Fixed-income inflows decelerate while balanced, equity strategies see redemptions, industry statistics show
Appetite for mutual funds was muted toward the downside in September as Canadian investors redeemed a net total of $33 million, according to the latest monthly figures from the Investment Funds Institute of Canada (IFIC).
Balanced mutual funds saw net redemptions of $232 million, bringing their year-to-date record of flows to roughly $6 billion in net redemptions. Equity mutual funds shed $1.64 billion last month, while bond inflows weakened from $2.86 billion in August to $1.54 billion last month.
Specialty funds took in $500 million, while money market funds saw a net outflow of $198 million.
Total assets in Canadian mutual funds stood at $1.67 trillion at the end of September, with balanced funds accounting for nearly half with $825.2 billion. Equity funds held $534.7 billion, while bond fund assets amounted to $237.6 billion.
Meanwhile, ETFs saw $699 million in net sales last month, roughly a fourth of the $2.73 billion they attracted in August. Balanced funds netted $163 million in September inflows, while equity ETFs shed $343 million. Fixed-income inflows decelerated to $804 million last month, compared to August’s $1.18 billion.
ETF assets amounted to $234.6 billion at the end of last month, reflecting a modest shrinkage compared to the $237.1-billion total in August. Balanced ETFs held just $6.1 billion, while equity and bond ETF assets stood at $140.7 billion and $76.1 billion, respectively.
