IFIC: Mutual fund retreat continues but ETFs pick up pace

Investors continued their exodus from Canadian mutual funds in October, while boosting their holdings in exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

New data from the Investment Funds Institute of Canada (IFIC) reveals net redemptions of $8 billion for mutual funds last month, following a $9 billion retreat in September.

Balanced funds accounted for $5.7 billion of the net redemptions, followed by equity ($1.9 billion), bond ($1.7 billion), and speciality ($2 million), offset slightly by sales of money market funds ($1.2 billion).

Total mutual fund assets gained $40 billion (2.3%) in the month to a total of $1.8 trillion.

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ETFs grow

Meanwhile, Canadian ETFs continued to grow in both net sales and total assets.

Net sales were $3.4 billion for October, up from the $1.8 billion recorded in September.

This was driven by $1.5 billion in money market funds, $896 million for long-term equity funds, $746 million for bonds, and $173 million for speciality.

Total assets for the funds gained by almost $13 billion (4.5%) to more than $300 billion.

_{* Important Information Regarding Investment Fund Data:}

_{1. Mutual fund data is adjusted to remove double counting arising from mutual funds that invest in other mutual funds.}

_{2. Starting with January 2022 data, ETF data is adjusted to remove double counting arising from Canadian-listed ETFs that invest in units of}

_{other Canadian-listed ETFs. Any references to IFIC ETF assets and sales figures prior to 2022 data should indicate that the data has not}

_{been adjusted for ETF of ETF double counting.}

_{3. The Balanced Funds category includes funds that invest directly in a mix of stocks and bonds or obtain exposure through investing in other}

_funds.

_{4. Mutual fund data reflects the investment activity of Canadian retail investors.}

_{5. ETF data reflects the investment activity of Canadian retail and institutional investors.}