Investor Economics Insight October 2022

Investment Funds Distribution: A Lower Tide Plunges (Most) Ships

When Canadians were dreaming with a “return to normal” after two years of intermittent lockdowns and economic uncertainty, a large decline in asset valuations was likely not what they had in mind. With economic uncertainty persisting post-pandemic, capital market volatility has been matched by substantial redemptions in most investment fund product categories, across most distribution channels. Nearly $500 billion in retail financial assets were erased in the first half of 2022.

The current issue of Insight looks into how the changing economic and market cycle manifested at the intersection of products and distribution channels. The focus is on investment funds, but deposits and other investments are also examined. The Trendlines article looks at the differing sales patterns of income generating asset classes in mutual and exchange-traded products.