Growth in Canada outpaced both the U.S. and the global industry, with AUM rising 14% during the year to US$3.6 trillion.
Retail investment is gaining share in Canada, and the rising share of the market and the increasing sophistication of retail investors present asset managers with an opportunity worth monitoring. This trend is expected to continue over the next five years, with growth forecast at 9% annually.
Certain active categories also generated strong asset growth in 2020, it noted, including large-cap equity funds, government-focused fixed-income funds, money market funds and specialized products. Even with a global pandemic, a lockdown-induced recession, and the specters of economic malaise and growing inequality, the total AUM in Canada’s investment fund industry grew by more than $2 billion.
From a sales perspective, mutual funds saw net sales of $31 billion, an increase of 83% over the previous year, while ETF net sales reached $41.5 billion on the back of 48% year-on-year growth. Gross sales for mutual funds amounted to $300 billion, a historic record.
Canadian investment managers have been investing in alternatives much before the counterpart countries hopped onto the bandwagon due to low-interest rates and volatile public markets.
The fintech market in Canada is also growing at a fast pace, aiding the overall growth of the Asset management industry. The year 2020 was a transformative year for the Canadian asset management industry, through shifting consumer attitudes, a growing competitive landscape, and, ultimately, the COVID-19 global pandemic.
Events of 2020 put Canadian asset managers on alert. Additionally, though the industry has shown its trademark resilience, homegrown leaders continue to feel the pressure of mounting competition, consumer shifts, and rippling impacts of the global pandemic.
Big asset managers are looking at expanding into alternatives and low-cost beta products to the point where many players have gone down the route of partnering with a hedge fund or private equity managers on the alpha side and looking into ETF-style platforms on the beta site.
The industry’s relationship with technology has also brightened, even if familiar uncertainties linger. While organizations are becoming more confident and adept in adopting the likes of blockchain, bots, data analytics, and artificial intelligence (AI), reservations persist as to how these resources will pay back their investments and how organizations can mitigate their potential risks.
Moreover, considering that there is always a new competitor willing to look beyond these reservations, organizations are feeling the pressure to make a decision or fall behind.
Key Market Trends
The Growth Of Responsible Investment Fund in Canada
Responsible investment fund assets grew by 55% in 2020, compared to 11% growth for the fund industry overall. Responsible investment (RI) has taken its place as the predominant investment approach among Canadian investors.
Assets in Canada being managed using at least one RI strategy increased to $3.2 trillion, compared to $2.1 trillion at the end of 2017. This corresponds to growth of 48.5% for RI AUM over a two-year period-equivalent to 21.9% annualized growth over two years.
Responsible investing comprises a majority of Canada’s professionally managed assets, accounting for 61.8% of all Canadian AUM. This is a larger share of the overall market than the previous years when RI assets attained a milestone of 50.6% of the Canadian investment industry.
The rising demand for RI among individual investors is being met with greater availability and diversity of retail RI products, as longer-standing RI firms expand their product offerings and newer entrants to the space launch RI products. Assets in designated RI retail mutual funds have increased to $15.1 billion from $11.1 billion two years prior, representing growth of 36% over two years. Meanwhile, assets in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) managed under RI strategies have more than doubled over the last two years, from $240.6 million to $654.9 million.
Exchange-Traded Funds and MF in Canada
Canada’s exchange-traded fund industry reached quite the milestone last week, with net sales surpassing mutual fund sales for the first time in the country’s history. In 2019, ETFs were brought in $18.7 billion compared to $7.8 billion for mutual funds.
Canadian ETF assets have climbed by 74% since 2015, but with only five banks and a handful of investment firms holding most Canadian assets. Also, since 2015, mutual fund assets have also increased by about 74%, a huge number considering the size of the industry.
Companies Mentioned
RBC Group
TD Asset Management Inc.
BlackRock Asset Management Canada Ltd.
CIBC Asset Management Inc.
Fidelity Canada Institutional
CI Investments Inc. (including CI Institutional Asset Management)
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was higher in late-morning trading, helped by strength in energy stocks, while U.S. stock markets also moved up.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 34.91 points at 23,736.98.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 178.05 points at 41,800.13. The S&P 500 index was up 28.38 points at 5,661.47, while the Nasdaq composite was up 133.17 points at 17,725.30.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.56 cents US compared with 73.57 cents US on Monday.
The November crude oil contract was up 68 cents at US$69.70 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up three cents at US$2.40 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was down US$7.80 at US$2,601.10 an ounce and the December copper contract was up a penny at US$4.28 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
TORONTO – Strength in the base metal and technology sectors helped Canada’s main stock index gain almost 100 points on Friday, while U.S. stock markets climbed to their best week of the year.
“It’s been almost a complete opposite or retracement of what we saw last week,” said Philip Petursson, chief investment strategist at IG Wealth Management.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 297.01 points at 41,393.78. The S&P 500 index was up 30.26 points at 5,626.02, while the Nasdaq composite was up 114.30 points at 17,683.98.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 93.51 points at 23,568.65.
While last week saw a “healthy” pullback on weaker economic data, this week investors appeared to be buying the dip and hoping the central bank “comes to the rescue,” said Petursson.
Next week, the U.S. Federal Reserve is widely expected to cut its key interest rate for the first time in several years after it significantly hiked it to fight inflation.
But the magnitude of that first cut has been the subject of debate, and the market appears split on whether the cut will be a quarter of a percentage point or a larger half-point reduction.
Petursson thinks it’s clear the smaller cut is coming. Economic data recently hasn’t been great, but it hasn’t been that bad either, he said — and inflation may have come down significantly, but it’s not defeated just yet.
“I think they’re going to be very steady,” he said, with one small cut at each of their three decisions scheduled for the rest of 2024, and more into 2025.
“I don’t think there’s a sense of urgency on the part of the Fed that they have to do something immediately.
A larger cut could also send the wrong message to the markets, added Petursson: that the Fed made a mistake in waiting this long to cut, or that it’s seeing concerning signs in the economy.
It would also be “counter to what they’ve signaled,” he said.
More important than the cut — other than the new tone it sets — will be what Fed chair Jerome Powell has to say, according to Petursson.
“That’s going to be more important than the size of the cut itself,” he said.
In Canada, where the central bank has already cut three times, Petursson expects two more before the year is through.
“Here, the labour situation is worse than what we see in the United States,” he said.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.61 cents US compared with 73.58 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down 32 cents at US$68.65 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was down five cents at US$2.31 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$30.10 at US$2,610.70 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents US$4.24 a pound.
— With files from The Associated Press
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was down more than 200 points in late-morning trading, weighed down by losses in the technology, base metal and energy sectors, while U.S. stock markets also fell.
The S&P/TSX composite index was down 239.24 points at 22,749.04.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 312.36 points at 40,443.39. The S&P 500 index was down 80.94 points at 5,422.47, while the Nasdaq composite was down 380.17 points at 16,747.49.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.80 cents US compared with 74.00 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down US$1.07 at US$68.08 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up less than a penny at US$2.26 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was down US$2.10 at US$2,541.00 an ounce and the December copper contract was down four cents at US$4.10 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 6, 2024.
