Mutual funds suffered their typical post-RRSP season lapse in March, with net sales dropping 44% from February, says the Investment Funds Institute of Canada. Net sales in March, excluding distributions, came in at $2.33 billion.

Long-term funds led the way, with $2.85 billion in net sales, down 30% from the previous month. “Net sales of our long-term funds are up 52% from March 2001 and year-to-date long-term sales are also up 30% from the prior year,” says Tom Hockin, IFIC’s president and CEO. “The strong growth of assets, 3.2% during March 2002, has help fuel this positive trend.”

Foreign equities were the top-selling asset class, at $616 million worth. This was followed closely by Canadian equity funds, with $538 million in monthly net sales, and balanced funds, with $505 million in net sales. Bond funds had $397 million in net sales, followed by dividends funds at $373.4 million, and U.S. equities at $363 million.

Money market funds had a net redemption month, with a net $510 million sold out of those funds. Investors often cash out of money market funds, where they park money in RRSP season, and to the money to work in March.

The banks did not rule the sales picture in March. Instead, the independents enjoyed the strongest asset gains. Notable winners include AIM, Mackenzie, Fidelity, AGF, AIC and Franklin Templeton. Among the smaller firms, Clarington continued its strong performance. But it was joined by Dynamic, Talvest, Synergy in March. The banks generally lagged the market.

IFIC also reported the total number of member unitholder accounts at 52.9 million, a 1.7% increase over one year ago. Total assets under management increased in March to $445.3 billion, up 3.2% from $431.7 billion in February. Assets are up 10.4% from last March’s figure of $403.3 billion.