Mutual funds were likely in net redemptions once again in September, according to early estimates published Monday by the Investment Funds Institute of Canada.

IFIC reported that net sales of mutual funds for the month are estimated to be between $100 million and $400 million in net redemptions. It appears that once again, money market redemptions may have overwhelmed continued long-term sales.

“We continue to see strong investor demand on the long-term fund side of the business, with year-to-date long-term fund sales at $17 billion or $7.2 billion higher than at this point last year,” said Pat Dunwoody, IFIC vice president of member services and communications.

IFIC’s preliminary data puts Dynamic Mutual Funds at the top of sales charts for September, with $277 million in overall net sales. Sentry Investments is the only other firm with more than $100 million in overall monthly net sales.

RBC is the top-selling firm on the long-term side, with $423 million in monthly net sales, outpacing Dynamic’s $288 million, and TD Asset Management’s $223 million third place total. However, RBC also had $373 million in net redemptions from its money market funds, leaving it with modestly positive overall net sales for the month.

IFIC also estimates industry net assets at between $626.9 billion and $631.9 billion up approximately 2.92% from last month’s total of $611.5 billion. “Mutual fund assets grew by $37.6 billion or 6.35% in the third quarter, highlighting the positive growth in equity markets we have seen since the end of August,” Dunwoody added.

IE