News Releases

BMO Nesbitt Burns is pleased to announce the hiring of Luke Seabrook and Duncan Marks to the firm's newly created Equity Linked and Mutual Fund Linked Products Group.

Seabrook becomes Head of Equity Linked and Mutual Fund Linked Products and together with Marks, they will develop non-proprietary products, both principally protected and non-principally protected, for the retail and institutional marketplace. These products will offer exposure to various payoff structures and assets including mutual funds, income trusts and equities.

Under the leadership of Seabrook and Marks, BMO Nesbitt Burns also announces the launch of the Franklin Templeton Investments bestLINK Protected Note - Income Trust Class - Series 1. The note has a five-year term of maturity and is principally guaranteed at maturity with performance linked to the Bissett Income Fund Series A. Issued by the Business Development Bank of Canada, the payment of principal and any interest on the notes will be guaranteed by the government of Canada.

"We believe linked products provide investors with a meaningful alternative," said Seabrook. "There is a large investor audience who are not willing to risk their principal but are dissatisfied with the current level of interest rates paid on low risk investments."

"Most investors who purchase these investments are looking for potentially higher returns, but also want the safety net of protecting their capital," added Marks.

Equity linked notes have the ability to offer broader diversification without risk of principal at maturity. In addition, there is potential for these products to outperform current low risk fixed income investments such as GICs and money market funds by way of participation in actively managed equity exposure, while not sacrificing principal.

Linked products currently represent assets of about $4-billion in Canada, according to Investor Economics, a Toronto-based research firm, which tracks trends in the wealth management industry. More than half of the sales of these products have occurred over the last two years with most being notes linked to mutual fund and hedge fund assets. The term on most equity linked products usually range from five to 10 years.

The products are available through most investment advisors and some are fully eligible for registered plans. As with any investment, investors should consult their investment advisor to determine the suitability of the investment in accordance with their objectives and the risk level of the investment.

Seabrook and Marks were previously Executive Directors of Equity Structured Products at a competing firm where they specialized in creating such products. Prior to that, Seabrook was Vice President, Financial Institutions for Citigroup in Toronto and Marks spent eight years as a Vice President in BMO's Equity Derivatives Group.

BMO Nesbitt Burns is one of Canada's largest full-service investment and wealth management firms. The firm's investment banking group offers corporate, institutional and government clients access to a broad range of products and services including investment and corporate banking, treasury services, market risk management, institutional investing and research. BMO Nesbitt Burns is a member of BMO Financial Group (TSX, NYSE: BMO).

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