Mutual fund sales for August are expected to come in at between $500 million and $1 billion, according to preliminary data from the Investment Funds Institute of Canada.

IFIC reported that, based on a sample of preliminary data from some of its members, net sales of mutual funds for August are estimated to be between $477.4 and $977.41 million. Long-term net sales were likely negative for the month, with all of the sales coming in money market funds.

Indeed, just 10 of the top 24 firms reporting data to IFIC indicated positive long-term net sales in August, and for most of them those sales were very modest.

Only Fidelity Investments Canada and Dynamic Mutual Funds managed more than $100 million in positive long-term net sales, $296 million and $251 million, respectively.

RBC Asset Management was a distant third with just under $100 million in long-term net sales for the month, yet its PH&N subsidiary had $65 million in long-term redemptions, leaving the firm with just $33 million in total long-term net sales.

Including money market funds, RBC was still the leading firm for the month however, with $432 million in overall net sales. Fidelity and Dynamic ranked second and third overall.

IFIC also estimates that net assets of the mutual fund industry for the month of August will be between $693.1 billion and $698.1 billion, up approximately 1.5% from last month’s total of $685.4 billion.

“Both assets and sales are expected to have improved in August though investors will likely still have been affected by the volatile though relatively flat session we saw in both the domestic and U.S. equity markets,” says Pat Dunwoody, vice president of member services and communications with IFIC. “In addition, other, more immediate, concerns have traditionally affected investor buying behaviour in August such as the family vacation and preparing the kids for school.”