Kazakhstan is preparing for a structural reform of the stock market: retail investors will be offered the chance to invest their savings not in individual securities, but in ready-made portfolios — of bonds, stocks, real estate, or indices managed by professional companies. This model significantly simplifies entry into the stock market for beginners, but it does not guarantee returns on units and involves paying for the manager's services.
The initiative is based on the capital market development program through 2030 and the draft law "On the Capital Market." Currently, the country has 58 investment funds and two exchanges, with their combined assets estimated at 800 billion tenge ($1.78 billion). Until now, Kazakhstanis have invested mainly through their own brokerage accounts; funds, meanwhile, allow them to buy a unit — a share in a pooled portfolio under professional management.
What will change for investors
Management companies will receive legally enshrined conditions for launching funds with different strategies. Before a transaction, the buyer of units will be required to receive a single document with key information: what the fund invests in, what risks and fees it carries, and what returns it has shown previously. More complex hedge funds that profit from falling stock prices will be available exclusively to professional investors — they will be permitted to use futures, options, and swaps.
The reform coincides with growing interest among Kazakhstanis in the stock market. Average rates on tenge deposits remain at 14–15% per annum, while the KASE index grew by 26.1% at the end of 2025. New funds will have to compete with bank deposits, where the income is known in advance.
New instruments and more transparency
Funds will not be the only new way to invest: KASE has already hosted the first issuance of digital financial assets (DFAs), similar to bonds of the company ALTA Telecom — through them, small businesses can borrow not only from banks but also from investors. Auditing of financial statements for such issuances is not required, so buyers will have to assess the borrower's reliability on their own — unlike unit holders, who receive a single document about risks.
Disclosure requirements are also growing for large businesses: starting in 2027, banks will begin conducting ESG checks of borrowers, assessing environmental and social risks before issuing a loan. State money will also become more transparent: four state financial systems will be merged under artificial intelligence control to identify and block unjustified budget spending in advance.
Cryptalist analysis: Kazakhstan is moving toward a model already familiar to developed markets, where mutual funds serve as the main channel for retail investing. The key challenge is competition with high-yield deposits and the need to prove to retail investors that the management fee is justified. The success of the reform will depend on the quality of information disclosure and the actual returns of the first funds, not on their number.