Bond funds lead mutual fund inflows as equity ETFs keep net sales running hot
Canada's investment fund industry kept up its recovery in May, with mutual funds and ETFs both adding to their asset base for a second straight month while net sales held positive across nearly every category tracked.
According to new figures from the Securities and Investment Management Association (SIMA), mutual fund assets reached $2.7 trillion by the end of May, up $87.5 billion, or 3.3%, from April. That brings the two-month gain to $188.7 billion. Net sales for the month came in at $2.9 billion, keeping the industry's run of positive monthly net sales going for 13 months in a row.
ETF assets climbed to $859.6 billion, an increase of $42.3 billion, or 5.2%, over April and $88.6 billion higher than two months earlier. Net sales totalled $13.7 billion in May, roughly matching April's pace and running well ahead of the $8.8 billion recorded in May last year.
Mutual fund asset classes
Bond funds carried the mutual fund side of the ledger in May, posting net sales of $1.4 billion, the strongest of any long-term category and a surge from the $765 million of the previous month.
Equity funds contributed a modest $63 million compared to $1.6 billion in April and specialty funds added $855 million (up from April’s $707 million).
Meanwhile, two asset classes saw a swing to net sales from net redemptions in April: Balanced funds brought in $588 million (vs. $352 net redemption) and money market funds added just $10 million (vs. $299 million in redemption).
Total mutual fund net sales for the month reached $2.9 billion, against $2.4 billion in April and $4.0 billion in the same month last year.
On the asset side, balanced funds at $1.175 trillion remain the largest mutual fund category, ending May, followed by equity funds at $1.096 trillion, bond funds at $336.4 billion, money market at $65.7 billion and specialty funds at $61.9 billion.
ETF asset classes
Equity continued to dominate ETF flows, pulling in $8.7 billion in May, down slightly from $9.6 billion in April but still more than double the $3.9 billion seen in May 2025.
Bond ETFs added $2.6 billion, nearly double April's $1.4 billion, while balanced and specialty ETFs brought in $1.1 billion and $1.0 billion respectively. Money market ETFs added $183 million.
ETF assets by category at the end of May stood at $568.9 billion for equity, $162.5 billion for bond, $49.0 billion for balanced and $42.9 billion for specialty, with money market ETFs holding $36.4 billion.
Year to date, ETFs continue to draw in far more new money than mutual funds. Through the first five months of 2026, ETF net sales total $86.6 billion compared with $22.7 billion for mutual funds, with both figures running well ahead of where they stood at this point in 2025.
The back-to-back monthly gains have widened the year-over-year comparisons considerably. Mutual fund assets are now up 19.2% from May 2025, while ETF assets have grown by close to 49.8% over the same 12-month stretch.
SIMA's direct survey data covers approximately 87% of total mutual fund industry assets and approximately 80% of total ETF industry assets, with estimates used to fill out the remainder for comprehensive industry totals.
