The Canadian mutual fund industry continued to suffer net redemptions in November but industry assets rose in defiance of the negative sales momentum, according to data published Thursday from the Investment Funds Institute of Canada (IFIC).
Net redemptions were $2.4 billion in November, an improvement from the $3.6 billion that leaked out of funds in October. However, year-to-date net sales were $8 billion, down sharply from the $42.8 billion recorded in the first 11 months of 2017.
Long-term funds net redemptions were $2.8 billion in November. Year-to-date net sales were just $6.4 billion, down 85.3% from the same period last year.
Balanced funds, bond funds and equity funds continued to be challenged by redemptions.
Net redemptions of balanced funds were $1.5 billion in November.
Bond funds pushed deeper into negative territory for the year. Net redemptions were $1.2 billion during the month, pushing the category’s year-to-date net redemptions to $3.9 billion.
Net redemptions of equity funds were $530 million in November, leaving year-to-date net sales at $2.6 billion.
Specialty funds were a bright spot last month, with net sales of $457 million, while net sales of money market funds were $375 million.
Despite the negative sales performance, industry assets continued to climb in November. Total assets under management rose by $15.5 billion to $1.47 trillion, up 1.1% from October.