Early data shows strong April fund sales: IFIC

Mutual fund sales in April were the best the industry has seen for that month since the heyday of the dot-com boom in the late 1990’s, according to the Investment Funds Institute of Canada’s monthly fund sales estimates.

IFIC estimates net new sales of mutual funds for April to be between $2.2 billion to $2.7 billion. These totals would point towards a substantial drop in the rate of sales from last month’s total of $4.6 billion. This could have been expected with RRSP season having passed. Compared to historical numbers for April, it was a banner month of sales.

“The preliminary estimates indicate last month will be the best April for sales since 1998,” says Pat Dunwoody, vice-president, member services and communications at IFIC. “Generally, the industry has been in positive sales territory since November 2004 with assets growing steadily since June 2006.”

IFIC also estimates that net assets of the mutual fund industry at the end of April will be in the range of $699 billion to $704 billion, up approximately 1.8% from last month’s total of $690.1 billion, and almost $100 billion higher than the April 2006 total of $608 billion.

Among the individual fund companies, the data suggests RBC Asset Management and TD Asset Management retain their position on top of the heap. TD Asset Management had the highest estimated total net sales total of $435 million (including money market funds), while RBC was tops in estimated sales of long-term funds at $476 million. RBC’s lower overall total is the result of potential redemptions in its money markets funds.

On the tail end of the spectrum, the estimates are stark for AIC, which IFIC estimates had $86 million in redemptions in its net sales of long-term funds.

Filed by Mark Noble, Advisor.ca, mark.noble@advisor.rogers.com