Mansa X vs Oak Special Fund 2026: Returns, Fees, Verdict
Mansa X returned 20.74% net in 2025 vs Oak's 18.99%, then 10.97% vs 8.06% in H1 2026. Every figure verified against the funds' own 2025 and 2026 fact sheets (all linked), plus fees, minimums and an honest verdict.
In 2025, Kenya’s two most talked-about special funds finally met in a full calendar year, and the scoreline was closer than the marketing suggests: Mansa X returned 20.74% net, Oak returned 18.99% net. One point seven percentage points apart, yet the two funds took completely different roads to get there. This comparison is built entirely from the funds’ own published fact sheets, all of them linked below, so you can verify every figure yourself.
Sources used in this article: the Mansa X Special Fund Fact Sheet 2025 and Q1 2026 Fact Sheet from Standard Investment Bank, and the Oak Special Fund September 2025 Fact Sheet, Oak Fund Summary 2025 and Oak Q2 & Half-Year 2026 Fact Sheet (KES) from Faida Investment Bank. Both funds are licensed by the Capital Markets Authority of Kenya. Past performance is not a guarantee of future returns.
Fund Overview: The Basics Side by Side
| Detail | Mansa X (KES Fund) | Oak Special Fund (KES) |
|---|---|---|
| Manager | Standard Investment Bank (est. 1995) | Faida Investment Bank (est. 1995) |
| Regulator | Capital Markets Authority | Capital Markets Authority |
| Trustee | Kingsland Court Trustees | Co-operative Bank of Kenya |
| Custodian | I&M Bank | I&M Bank |
| Auditor | Chartafai LLP | Njoroge Kuria & Associates |
| Fund Inception | January 2019 (USD fund: October 2022) | February 2024 |
| AUM (latest sheet) | KES 132.18 Billion at 31 Mar 2026 | KES 19.02 Billion at 30 Jun 2026 |
| Base Currency | KES (USD fund also offered) | KES (USD fund also offered) |
| Minimum Investment | KES 250,000 | KES 500,000 |
| Minimum Top-up | KES 100,000 | KES 50,000 |
| Lock-in Period | 6 months | 6 months |
| Withdrawal / Redemption Fee | 0% | 0 |
| Management / Financial Services Fee | 5% p.a. pro-rated | 6% p.a. pro-rated |
| Performance Fee | 10% above a 25% hurdle (KES fund) | Not separately disclosed |
| Stated Benchmark / Target | Above market average returns | Targets 20% net of fees (not guaranteed); benchmark: 30% 364-day T-Bill + 30% NSE All Share + 40% S&P 500 |
Mansa X: Seven Full Years on the Board
Mansa X is the incumbent. Launched in January 2019 under Standard Investment Bank’s trust umbrella, it runs a long/short, multi-asset strategy across the NYSE, LSE, Frankfurt and Hong Kong exchanges, plus fixed income, precious metals, currencies and NSE positions at home. Its published record now covers seven complete years, and the consistency is the story:
| Year | Gross Return | Net Return (After Fees) |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 24.01% | 19.01% |
| 2020 | 23.75% | 18.75% |
| 2021 | 20.45% | 15.45% |
| 2022 | 20.59% | 15.59% |
| 2023 | 23.01% | 18.01% |
| 2024 | 24.53% | 19.53% |
| 2025 | 25.74% | 20.74% |
Every figure above is from SIB’s own 12-month performance chart in the 2025 fact sheet. Two things stand out. First, the worst year in seven (15.45% in 2021) would still beat most Kenyan investment products. Second, 2025 was Mansa X’s best year on record, quarter by quarter: 5.09% in Q1, 6.05% in Q2, 4.89% in Q3 and 4.71% in Q4. SIB’s fund manager credits a year where nearly everything worked: the S&P 500 gained about 16%, gold broke above USD 4,500 an ounce, and silver staged a 147% rally to a high of USD 84.
