Canadian investment funds extended their momentum into February, with both mutual funds and exchange-traded funds reaching unprecedented asset levels for the second consecutive month, according to fresh data from the Securities and Investment Management Association (SIMA).
The industry association reported Tuesday that mutual fund assets under management climbed to $2.6 trillion by month-end, marking a $76.5 billion or 3% expansion from January. The growth represents the second straight month of asset increases across the mutual fund sector.
ETF assets demonstrated even stronger relative growth, surging to $781.9 billion—a $38-billion jump that translates to 5.1% monthly growth.
The mutual fund landscape saw a notable shift in investor preferences during February. Balanced funds emerged as the dominant category, capturing $5.2 billion in net inflows—a pattern SIMA characterized as unprecedented since February 2022. This marked a substantial acceleration from January's $1.5 billion intake.
Fixed-income mutual funds maintained solid appeal with $2.6 billion in net creations, though this represented a moderation from the prior month's $4.2 billion.
Equity mutual funds reversed their January outflows, attracting $1.8 billion in net sales after experiencing $588 million in redemptions the previous month. Specialty funds contributed $1.2 billion in net sales, slightly below January's $1.4 billion figure.
Money-market mutual funds continued experiencing outflows, though the $297 million in net redemptions represented an improvement over January's $742 million exodus.
Aggregate mutual fund net sales reached $10.5 billion for February, nearly doubling the $5.8 billion recorded in the preceding month.
Within the ETF universe, equity products maintained their leadership position despite moderating slightly. These funds absorbed $11.6 billion in net sales during February, compared to $14.1 billion in January.
Bond ETFs experienced strengthening demand, with creations rising to $4.4 billion from January's $3.8 billion.
Balanced ETFs saw modest growth in inflows, collecting $1.8 billion versus the prior month's $1.7 billion. Specialty ETFs pulled in $1.2 billion, down from $1.9 billion in January.
Money-market ETFs recorded $131 billion in net redemptions during February, intensifying from the $88 million outflow registered a month earlier.
Overall ETF net sales totaled $18.9 billion for the month, representing a decline from January's $21.4 billion but still exceeding the combined sales from the same two-month period in the previous year, SIMA observed.
