Canadian mutual fund assets totalled CAD607.8bn at the end of July, up CAD16bn or 2.7 per cent from June, a report by the Investment Funds Institute of Canada shows.

Assets increased by CAD12.6bn or 2.1 per cent since the beginning of the year and by CAD51.1bn or 9.2 per cent since July 2009.

Overall net sales for July were CAD152.6m, up from net redemptions of CAD116m in June.

Total net sales in July were up from net redemptions of CAD1.52bn in July 2009.

Total sales were comprised of CAD1bn in long-term fund net sales and CAD852.1m money market fund net redemptions. Long-term fund sales were down slightly from CAD1.13bn in June and from CAD1.8bn in July 2009. Money market net redemptions slowed from both June 2010 (-CAD1.25bn) and from July 2009 (-CAD3.32bn).

Long-term fund net sales over the last 12 months totalled CAD26.8bn, up from net redemptions of CAD6.6bn over the previous 12 month period. Long-term net sales over the last 12 months were overshadowed by a CAD48.3bn long-term fund market effect. The long-term fund market effect was up from -CAD59.6bn over the previous 12 month period.

Fund of fund sales were CAD987.6m for July, up slightly from CAD973.3m in June and CAD746.7m in July of last year. Over the past 12 months, fund of fund sales were CAD16.8bn and were up from CAD1.83bn over the previous 12 month period.

Balanced funds led the way in July with net sales of CAD1.21bn, essentially unchanged from June (CAD1.32bn) and from July 2009 (CAD1.12bn). Balanced fund net sales over the past 12 months totalled CAD23.4bn up from net redemptions of CAD1.55bn over the previous 12 month period. July balanced fund sales were equally split between the domestic balanced fund (CAD600.8m) and the global balanced fund (CAD608.5m) asset classes.

Equity fund net redemptions totalled CAD1.04bn in July, up from net redemptions of CAD651.1m in June and net redemptions of CAD385.4m in July 2009. The increase in equity net redemptions was due mostly to an increase in net redemptions in the global and international equity category which had CAD472.9m in net redemptions in July. Global and international equity fund redemptions were up from both June (CAD199.2m) and July 2009 (CAD271.9m) in net redemptions.

Fixed income funds had net sales of CAD850.9m, up from June (CAD475.9m) but down from July of last year (CAD1.1bn). Over the last 12 months, fixed income funds net sales totalled CAD11.1bn compared to CAD3.94bn over the previous 12 month period. Fixed income fund sales over the last 12 months were focused on the domestic fixed income fund asset class (CAD9.03bn).
 
Pat Dunwoody, vice president of member services and communications at IFIC, says: “Over the last year, industry assets have increased by CAD51.1bn, 94 per cent of this growth was due to improved market performance with equity funds driving the bulk of the increase.

“These results emphasise the primacy of market performance over sales to industry growth and the benefits that can accrue to investors who stay the course.”