The Investment Funds Institute of Canada (IFIC) published its September 2021 investment fund net sales and net asset figures Oct. 25, showing a pullback in sales, month-over-month.

Mutual fund net assets totalled $1.986-trillion at the end of September 2021, a decrease of $42.3-billion or 2.1 per cent compared to August 2021 when assets were $2.028-trillion. Net sales of $8.042-billion were lower than the $9.558-billion in net sales reported in August. Year-to-date mutual fund sales still far outpace 2020 year-to-date sales figures however, as mutual fund net sales hit $98.883-billion as of the end of September 2021. During the same period in 2020, net sales, year-to-date, were $14.032-billion.

Exchange-traded fund (ETF) net assets meanwhile, totalled $318.3-billion at the end of September 2021, a decrease of $6.4-billion or two per cent compared to August 2021 when assets were $324.7-billion. ETF nets sales were $2.847-billion in September 2021, down considerably from August 2021 when net sales were $5.026-billion. Year-to-date, ETF sales reached $43.532-billion as of the end of September 2021, up from $32.42-billion reported during the same period in 2020. IFIC notes that ETF data is not adjusted to remove double counting arising from ETFs that invest in other ETFs. 

IFIC adds that its survey data, which accounts for approximately 91 per cent of mutual fund industry assets, is used with data from Investor Economics to provide comprehensive industry totals. Mutual fund data reflects the investment activity of Canadian retail investors, while the ETF data reflects the investment activity of both institutional and retail investors in Canada.