Mutual funds likely generated about $250 million in November net sales, according to preliminary numbers from the Investment Funds Institute of Canada.

IFIC reported today that, based on a sample of preliminary data from some of its members, net new sales for the month of November are estimated to be between $50 million to $450 million. “Net sales for the month of November are expected to be about $250 million. This marks the ninth positive sales month in 2004,” revealed Tom Hockin, IFIC’s president & CEO.

Both the big banks and the smaller independent companies continue to lead sales, with TD and Brandes tied at the top of the charts, both with $164 million in net sales for the month. The only other firms topping $100 million in net sales were Manulife, Dynamic and BMO. While the other firms aren’t generating such strong sales, they did have decent sales considering that November is typically a slow month.

Several firms continued to get hit with redemptions. AIC and Fidelity reported $280 million and $232 million in monthly redemptions, respectively. CIBC also saw notable redemptions.

IFIC also estimates that net assets of the industry at the end of November will be in the range of $480 to $485 billion, up approximately 2.1% from last month’s total of $473.0 billion. “Net assets are at their highest level ever for the industry. Assets increased by $44 billion or 10% since the end of 2003,” Hockin added.

In a separate release, AGF Management Ltd. reported that it saw another
$263.7 million in net redemptions during the month. Net redemptions from long-term funds in November totalled $249.5 million, compared with $136.0 million in the month a year ago.