Oak: The Challenger That Keeps Pulling In Money
Oak Special Fund is Faida Investment Bank’s answer to the same question, launched in February 2024 as a leveraged asset-allocation fund mixing sovereign bonds, cash, NSE and US securities, currencies and CFDs. It is younger, smaller and bolder in how it states its ambition: a published target of 20% net per year, benchmarked against a blend of the 364-day T-bill, the NSE All Share and the S&P 500.
| Period | Net Return |
|---|---|
| 2024 (from February launch) | 29.38% |
| 2025: Q1 | 4.73% |
| 2025: Q2 | 4.96% |
| 2025: Q3 | 4.16% |
| 2025: Q4 | 3.92% |
| 2025 full year | 18.99% |
| 2026: Q1 (Jan 1.73%, Feb 1.81%, Mar 1.11%) | 4.72% |
| 2026: Q2 (Apr 1.64%, May 0.61%, Jun 0.91%) | 3.19% |
| H1 2026 | 8.06% |
Per Oak’s 2025 fund summary, KES 1,000,000 invested on 1 January 2025 gained KES 204,909.91 by year end. Sharp-eyed readers will notice that illustration works out to 20.49% while the headline quarterly-compounded figure is 18.99%; both numbers appear in Faida’s own sheet, a presentation difference worth knowing about when you compare marketing materials. Oak’s Q2 2026 sheet shows KES 1,000,000 invested since the February 2024 launch reaching about KES 1,669,985 by 30 June 2026, a 67% total gain in 29 months.
Head-to-Head: The Periods Where Both Have Published Data
Fair comparisons need identical windows. There are now three of them.
2024: Oak’s knockout year
Oak’s first (11-month) year delivered 29.38% against Mansa X’s 19.53%. Context matters though: per Oak’s September 2025 sheet, 15.40% of that came in Q1 2024 alone, the launch quarter. The remaining three quarters produced 6.78%, 3.15% and 4.05%, a run rate much closer to what came later. Launch-window performance on a small asset base is real money for early investors, but it is not something any fund can promise to repeat at 19 billion shillings of AUM.
2025: Mansa X sweeps the year, four quarters to nil
| Quarter | Mansa X (net) | Oak (net) | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 2025 | 5.09% | 4.73% | Mansa X |
| Q2 2025 | 6.05% | 4.96% | Mansa X |
| Q3 2025 | 4.89% | 4.16% | Mansa X |
| Q4 2025 | 4.71% | 3.92% | Mansa X |
| Full year | 20.74% | 18.99% | Mansa X |
Notice how close the quarters are, mostly within a percentage point. Neither fund had a losing quarter, and Oak hit its high teens even in a year its target said 20%. But a sweep is a sweep.
H1 2026: The gap widens
| Period | Mansa X (net) | Oak (net) |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 2026 | 4.74% | 4.72% |
| Q2 2026 | 5.95% | 3.19% |
| H1 2026 | 10.97% | 8.06% |
Q1 was a photo finish, two hundredths of a point in it. Then the paths split: Mansa X posted its strongest quarter since 2022 while Oak recorded its softest since launch, with May (0.61%) and June (0.91%) its two weakest published months so far. KES 1,000,000 placed in each fund on 1 January 2026 was worth roughly KES 1,109,700 in Mansa X and KES 1,080,610 in Oak by the end of June, per each fund’s own illustration. Half a year is far too short to declare a trend, but it is the freshest data either fund has published, and it favours the incumbent.
Inside the Portfolios: Two Different Machines
Mansa X: a global multi-asset book
Per the 2025 fact sheet (Q4 2025, KES fund), the top ten holdings were: fixed income instruments (14.03%), interest rate derivatives (5.07%), the S&P 500 (2.90%), Alphabet (1.94%), Advanced Micro Devices (1.89%), Goldman Sachs (1.71%), Eli Lilly (1.52%), silver futures (1.48%), cash equivalents (1.25%) and VanEck Gold Miners (1.16%). Geographically the book sat 53.42% in the Americas, 23.09% in Africa, 18.23% in Europe, 3.92% in the Middle East and Asia, and 1.34% in Oceania. This is a genuinely global machine with hundreds of moving parts and no single position dominating.
Oak: a bond-and-cash anchor with a trading overlay
Oak’s June 2026 allocation: sovereign bonds 35.23%, cash and equivalents 27.00%, currencies 8.24%, indices, metals and commodities 7.91%, NSE securities 7.61%, US securities 7.52%, commercial papers 2.64%, forwards and swaps 1.64%, options and futures 1.28%, corporate bonds 0.56%, funds of funds 0.37%. Roughly 62 shillings of every 100 sit in bonds and cash, with a leveraged trading sleeve doing the heavy lifting for returns.
