Mutual fund net sales slowed in September, but ETF sales rose, according to new data from the Investment Funds Institute of Canada (IFIC).
Last month, overall mutual fund net sales dropped to just $790 million, down from almost $2.4 billion in August, the industry trade group reported.
Long-term fund sales topped $900 million in September — led by bond fund net sales, which reached $2.3 billion, down slightly from $2.5 billion in August.
However, equity funds swung to net redemption territory last month, recording $630 million in negative net sales, down from $1.1 billion in positive net sales the previous month.
Balanced funds remained in net redemptions too, with $1.2 billion worth of redemptions in September, down slightly from $1.4 billion in August.
So far in 2024, mutual fund net sales remain modestly positive, with long-term net sales through the first nine months of the year, coming in at almost $2.4 billion, and money market funds adding just under $2.1 billion.
For the same period last year, long-term funds recorded $42.7 billion in net redemptions, while investors sought sanctuary in money market funds — which had $11.7 billion in positive net sales through the first nine months of 2023.
Despite the weakness in mutual fund net sales this year, industry assets under management (AUM) continue to climb.
At the end of September, assets totalled $2.19 trillion, up by $40.5 billion in the month — assets are up $349 billion over the past 12 months, driven largely by market gains.
While mutual fund sales struggled in September, ETF net sales gained traction, IFIC also reported.
Monthly ETF net sales totalled $5.5 billion, up from $4.3 billion in August.
Equity ETFs led the way with $2.7 billion in monthly net sales, up from $1.75 billion worth in the previous month.
Bond ETF net sales also climbed to just under $1.5 billion, compared with just under $1.2 billion in August.
At the same time, specialty ETF net sales dropped from $984 million in August to $283 million in September.
Through the first nine months of the year, equity ETF net sales are up sharply from last year, with sales totalling $25.5 billion so far this year, compared with $7.1 billion for the same period in 2023.
All the other asset categories have also generated stronger net sales this year.
Total long-term net sales reached $45.6 billion in the first nine months of 2024, up from $17.6 billion for the same period last year.
Only money market ETFs have seen sales decline year over year, with net sales down to $1.56 billion so far this year, compared with $8.2 billion for the same period in 2023.
As ETF sales outpaced mutual funds in September, markets also boosted ETF assets, with total AUM reaching $478.5 billion at the end of September — an increase of $14.5 billion in the month.
ETF assets are also up $132.3 billion over the past 12 months, an increase of 38.2%.