volatile.
What Was Mansa-X Investing in 2025?
On the instruments side, the fund’s trading universe in 2025 included equities, fixed income, currencies, commodities, and derivatives. Managers used listed Kenyan equities and regional stocks for growth exposure, government and corporate bonds for yield and duration management, FX positions to capture currency moves, and derivatives both for tactical leverage and for hedging downside risk. This mix is consistent with the fund’s stated objective of optimising returns while limiting downside through proprietary allocation techniques.
As per their latest factsheet, Mansa‑X also maintained a dual‑currency offering, running both KES‑ and USD‑denominated asset classes, which shaped how capital was deployed across local and offshore markets. The KES share class remained the dominant vehicle for investor flows in 2025, while the USD class provided an avenue for foreign‑currency exposure and different risk budgeting. Public reporting on the fact sheet market commentary during the year showed the KES fund accounted for the bulk of the strategy’s assets under management, with smaller proportions in the USD vehicle and other special funds in the sector.
Tactically, the fund leaned into opportunistic rebalancing and selective hedging. When local equities offered attractive valuations, the team increased equity exposure; when bond yields or FX dislocations presented better risk‑adjusted returns, capital was shifted accordingly. Derivatives were used both to amplify directional views and to protect the portfolio against sharp drawdowns, helping the fund compound gains through the year.
Risk management remained central to the allocation decisions. Position sizing, stop‑loss discipline, and active hedging were applied across asset classes to limit downside and smooth returns—an approach that helped the fund convert market moves into a 20.74% net return without taking on unchecked concentration risk.
Also Read: Mansa-X Delivers Impressive 1Q2025 Results
