News Releases
BMO Investments Inc. today announced proposed changes to BMO Global Balanced Class and BMO Short-Term Income Class which will be effective on or about April 30, 2007.
BMO Global Balanced Class
Subject to shareholder approval, the investment objectives for BMO Global Balanced Class will be revised to allow this fund to invest primarily in dividend-yielding common and preferred shares of companies from around the world.
If approved by shareholders, this fund's new investment objectives will be “to achieve a high level of total return from the value of your investment, including dividend income and capital gains, by investing primarily in dividend yielding common and preferred shares of companies from around the world. As part of its investment objectives, the fund invests primarily in equities of companies that trade on recognized stock exchanges in countries around the world.” As part of the resolution to change the investment objectives of this fund, shareholders will also be asked to approve a change in this fund's name to “BMO Global Dividend Class” to reflect the new investment objectives.
This fund's current objectives are to achieve a high level of total return, including capital gains, interest and dividend income by investing primarily in equity and fixed income securities of issuers that may be located anywhere in the world.
A meeting of shareholders of this fund will be held on or about April 26, 2007. If the change to this fund's investment objectives and name is approved, the investment strategies for this fund will also be revised, and KBC Asset Management International Limited (“KBC”) will become the portfolio manager for this fund, to be effective on or about April 30, 2007.
KBC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of KBC Asset Management Ltd, Dublin, which has been managing assets for more than 25 years and is ultimately owned by the KBC Group, a financial services provider headquartered in Brussels and publicly listed on the Euronext Stock Exchange in Brussels with operations in more than 30 countries. KBC and related companies had more than $26 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2006.
BMO Short-Term Income Class
Subject to shareholder and regulatory approval, the investment objectives for BMO Short-Term Income Class will be revised to allow the fund to provide a return similar to that of a fixed income fund. By investing primarily in Canadian equity securities and entering into forward contracts or other permitted derivatives, this fund seeks to provide a return determined with reference to the performance of a fixed income fund managed by BMO Investments Inc.
This fund expects that the earnings derived from these transactions will be treated as capital gains, and if distributed to shareholders, will be capital gains dividends for tax purposes.
This fund's current objectives are to provide the opportunity to invest in a fixed-income fund for the short term, as an alternative or in addition to the equity funds included in the BMO Global Tax Advantage Funds and to provide current income while preserving capital and maintaining liquidity. As part of its current investment objectives, this fund invests primarily in high quality securities like Canadian treasury bills, other Canadian short-term fixed-income securities and highly related commercial paper with terms to maturity of less than three years.
As part of the resolution to change the investment objectives of this fund, shareholders will also be asked to approve a change in this fund's name to “BMO Capital Yield Class” to reflect the new investment objectives. If the change to this fund's investment objectives and name is approved, the investment strategies for this fund will be revised to reflect the new objectives. A meeting of shareholders of this fund will be held on or about April 26, 2007. If approved, such changes will be effective on or about April 30, 2007.
About BMO Investments Inc.
BMO Investments Inc. is a member of BMO Financial Group and part of the organization's Private Client Group. The Private Client Group provides integrated wealth management services in Canada and the United States and had total assets under management and administration and term investments of $296.5 billion as at January 31, 2007.
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