After an ugly start to the year, the net sales of the Canadian mutual fund rebounded in February, according to the latest data from the Investment Funds Institute of Canada (IFIC).
Overall net sales for February came in at $6.6 billion, which was down notably from the $10.8 billion recorded in the same month last year, but still represents a turnaround from January’s $80 million in net redemptions. Moreover, all of the net sales came in the long-term funds categories; money market funds had net redemptions of $52.6 million during the month.
The bounce back in February pushes year-to-date net sales to just under $6.5 billion (which represents the traditional RRSP season).
Balanced funds led the way in February, with $5.3 billion in net sales, followed by $744 million in net sales for equity funds, and $570 million for bond funds. This represents a dramatic reversal for equity funds, which suffered $1.3 billion worth of net redemptions in January.
Total mutual fund assets finished Feburary down by $11 billion, or 0.9%, to $1.2 trillion, reflecting volatile financial markets during the month.
Monthly sales data are compiled from IFIC and other sources. Aggregate totals are provided by Toronto-based Investor Economics Inc.
Photo: Bloomberg