Mutual fund assets increased by $104-billion and exchange-traded fund (ETF) assets in Canada increased $18-billion in November 2020, relative to October 2020 net asset numbers, according to the most recent sales figures released by the Investment Funds Institute of Canada (IFIC).  

Mutual fund assets totalled $1.75-trillion at the end of November 2020, an increase of 6.3 per cent compared to $1.64-trillion reported at the end of October 2020. ETF assets, meanwhile, totalled $250-billion at the end of November 2020, up 7.7 per cent compared to the end of October 2020 when ETF assets totalled $232-billion. 

Mutual funds recorded net sales of $6.2-billion in November 2020, up notably from the $3.4-billion reported in October 2020, also up relative to the $2.2-billion reported during the month of November in 2019. Equity mutual funds reported the largest increase, recording net sales of $3.8-billion in November. Investors redeemed more than $1-billion in money market funds during the month. Year-to-date, net sales were $23.6-billion at the end of November 2020, outstripping year-to-date sales of just $14-billion during the same period in 2019.  

ETF net sales reached $3.2-billion in November 2020, up from almost $2-billion in October 2020, but down somewhat from the $4-billion in net sales reported in November 2019. Equity ETFs brought in more than $2-billion in net sales during the month of November 2020 while bond ETFs sold $975-million. Year-to-date, ETF sales reached $37.6-billion by the end of November 2020, up considerably relative to the $23.4-billion reported, year-to-date for the same period in 2019.