Investment fund net sales were up and assets soared in November for both the mutual fund and ETF categories, according to new data from the Investment Funds Institute of Canada (IFIC).
On Friday, the industry trade group reported that mutual fund net sales came in at $4.6 billion in November, up from $3.5 billion in the previous month.
The rise in net sales came as both the equity and balanced categories turned positive in November, after recording net redemptions in October.
Equity mutual funds generated $678 million in positive net sales during the month, up from $103 million in redemptions. Meanwhile, balanced funds recorded $493 million in net sales, up from $223 million in monthly net redemptions in October.
These gains were partly offset by a decline in bond fund net sales, which dipped from $3.1 billion in October to just under $2 billion in November.
Alongside the positive turn in net sales, mutual fund assets gained 3.6% in November — adding $78.8 billion in assets under management (AUM) to reach $2.27 trillion — driven primarily by market gains.
Over the previous 12 months, mutual fund AUM was up about 19.6%.
On the ETF side, net sales gained too.
In November, overall net sales topped the $9-billion mark, up from $8.4 billion in October.
Equity funds led the way, with $6.6 billion in monthly net sales, up from $4.5 billion in October.
However, much of that increase was offset by a drop in bond fund sales. Bond ETFs recorded $979 million in monthly net sales, down from $2.95 billion in October.
While long-term ETF sales edged higher in November, money-market funds also rebounded, recording $461 million in net sales, up from just $87 million in October.
Year-to-date ETF net sales sat at $64.6 billion, almost double the $33.5 billion recorded for the same period in 2023. The net sales total represents a record for the 11-month period, IFIC noted.
ETF assets also set a record, passing the $500-billion mark for the first time, the trade group said.
Total AUM finished the month at $515.5 billion, up by 5.8% from the previous month — a $28.4-billion gain.
Over the previous 12 months, ETF assets were up 39.8%, the data showed.