IFIC stats for April reveals a break in mutuals’ run of net sales
Canadian mutual funds took a reverse turn in April with net redemptions snapping a run of net sales, while ETFs surged again.
New stats from the Investment Funds Institute of Canada reveal net redemptions of $2.7 billion in April, compared to $0.2 billion in net sales in March and $3.2 billion in net sales in February.
Balanced funds were the biggest drain overall, posting $3.5 billion in net redemptions, with smaller withdrawals for equity (-$15 million) which had seen net sales of $792 million in March. Money market funds posted net redemptions of $281 million a large rise from March’s $107 million.
However, net sales for the bond asset class slumped in April to $366 million from $1.7 billion in March. Specialty funds gained slightly at $720 million compared to $626 in the previous month, with more than half of these inflows directed towards non-traditional fixed-income funds designed to provide yield, as well as alternative credit funds. Bond funds were the only other asset class with positive net sales.
Mutual fund assets totalled $2.013 trillion at the end of April, down by $42.0 billion or 2% since
March, breaking a five-month period of gains.
ETF gains
For Canadian exchange-traded funds, all but one of the major asset classes recorded net sales in April for a total of $5.5 billion, building on March’s $4 billion.
Leading the gains were equity funds at more than $4 billion net sales, up from $2.9 billion in the previous month. Just over half went to U.S. equity funds. Year to date, equity funds accounted for 74% of total net sales.
Bonds increased net sales from $701 million in March to $1.7 billion in April. Specialty funds reversed their $109 million in net redemptions in March with $82 million in net sales in April.
Money market funds were the outlier for ETFs with net redemptions of $747 million following a $1 million net sales total in March. These funds have seen net redemptions in three of the past five months.
ETF assets totalled $413.6 billion at the end of April, down by $3.6 billion or 0.9% since March.
