In a statement, Britam noted that the funds will be used to buy a stake in the 80MW Heavy Fuel Oil Athi River Power Plant owned by Gulf Energy, one of the top oil and energy players in the region.
The power plant was commissioned in 2014 with a 20-year power purchase agreement with Kenya Power.
“Through this investment, Britam Asset Managers’ institutional clients will achieve diversification not only across asset classes but also across currencies. This is because the returns from the power plant will be in hard currency,” stated Kenneth Kaniu, Chief Executive Officer, Britam Asset Managers.
The new investments signal a new direction for Britam which currently has Ksh158 billion in assets under management and invests assets for both institutional and retail clients.
Traditionally the company has invested in the equity market, corporate bonds, commercial papers, T-bills, T-Bonds and bank deposits.
This explains why overall investment returns have been quite volatile in Kenya.
“Through this investment, Britam Asset Managers clients will be able to have more stable and less volatile returns and they will benefit from the diversification this asset provides,” added Mr Kaniu.
Among its institutional clients are Pension Schemes, University Endowment Funds, Insurance Funds and Foundations, which focus on long term assets.
