Equity Funds Crown 2025 With 168% Leader as Nigerian Mutual Fund Market Hits ₦6.65 Trillion — Weekly Digest, December 24, 2025
Market Overview
The Nigerian mutual fund industry closes out Christmas week with a total market NAV of ₦6.65 trillion across 203 reporting funds — a figure that underscores the sheer scale of collective investment in the country's capital markets. As 2025 draws to a close, the numbers tell a story of a market that rewarded risk-takers handsomely: equity-focused strategies dominated the leaderboard, while money market funds — home to the lion's share of industry assets at ₦3.63 trillion — delivered steady if unspectacular returns. With just one trading week left in the year, the final positioning is largely set, and what a year it has been.
Top Performers This Week
The headline act of 2025 remains Halo Equity Fund, which sits atop the entire industry with a staggering 168.00% year-to-date return. To put that in perspective, an investor who placed ₦1 million in this fund on January 1st is now looking at roughly ₦2.68 million — more than doubling their capital in under twelve months. Close behind, VCG ETF delivered a remarkable 118.02% YTD, proving that exchange-traded products can compete with — and even outpace — actively managed portfolios. Guaranty Trust Equity Income Fund (90.11%), Lotus Halal ETF (88.95%), and Stanbic IBTC Imaan Fund (86.97%) round out the top five, with the latter two demonstrating that faith-based investing is no barrier to outsized performance.
The common thread? Exposure to Nigerian equities. The top five is dominated by equity and equity-linked strategies, reflecting the powerful bull run on the Nigerian Stock Exchange this year.
Category Spotlight
Equity Funds reigned supreme with an average YTD return of 54.39% — but what's notable is the dispersion within the category. The gap between leader Halo (168%) and the category average suggests significant variance in stock selection and timing. Exchange Traded Funds weren't far behind at 48.05% average YTD, while Ethical Funds (46.08%) and Balanced Funds (34.14%) also posted strong showings.
On the conservative end, Dollar Funds averaged just 9.63% YTD despite holding the second-largest NAV pool at ₦1.76 trillion. With naira depreciation pressures persisting throughout 2025, the relatively muted dollar-denominated returns suggest currency hedging came at a cost — or that global fixed income simply couldn't match the domestic equity party. Money Market Funds, the industry's heavyweight at ₦3.63 trillion in NAV, averaged 17.09% — a respectable real return but one that pales next to what equity investors earned.
Money Movement — Who's Growing
Stanbic IBTC Asset Management led all managers this week with a NAV gain of ₦22.88 billion, followed by United Capital (₦16.31 billion) and Guaranty Trust Fund Managers (₦8.87 billion). These gains likely reflect a combination of asset appreciation and fresh inflows as institutional investors finalize year-end allocations.
On the other side of the ledger, FBNQuest Asset Management saw the week's largest decline at ₦5.68 billion, a significant outflow that stands out during a week when most managers gained ground. FCMB Asset Management (-₦334 million) and PAC Asset Management (-₦239 million) also posted declines, though at far smaller magnitudes.
What to Watch
Year-end rebalancing: The final trading days of 2025 could see institutional investors locking in gains or repositioning. Watch whether equity fund NAVs hold steady or face redemption pressure as investors crystallize profits.
The zero unitholder anomaly: This week's data reports zero total unitholders across all funds — a reporting irregularity worth flagging. Investors should watch whether next week's data corrects this, as accurate unitholder counts are critical for gauging retail participation trends.
FBNQuest's ₦5.68 billion decline: Is this a one-week blip driven by a single large redemption, or the beginning of a trend? Track whether outflows continue into January.
January effect: Historically, fresh-year allocations drive significant inflows into funds. With equity strategies delivering 50%+ average returns in 2025, the question for 2026 is whether new money chases last year's winners — or rotates into lagging categories like bonds and dollar funds trading at more modest valuations.