March was the twelfth month in the last 13 for net mutual fund red redemptions, according to preliminary data from The Investment Funds Institute of Canada.
IFIC estimates that net fund sales last month ranged from zero to minus $400 million.
Assuming the actual figures come in at the mid-point of that range, that would mean IFIC’s member fund companies will report net redemptions of $200 million in March.
Seven of the top 10 fund companies are reporting net redemptions. CI Mutual Funds said it had $180 million in net redemptions last month; RBC Funds and Fidelity Investments both say they had net redemptions of $117 million in March.
“Historically, net sales for the month of March have declined from the previous month following RRSP season,” IFIC chief executive Tom Hockin said in a statement.
“Net redemptions for March are likely due to outflows from money market funds as investors re-align their RRSP portfolios following the end of the RRSP season,” he said.
Final fund sales figures for March will be out in mid-April.