Financial services firm Britam has launched Britam Trust Services, a new offering aimed at helping individuals, families and organisations protect, preserve and transfer wealth across generations amid growing concerns over asset succession and rising levels of unclaimed financial assets.
The new service introduces two trust solutions: the Britam Cash Trust, which allows funds to be set aside for specific beneficiary needs such as education, healthcare and sustenance, and the Britam Family Trust, also referred to as the Britam Private Trust, which can hold a broader range of assets including property, investments, businesses and cash.
The launch marks an expansion of Britam’s wealth management portfolio, extending its offerings beyond wealth creation and accumulation to include preservation and succession planning.
“Our role is to help our customers protect what they have worked hard to build, preserve it with intention, and pass it on with clarity and purpose,” said Britam Group Managing Director and CEO Tom Gitogo.
According to the company, the trust solutions provide individuals and families with a structured framework for managing assets in accordance with their wishes during their lifetime and after death. The services are also designed to support organisations in managing employee benefits such as pension and group life cover payouts that become payable to beneficiaries below the age of 18 following the death of an employee.
The launch comes as more Kenyans accumulate wealth through savings, property ownership, investments, pensions and family-owned businesses, increasing demand for mechanisms that can safeguard and transfer assets efficiently.
“Trusts have often been viewed as tools for significant inherited wealth. Britam Trust Services is built on a broader premise: that anyone building wealth needs a structure to protect and steward their assets. This includes the Kenyan worker, saver, business owner and family that has spent years building something worth protecting,” added Mr Gitogo.
In a move aimed at broadening access to trust products, Britam said individuals can establish a Cash Trust with a minimum contribution of KES 5,000 and continue growing the fund through regular top-ups. The company says this approach seeks to make trust structures accessible to ordinary households and challenge the perception that trusts are reserved for high-net-worth individuals.
The introduction of the service comes against the backdrop of rising unclaimed assets in Kenya. Data from the Unclaimed Financial Assets Authority (UFAA) shows that the authority is currently holding more than KES 115 billion in unclaimed assets, including bank accounts, investment accounts, pension payouts, group life insurance proceeds, policy benefits and death benefits that have not reached their intended beneficiaries, most of whom are minors.
Britam noted that nominating a trust fund as a beneficiary can help reduce the likelihood of assets remaining unclaimed.
A trust is a legal arrangement in which assets are held and managed by a trustee on behalf of beneficiaries according to instructions established by the person creating the trust. Such structures provide an orderly framework for asset management, beneficiary support and long-term wealth preservation.
Beyond asset protection, trust structures can help families create continuity by protecting vulnerable dependants, reducing uncertainty and potential disputes, and ensuring assets are transferred in accordance with the owner’s wishes.
Through the new offering, Britam is positioning trust services as a mainstream financial planning tool for Kenyan households seeking long-term wealth stewardship and succession planning.
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