Investor Economics Insight November 2022

The Post-Pandemic Reshuffle: A Year to Forget

Following on the heels of the year that broke all sales records, 2022 was the most underwhelming year in over a decade for investment fund products. But some bright spots exist in and outside the funds business. Rising interest rates repriced assets across the yield continuum and beyond. Fixed-term deposits have attracted record inflows during the year, benefiting from a precipitous exit out of fixed income positions. ETFs also benefitted from asset reallocations, as the product continued to be favoured by advisors and self-directed investors alike.

An annual result of net redemptions for the mutual fund business is a rarity. Along with other years to forget—such as 2008–2022 will join the small group of annual periods when money exited the product type on an aggregate basis.

The current issue of Insight investigates the sales results of mutual, segregated and exchange-traded products by multiple vantage points. Data is presented by sponsor type, asset class, and discreet product segments. The Trendlines article focuses on segregated funds and their connection to mutual fund underlying investments.