Mutual funds managed more than $500 million in monthly net sales for July, although industry assets slipped more than 1%, according to preliminary estimates from the Investment Funds Institute of Canada.

IFIC said Wednesday that based on a sample of preliminary data from some of its members, net new sales for July are estimated to be between $350 million and $750 million. This compares with net sales of $321 million in the same month last year, according to Tom Hockin, IFIC’s president and CEO. “The majority of July’s sales are expected to be in long-term funds,” he said in a statement.

The modest overall industry sales are spread across a number of firms, with only Brandes, Mackenzie and AIM Trimark managing more than $100 million in net sales.

The big banks’ sales were weak, with RBC seeing $12 million in net redemptions, and CIBC reporting just $6 million in net sales. TD recorded just $14 million in net sales, and Scotia was in the red with $18 million in redemptions. Of the big five, BMO came off best with $91 million in net sales.

Sales were also stronger for smaller fund industry players such as National Bank, Fiducie Desjardins, Manulife, PH&N and Dynamic. But, redemptions continue to plague Fidelity, AIC, and Altamira. Investors Group’s funds were flat.

IFIC also estimates that net assets of the industry at the end of July will be in the range of $464 billion to $469 billion, down about 1.2% from last month’s total of $476.1 billion.