The Five Differences That Actually Matter
Mansa X has seven complete audited years spanning COVID, rate shocks and two Kenyan election cycles, averaging 18.18% net per year. Oak has about 29 months. Oak’s record is promising, but Mansa X’s is proven across regimes. If a long, verifiable history is what lets you sleep, this one difference may settle the debate.
Mansa X (132.18 Bn, March 2026) is roughly seven times Oak’s size (19.02 Bn, June 2026). Scale brings institutional pricing and makes any single redemption a smaller ripple. The counterpoint: smaller funds can be nimbler, and Oak’s AUM is growing at a pace SIB would envy.
Mansa X lets you in at KES 250,000; Oak demands double that. Once inside, the roles reverse: Oak accepts KES 50,000 top-ups while Mansa X wants KES 100,000 a time. Starters find Mansa X easier to reach; drip-feeders find Oak easier to build.
Mansa X earns its return from a diversified global long/short book, majority Americas. Oak earns its from Kenyan sovereign paper plus a leveraged CFD and derivatives sleeve. Similar headline numbers, structurally different risk sources. Oak’s own sheet is explicit that leveraged products mean the fund "may not be suitable for all investors" and that redemptions can be suspended in certain circumstances.
Mansa X: 5% p.a. financial services charge, plus 10% of any return above 25% (so it rarely bites). Oak: 6% p.a., no separately disclosed performance fee. In a typical year Mansa X’s drag is a point lighter. Both funds publish returns net of these charges, so the tables above already reflect them.
What KES 1,000,000 Actually Did (Straight From the Sheets)
| Window | Fund | End Value | Gain |
|---|---|---|---|
| 31 Jan 2019 to 31 Dec 2025 | Mansa X | KES 3,431,671.87 | +243.2% |
| 31 Jan 2019 to 31 Mar 2026 | Mansa X | KES 3,594,335 | +259.4% |
| Feb 2024 launch to 30 Jun 2026 | Oak | KES 1,669,984.68 | +67.0% |
| Full year 2025 | Mansa X | KES 1,207,400 (at 20.74%) | +20.74% |
| Full year 2025 (sheet illustration) | Oak | KES 1,204,909.91 | +20.49% shown; headline 18.99% |
| H1 2026 | Mansa X | ~KES 1,109,700 | +10.97% |
| H1 2026 | Oak | KES 1,080,609.97 | +8.06% |
For the USD savers: Mansa X’s dollar fund turned USD 10,000 into USD 14,949.02 between November 2022 and December 2025 (12.66% average net per year, 13.37% net in 2025, 6.54% in H1 2026). Oak also offers a USD class with its own fact sheets on oak.africa.
Which Fund Fits Which Investor
| Profile | Better Fit | Why |
|---|---|---|
| First private-fund investment | Mansa X | Lower entry at KES 250,000, seven audited years, diversified global book |
| Building up with small monthly additions | Oak | KES 50,000 top-ups vs Mansa X’s KES 100,000, once you clear the 500K entry |
| Longest possible verified record | Mansa X | Seven full years averaging 18.18% net; Oak cannot match that yet by definition |
| Preference for a bond-heavy base | Oak | Around 62% in sovereign bonds and cash as at June 2026, with a trading overlay |
| Chasing the 2024-style outlier year | Neither, honestly | Oak’s 29.38% launch year relied on one 15.4% quarter; no fund promises a repeat |
| Wants both engines | Split across the two | KES 750,000 covers both minimums and diversifies manager and strategy risk |
Before you commit a shilling, download the fact sheets linked above and confirm current terms with Standard Investment Bank (Mansa X) or Faida Investment Bank (Oak). Then make the numbers personal: model your exact amount and horizon in our Mansa-X calculator, run the two funds side by side in the Mansa X vs Oak comparison calculator, or benchmark against the safe option with the money market fund calculator. For the story behind Mansa X’s latest results, read our H1 2026 results explainer.
This article is for information only and is not investment advice, a projection, or an offer. PesaCalc is independent and is not affiliated with Standard Investment Bank or Faida Investment Bank. All figures are drawn from the funds’ publicly available fact sheets linked above and may have changed since publication. Past performance is not indicative of future returns. Consult a licensed financial adviser before investing.