Mutual fund sales recorded strong October sales: IFIC

Mutual funds enjoyed strong monthly sales in October, outselling ETFs, according to the latest data from the Investment Funds Institute of Canada (IFIC).

Monthly mutual fund sales for October came in at $3.4 billion, with long-term fund sales at almost $3.6 billion.

This marked a significant improvement from the previous month when mutual funds suffered $33 million in net redemptions. It was also well above the $1.3 billion in net sales recorded last October.

At the same time, mutual fund sales surpassed ETF sales for the month.

ETFs saw more than $1.9 billion in monthly net sales, up from $699 million in September but down notably from October 2019 — when monthly net sales were almost $3.9 billion.

ETFs have typically had the upper hand over mutual funds in sales this year. Including October’s results, ETF sales for the year to date are $34.4 billion, almost double the mutual fund total of $17.4 billion.

The bond category remained the leading asset class for mutual fund sales in October, creeping up from $1.5 billion in September to $1.8 billion.

However, the balanced category really saw a surge in net sales, rising to almost $1.2 billion from $232 million in redemptions the previous month.

Equity funds remained in slight net redemption territory, with just $3-million worth, but this was also a significant improvement from the $1.6 billion in redemptions recorded in September.

For ETFs, the equity category rebounded sharply in October. That category led the way with almost $1.3 billion in net sales, after recording $343 million in redemptions in September.

On the reverse, Bond ETF sales declined from more than $800 million in September to just $231 million in October, and balanced fund sales were little changed at $193 million.

IFIC also reported that mutual fund assets declined by 1.4% in October to $1.64 trillion. That’s down by $24.1 billion from the previous month.

ETF assets dropped by 1.1% in the month to $232.1 billion.

James Langton

James is a senior reporter for Advisor.ca and its sister publication, Investment Executive. He has been reporting on regulation, securities law, industry news and more since 1994.