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Mutual fund net sales ticked up in May, according to the data published on Monday from the Investment Funds Institute of Canada (IFIC).

The mutual fund industry trade group reports that overall net sales came in at $2.3 billion for the month, up from $1.8 billion in April. However, this was well down from the $5.3 billion in net sales that the industry racked up in May 2015.

Net sales of long-term funds reached $2.2 billion in May 2016, and net sales of money market funds were $119 million, IFIC reports.

By asset class, balanced funds led the way in May, with $1.7 billion in net sales, which was down a bit from $1.9 billion in April. Bond funds were also down a little, with net sales of $667 million in May, compared with $743 million in April.

Equity funds also saw redemptions ease a bit, coming in at $244 million for May, compared to $396 million in redemptions in April.

Total mutual fund assets under management (AUM) rose by about $28 billion in May to $1.27 trillion, up 2.3%, IFIC reports.

Monthly sales data are compiled from IFIC and other sources. Aggregate totals are provided by Toronto-based Investor Economics Inc.

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