Almost the entire Kenyan Shariah fund market is one product. The Mansa-X Shariah Special Fund, run by SIB Najah, the Islamic investment banking division of Standard Investment Bank, held roughly KES 3.0 billion in its KES class and about KES 527.9 million equivalent in its USD class per the CMA's Q1 2026 collective investment scheme report, around KES 3.5 billion combined in a market where the next largest Shariah growth fund held KES 2.46 million. It is also the only fund in Kenya whose manager publishes a named Shariah board. Those two facts make it the serious end of Kenyan halal investing. The fee stack is the counterweight, and this guide gives both sides their full due. Sources: sib.co.ke fund pages and SIB Najah's Q3 2025 introduction deck, accessed August 6, 2026, plus CMA quarterly data.
Ready to compare halal options?
What the fund actually does
Mansa-X Shariah is a CMA-regulated multi-asset special fund investing in screened Shariah-compliant instruments across local and global markets, the compliant sibling of SIB's flagship Mansa-X strategy. KES and USD classes are available, each with a 6-month initial lock-in, after which withdrawals settle in 2 to 3 working days. Minimum investment is KES 100,000 or USD 1,000, with top-ups at the same levels. The custodian is I&M Bank per the Q3 2025 deck (earlier decks named National Bank of Kenya), and investors receive quarterly statements and fact sheets. The global mandate matters more than it sounds: most Kenyan funds hold only local assets, so this is one of the few ways a KES investor gets managed, screened exposure beyond the Nairobi market.
The board: Kenya's only named fund-house Shariah governance
SIB Najah publishes its Shariah Advisory Board by name: Sheikh Dr. Islam Mohamed Salim (chairman), Sheikh Abdirahman D. Guhad and Sheikh Ibrahim Rashid Mohamed, with Khalfan Abdallah Salim as secretary. The board comprises scholars and experts in Islamic jurisprudence responsible for guidance and screening so that investments avoid riba, gharar and non-compliant industries such as alcohol and gambling. In the Kenyan context this is not a routine disclosure; it is unique. No other fund manager in the country names a single scholar, as our governance audit documents. Named scholars create accountability: a specific person stands behind the compliance claim, and a roster change is visible. Two honest caveats belong beside the praise: the board's fatwa documents are not published on the crawlable pages, and neither are the portfolio's specific holdings, so verification stops at the roster rather than extending to the paper trail.
The fee stack, without euphemism
Entry and exit are free: 0% initial fee, 0% redemption fee. The running cost is a financial services charge of 5% per annum, prorated daily over 365 days. On top sits a performance fee: 10% of returns above a 25% per annum hurdle on the KES class, and 15% above a 15% hurdle on the USD class. A 5% flat annual charge is very high by global fund standards, where actively managed funds commonly charge 1% to 2%; it means the portfolio must earn 5% before an investor earns anything. The hurdles are generous to investors as performance fees go, 25% is a high bar to clear before sharing begins, but the flat charge is paid regardless of results, in flat years and down years alike. SIB's public materials cite strong recent net returns for the strategy family, and the 2025 net figures SIB cites for the Shariah fund were strong; the structural point stands anyway. Ask for the net-of-all-fees return series in writing before investing, and judge the 5% against delivered nets, not gross story-telling.
Who this fund fits
The natural investor here has six figures in KES to allocate, a horizon comfortably past the 6-month lock, and a specific want: actively managed, globally diversified halal growth with governance they can name. For that investor Mansa-X Shariah is currently the only complete answer in Kenya, which its market share reflects. It is the wrong first fund for a saver starting out: the KES 100,000 minimum equals a thousand times Etica's entry point, and a new investor's priority, building an accessible emergency floor, is better served by the liquid tier described in our small amounts guide. The sensible sequence for most people is liquidity first, then graduate here as capital grows. The USD class adds a currency decision: it hedges shilling weakness for KES earners but introduces its own hurdle structure and needs USD funding; diaspora readers should see our diaspora investing guide.
Mansa-X Shariah against the alternatives
Against Etica's Shariah income fund: different jobs entirely, income placements with instant liquidity versus locked multi-asset growth; the real comparison is governance, where SIB names scholars and Etica names none, against access, where Etica's KES 100 entry and instant M-PESA exits win. Against Kuza's Shariah Momentum: Kuza's mandate reads similar and its 2% flat fee is cheaper, but at KES 2.46 million of AUM it cannot yet be what its literature describes, while Mansa-X is three orders of magnitude larger. Against Ndovu's Halaal Fund: Ndovu offers certified passive US equity exposure from KES 5,000, a genuinely different product, indexed, certified externally, cheaper to hold long-term on the paid tiers, but single-market and unmanaged. The full three-way liquid-tier comparison lives in Mansa-X vs Etica vs Ziidi, and the whole shelf in the complete guide.
Understanding the special fund wrapper and the lock-in
Two structural features deserve a plain explanation. A special fund under Kenya's collective investment scheme rules is a vehicle with more mandate flexibility than a standard unit trust, which is what allows Mansa-X's long and short, local and global approach; the flexibility is regulated but real, and it means this fund can behave differently from the money market and income funds most Kenyan savers know. The 6-month lock-in is the second feature: your first withdrawal window opens half a year after investing, which is standard for strategy funds but a genuine constraint for money you might need. Neither feature is a defect; both define who should be here. Emergency savings do not belong in a locked strategy fund, and the right mental model is that Mansa-X Shariah is where already-stable finances go to compound, not where a financial cushion lives. Build the cushion first in the liquid tier, then lock only what can stay locked.
Diligence checklist before you invest
Five items, all reasonable requests to SIB Najah. The audited net-of-fees return history for the Shariah fund specifically, not the conventional Mansa-X family. The current fact sheet with asset allocation, since holdings are not on the public pages. The Shariah board's most recent report or fatwa documentation for the fund. Confirmation of the custodian arrangement in writing. And the redemption mechanics after lock-in, including any gating provisions in stressed markets. A manager running the country's flagship Shariah fund with a named board should clear all five easily; hesitation on any of them is itself information.
Compare providers in your county
See side-by-side comparisons of Shariah-compliant products, or let our matcher recommend the best options for your situation.
Bottom line
Mansa-X Shariah is the benchmark Kenyan halal investment: real assets, real governance, global reach, honest lock-in terms, and a cost structure you should walk into with eyes open. The 5% plus performance fee stack is defensible only against consistently delivered net returns, so make the decision on the net series, in writing. For six-figure halal portfolios in Kenya it is the default choice not by marketing but by elimination, and it earns the position on governance alone. Facts verified August 6, 2026 from sib.co.ke, SIB Najah deck materials and CMA Q1 2026 data; see the SIB Najah provider page for product details.