RRSP season starts with a bang

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty’s income trust bombshell appears to have had little effect on the mutual fund industry. IFIC estimates preliminary net sales for November at around $2.3 billion.

“This marks the highest November sales since 2001 and the fifth straight month in which net assets have increased,” said Pat Dunwoody, vice-president, member services & communications at IFIC.

Net new sales topped $1.6 billion in October and were around $1.1 billion in September.

Industry assets are expected to be between $641 billion and $646 billion, up 2.3% from the previous month.

As usual, the big banks topped the sales list, led by RBC with $742 million in net sales and TD Asset Management, at $431 million.

AGF continued to build on its winning ways after ending a run of redemptions this summer, reporting $225 million in net sales for November. “We feel confident heading into RSP season with industry leading investment performance, mutual fund sales momentum and the support of our clients,” said CEO Blake Goldring.

CI Financial, which no longer reports sales figures to IFIC, had net redemptions of $213 million, largely due to “unrelated transactions by four institutional investors,” the firm said in a release.

“Our retail fund flows continue to be very strong, thanks to the diversity and the strength of our broad-based lineup,” said CI Financial president Stephen MacPhail.

November laggards included AIM Trimark, with $117 million in net redemptions and AIC, off $57 million.

(12/04/06)

Staff

The staff of Advisor.ca have been covering news for financial advisors since 1998.