Net new mutual fund sales for the month of December are estimated to be between $1 billion to $1.4 billion, the Investment Funds Institute of Canada said today.

IFIC also said that net assets of the industry at the end of December will be in the range of $494 to $499 billion, up approximately 3.1% from last month’s total of $482.4 billion.

The IFIC estimates are based on a sample of preliminary data from some of its members.

“Net sales for the month of December are expected to be about $1.2 billion. This is the highest sales month since April 2004,” said Tom Hockin, IFIC president & CEO, in a release.

Hockin added that fund sales in 2004 totalled $14.7 billion, which is the highest annual sales since 2001.

“Assets increased for the third consecutive month to its highest level ever for the industry. Assets rose $58 billion or 13.3% in 2004,” Hockin added.

The five firms with the largest net sales in December as reported by IFIC were: TD Asset Management, $575 million; RBC Asset Management, $339 million; Phillips, Hager & North, $177 million; BMO Funds, $146 million; and Manulife Investments, $145 million.

The three firms posted large net redemptions. AIC reported net redemptions of $295 million; Altamira had net redemptions of $193 million; Fidelity reported net redemptions of $186 million.