Despite a dampened RRSP season for the mutual fund industry, VenGrowth Capital Partners Inc. posted strong sales for the year ended March 3.

The Toronto-based company said it had gross sales of $123.1 million for the VenGrowth Funds for the period from March 2, 2002 to March 3, 2003. The results were posted by VenGrowth’s two current fund offerings: The VenGrowth II Investment Fund Inc. and The VenGrowth Advanced Life Sciences Fund Inc. Net of redemptions, sales for the two funds and The VenGrowth Investment Fund Inc., which is closed to new investors, totalled $105.4 million for the period.

The funds are managed by VenGrowth Capital Partners Inc., Canada’s largest venture capital firm with more than $1 billion in assets under management.

“We are extremely pleased with this vote of confidence from Canadian investors and financial advisors within a markedly subdued fundraising environment,” Deborah Gray, VenGrowth senior vice president, sales and marketing, said in a statement.