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Net sales for the mutual fund industry dipped in July, but came in higher than the same month a year ago, according to figures published Tuesday by the Investment Funds Institute of Canada (IFIC).

Total net sales for July were $3.9 billion, down from $5.2 billion in June, but well ahead of July 2016 when net sales were $2.6 billion.

Long-term net sales for July were $3.7 billion, while net sales for money market funds were $240.4 million.

Balanced funds continued to contribute the bulk of industry net sales, totalling $2.14 billion in July, down from $3.2 billion in June.

Long-term net sales for equity funds were $622 million in July, up from $412 million in June. Bond funds garnered net sales of $740.4 million in July sales, down from $1.5 billion in June.

Through the first seven months of the year, equity funds have recorded over $5.0 billion in net sales, compared with $1.7 billion in net redemptions for the same period last year.

Total mutual fund assets under management (AUM) declined by $12.3 billion, or 0.9%, to $1.4 trillion in July, IFIC reports. Over the past 12 months, total industry AUM rose $98.3 billion, or 7.5%.

Monthly sales data are compiled from IFIC and other sources. Aggregate totals are provided by Strategic Insight.

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