Canadian Mutual Fund Sales Decline

After five years of increasing sales, the mutual fund industry looks to be losing ground in Canada, Bloomberg reports. Net fund sales for the five biggest banks - including Toronto-Dominion Bank and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce - fell 21% in the first six months of the year to C$5.32 billion from the same period last year, the Investment Funds Institute of Canada said.

Investors seem to be turning to global funds, betting that Canadian stocks, driven higher by record prices for oil, natural gas and metals, may be peaking. Canadian sales of Asia/Pacific Rim equity funds jumped almost five-fold this year to C$193.5 million, while global equity funds climbed 39% to C$6.3 billion, the Toronto- based institute said.

To meet the international demand, Toronto-Dominion will introduce four international funds next month. Three will be managed individually by Legg Mason's Brandywine Global Investment Management, Morgan Stanley and T. Rowe Price.