The initial public offering of the Zenith Money Market Fund closes today.

Here’s a peek at the prospectus from which comes from asset management wing of Zenith, Nigeria’s biggest bank by revenue and assets. Others in the top ten would include FBN Holdings, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Access Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank, Diamond Bank, Ecobank Nigeria, Fidelity Bank, Union Bank and Skye Bank

• It was to run from September 25 to October 13 – (but seems to have been extended  October 27)
• The offer aims to raise 1 billion Naira (approx. 295 million Kenya shillings) and the minimum investment to join is 10,000 Naira (approx. $28 or Kshs 2,940)
• The fund manager Zenith Assets Management also managers other funds – Zenith Equity Fund, Zenith Ethical Fund, and Zenith Income Fund.
• Zenith Managers has 298 million Naira in assets (down from 352 million) in 2015 and 857 million in 2013. They had a profit of 20 million Naira in 2016 (down from 67 million in 2015) as personnel cost doubled in 2016
• It is an open-ended fund in which the fund manager will own 5% and an investment committee will advise and guide the Fund Manager on investment decisions.
• The asset allocation of the fund will be treasury bills and short-term government securities (25-100%), and other money market securities (10-75%)
• The fund trustee is Vetiva Trustees, custodian is Stanbic IBTC Bank, and auditors are
  KPMG.
• For the issue, costs are estimated to be Naira 20.2 million (about 2%). Rating agency is Agusto & Co and Reporting accountants are Pro Edge Partners
• The fund will attract an annual 1% management fee.
• For the money market fund, Zenith projects to have assets of 1.5 billion Naira at the end of 2017, and 3.9 billion in 2019 and on to 12 billon in 2021.

Also see

• This interesting history of Nigeria banks post.
• Kenya has unit trusts for money market investors.