Strong April rally pushes mutual fund and ETF assets sharply higher, while investor inflows remain resilient
Canada’s investment fund industry bounced back decisively in April, with a broad market recovery driving asset growth across both mutual funds and ETFs — reversing the declines seen in March.
Data released today (May 20) by the Securities and Investment Management Association (SIMA) shows mutual fund assets climbed to $2.6 trillion at the end of April, an increase of $100.6 billion or 4.0% from March. Net sales remained positive at $2.4 billion, extending a 12-month streak of consecutive monthly inflows — a notable contrast to the net redemptions recorded in April last year.
ETFs posted an even sharper rebound, with assets rising $46.1 billion, or 6.0%, to $817.2 billion. Net sales reached $13.6 billion for the month, nearly double the $7.2 billion recorded in April 2025, though below the exceptionally strong levels seen earlier in 2026.
The turnaround underscores how April’s equity market rally — following a turbulent March — provided significant tailwinds to overall asset levels on top of continued investor contributions.
Equity mutual funds led the recovery in flows, attracting $1.6 billion in net sales after suffering $1.3 billion in redemptions the prior month. Bond funds added $764 million, while specialty funds contributed $656 million. Balanced funds were the only long-term category to post outflows, with net redemptions of $349 million. Money market funds saw modest net redemptions of $299 million for the month.
On the ETF side, equity funds once again dominated, drawing $9.6 billion in net sales. Bond ETFs added $1.4 billion, while balanced and specialty ETFs contributed $1.2 billion and $1.1 billion respectively. Money market ETFs posted a modest $200 million in inflows.
Year-to-date, ETFs continue to attract significantly more new capital than mutual funds. Through the first four months of 2026, ETF net sales totalled $72.9 billion compared to $20.3 billion for mutual funds — and both figures are well ahead of the same period last year.
The April rebound also lifted year-over-year asset comparisons sharply. Mutual fund assets are up $429.1 billion, or 19.3%, from April 2025, while ETF assets have grown $271.0 billion, or nearly 49.6%, over the same period.
With markets recovering and inflows holding firm, the industry’s April results suggest investor confidence remains intact heading into the second quarter.
SIMA’s data covers approximately 87% of total mutual fund industry assets and approximately 80% of total ETF industry assets, supplemented by estimates for comprehensive industry totals.
