Mutual fund assets almost hit the $2-trillion mark in July, as monthly net sales outpaced ETF sales, according to the latest data from the Investment Funds Institute of Canada (IFIC).
Assets under management (AUM) for the mutual fund sector finished July at $1.98 trillion, after gaining 1.7% or $33 billion in the month, IFIC reported.
Net sales in July came in at $8.8 billion, down from $12.6 billion in June but well ahead of the $3.4 billion in net sales recorded in July of last year.
Balanced funds led the way, with $4.9 billion in monthly net sales.
Bond funds generated more than $2 billion in net sales, while equity funds had just below $2 billion in monthly sales.
ETF sales were also down in July: IFIC reported that net sales for those funds reached $3 billion in the month, down from more than $5 billion in June and $6.4 billion in July 2020.
Equity funds drove ETF sales in July, accounting for almost $2.5 billion in net sales, with balanced and specialty funds contributing the rest.
Bond funds were in net redemptions during the month, representing a sharp drop from the $1.2-billion in net sales recorded in June.
ETF assets rose 2.2% in July, gaining by $6.7 billion in the month and hitting $313.6 billion in total AUM.