Project your Money Market Fund growth using the fund's annual effective yield — enter a lump sum plus any monthly top-ups, and the calculator compounds interest monthly and applies Kenya's 15% withholding tax the way your fund manager does.
A Money Market Fund (MMF) grows your money through daily interest that compounds on top of itself, quoted as an annual effective yield that changes from week to week depending on the fund manager. This calculator projects how a lump sum — plus any monthly top-ups — grows over your chosen term, applying Kenya's 15% withholding tax to the interest the same way your fund manager does before it ever reaches your account statement.
How Does a Money Market Fund Grow My Money?
An MMF pools investor cash into short-term, low-risk instruments — Treasury bills, bank fixed deposits, and commercial paper — and passes the returns back to investors as daily interest. Each fund manager publishes an annual effective yield (a percentage, e.g. 10–13%) that already reflects daily compounding and is already net of the fund's management fee. Your unit balance grows every single day the money sits in the fund, unlike a fixed deposit that pays interest only once, at maturity.
How Is the Growth Calculated?
This calculator converts the annual effective yield you enter into a monthly compounding rate — (1 + annual yield)1/12 − 1 — and applies it month by month across your investment term. Each month's interest is calculated on that month's opening balance, 15% withholding tax is deducted from that interest (matching how fund managers actually credit your account), and the net interest is added back to the balance before the next month's interest is calculated. Any monthly top-up you enter is added at the end of each month, after that month's interest, so it starts earning from the following month — the same way a standing order into an MMF behaves in practice.
Is Money Market Fund Interest Taxed in Kenya?
Yes. MMF interest is subject to a 15% withholding tax, deducted by the fund manager before it's credited to your account — you never receive the gross figure. For resident individuals this withholding tax is final under the Income Tax Act's qualifying-interest rules, so the interest doesn't need to be declared again or taxed further on your annual return. This is the same treatment as bank fixed deposit interest.
What's the Minimum Amount to Invest in an MMF?
Minimum investments vary sharply by fund manager — some funds accept as little as KES 500–1,000 to open an account with a low top-up minimum, while others set the entry bar at KES 5,000 or more. Unlike a fixed deposit, most funds have no fixed minimum for additional top-ups once the account is open, which is what makes the "monthly top-up" field in this calculator useful for modelling a standing order or recurring savings plan. Confirm your specific fund's minimum on its fact sheet before opening an account.
Can I Withdraw or Add Money at Any Time?
Yes — this is the core difference from a fixed deposit. An MMF has no lock-in period: you can add money whenever you like and request a withdrawal at any time, with funds typically paid out within 1–4 business days depending on the fund manager. There's no early-withdrawal penalty because there's no fixed term to break.
Money Market Fund vs Fixed Deposit — What's the Difference?
| Money Market Fund | Fixed Deposit | |
|---|---|---|
| Interest | Compounds daily, credited monthly | Simple interest, paid once at maturity |
| Rate | Floats with the market, changes weekly | Locked in for the whole term |
| Liquidity | Withdraw any time, 1–4 business days | Locked until maturity or penalty applies |
| Top-ups | Add money any time | Cannot add to an existing deposit |
| Withholding tax | 15%, final for residents | 15%, final for residents |
If you want a guaranteed rate locked in for a fixed term, use the Fixed Deposit Calculator instead — it applies the same 15% withholding tax but to a single-payout, simple-interest structure rather than daily compounding.
What Does the Management Fee Do to My Return?
Fund managers charge an annual management fee, typically around 1.5–2% of assets, but you don't need to subtract it yourself — the effective annual yield each fund publishes is already net of this fee. Entering that published yield directly into this calculator gives you the return you'll actually see, not a gross figure that still needs a fee deducted.
What Does "Show Working" Reveal?
Enable "Show Working" to see a month-by-month table: each month's opening balance, gross interest earned, 15% withholding tax deducted, net interest credited, any top-up added, and the closing balance carried into the next month. This is the same build-up your fund manager's monthly statement shows, so it doubles as a way to sanity-check a real statement against the yield you were quoted.
Verify with your fund manager: MMF yields are published daily or weekly and vary between CMA-licensed fund managers (Cytonn, Sanlam, CIC, Britam, NCBA, Absa, GenAfrica, and others), so always replace this calculator's default rate with your specific fund's current effective annual yield from its fact sheet or the Capital Markets Authority before relying on a projection for real financial planning.
How much will my money grow in a Money Market Fund in Kenya?
It depends on the fund's current annual effective yield, which changes weekly. A KES 100,000 lump sum at a 10.5% annual effective yield grows to roughly KES 108,860 net of 15% withholding tax after 12 months, assuming no withdrawals or top-ups. Enter your own fund's published yield for an accurate projection.
Is Money Market Fund interest taxed in Kenya?
Yes. Fund managers deduct a 15% withholding tax from interest before crediting it to your account. For resident individuals this withholding tax is final, so no further tax is owed on that interest when filing your annual return — the same treatment as bank fixed deposit interest.
Can I add money to my Money Market Fund every month?
Yes. Unlike a fixed deposit, an MMF has no lock-in period and no restriction on additional deposits — many investors set up a standing order to top up monthly. Use the 'Monthly top-up' field in this calculator to model that.
How is Money Market Fund interest different from a Fixed Deposit?
An MMF compounds interest daily and credits it monthly, with a floating rate that changes with the market and full liquidity — you can withdraw any time. A Fixed Deposit pays simple interest once at maturity on a rate locked in for the full term, and your money is tied up until then.
How quickly can I withdraw money from a Money Market Fund?
Most CMA-licensed fund managers process withdrawals within 1–4 business days, with no lock-in period and no early-withdrawal penalty, since there's no fixed term to break in the first place.