Aguka Fund, a trust fund run by BK Capital Limited, a subsidiary of BK Group PLC, is one of the two trust funds on Rwanda’s capital market. Launched in 2020, the fund is an open-ended unit trust fund that pools money from investors and invests it into a diversified portfolio of money market instruments, cash deposits and debt instruments issued by the government and corporate entities operating in Rwanda. It aims to achieve a competitive level of return, with high liquidity by investing its assets in a diversified Rwandan Francs investment portfolio. It is also looked at as a key initiative for value addition to the financial services offered within the Rwandan economy, thus complementing the country’s enabling business environment and aspiration to become a financial hub. Here are a few things you should know in regards to investing in the fund: 1. Steps to invest in the fund Investing in the Aguka fund is pretty easy. Clients who wish to invest in the fund will fill the application or Know Your Customer (NYC) form and then pay for the units to be purchased into the funds account. The clients have to submit the payment slip and the filled form to the agent. The purchase confirmation will be sent to you by SMS or Email. 2. Ways of investing in the fund The investments may be done in different ways. They include lump sum investments where an investor has a lump sum amount (entire money available with the investor) to invest into a unit trust fund. Over a period of time, the initial investment will increase as income is earned by the fund. They also include regular savings, which means an investor may invest in unit trusts funds by making regular investments (e.g. monthly or quarterly) to their fund. Employee provident scheme investors may also invest into unit trust funds from their EPFs (Employees Provident Funds). These EPFs are the schemes in which retirement benefits are accumulated. 3. Why you should invest in Aguka fund By investing through a unit trust, you can enjoy the benefits of having experts working on your behalf. The benefits of investing in unit trusts are diversification, professional management, liquidity and ease of transaction. Transaction costs are reduced through bulk dealing (involving large investments. Finally, unit trusts are liquid because units can be bought or sold on any working day. 4. What are the key questions to ask before investing? The key questions to ask before investing include: “Do you know your own investment objectives? Does the fund match your objectives and risk profile? Are you comfortable with the fund manager? Do you need financial advice? Are there fees?” 5. How does the unit price of Aguka Fund behave? The unit price increases every day depending on the investments’ return as advised by BK Capital 6. How liquid is Aguka Unit Trust Fund? Investors can get access to their fund by giving a 48 hours’ notice for amounts of Rwf10 million and below and a 1 month notice for amounts above Rwf10 million. However, investors can still access their investments without prior notice and this will attract a small redemption fee.
