Mutual fund net sales were down notably through the first quarter, according to a report published Tuesday by the Investment Funds Institute of Canada (IFIC).
Overall industry net sales for March came in at $4.5 billion, down from $6.6 billion in February. Year-to-date, net sales were just over $11 billion, compared with $25.4 billion in the same period last year.
In March, long-term funds’ net sales totalled $4.9 billion, and net redemptions of money market funds totalled $320 million. Year-to-date, net sales of long-term funds were $10.9 billion (down from $26.3 billion in 2015), and net sales of money market funds were $81 million.
Balanced funds continue to provide the bulk of the monthly net sales, with $3.1 billion worth in March, which was down from $5.3 billion in February, and down from $7.4 billion in March 2015.
Equity funds generated $934 million in net sales for March, which was up from $744 million in February, and higher than the total recorded in the same month last year.
Bond funds recorded $860 million in net sales for March, which was also up from $570 million in February, but down from the same month a year ago.
Total mutual fund assets under management (AUM) grew by $37 billion in March to $1.234 trillion, IFIC reports.
Monthly sales data are compiled from IFIC and other sources. Aggregate totals are provided by Toronto-based Investor Economics Inc.