The Canadian mutual fund industry had its worst month ever in dollar terms in March as it saw more than $14.1 billion in net redemptions — the equivalent of 83 per cent of its total net sales in all of 2019.

According to the Investment Funds Institute of Canada (IFIC), the total assets in mutual funds also decreased by 10 per cent — or $159.9 billion — in one month. The ETF industry similarly saw its asset values decrease, by 9.5 per cent, but still recorded $2.9 billion in new inflows.

The top Canadian providers of mutual funds led the way in losses, according to Morningstar data. Royal Bank of Canada shed $2.8 billion, while Toronto-Dominion Bank, Fidelity and CI Investments each lost more than $1 billion. None of the providers in Canada’s Top 10 reported inflows.

The redemptions may have been the result of market-wide portfolio rebalancings that saw investors trade in fixed income to buy equities, according to industry experts. The outflows, according to IFIC, were led by funds with strong exposure to fixed income. Balanced funds saw $11 billion in redemptions, while bond funds shed $6.6 billion.