(May 2 – 17:40 ET) – The Investment Funds Institute of Canada published its inaugural preliminary sales report today, projecting net mutual fund sales for April at between $1.4 and $1.7 billion.

IFIC will continue to publish its monthly sales report on the 15th of each month. But, starting this month, it is also publishing a preliminary estimate immediately after month end based on a sample of preliminary data from some of its members.

“April sales are expected to be slightly better than they were during the same month in the previous two years,” said Tom Hockin, IFIC’s president and CEO. “We are pleased that sales have remained solid despite recent volatile equity markets and we remain optimistic for the balance of the year.”

IFIC also estimates that net assets of the industry at the end of April will be in the range of $413 to $417 billion, up by about 3% from the previous month. It does not provide asset class or market share data in this early report.