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At a ceremony in Toronto Wednesday evening, GGOF Asian Growth and Income Fund received a Lipper Award in the Global Balanced – Equity Focus category.

The Lipper Fund Awards program highlights funds that have excelled in delivering consistently strong risk-adjusted performance, relative to peers. Awards are presented to funds in 21 countries in Asia, Europe, and the United States.

"GGOF is honoured to receive this prestigious award," said Ross Kappele, President, GGOF. “It's a great recognition of the results the fund has delivered to investors over the past three years.”

GGOF Asian Growth and Income Fund provides investors with long-term capital growth and moderate income. The fund holds 40 to 75 dividend-paying stocks and U.S. dollar-denominated convertible bonds, providing diversified exposure to the following Asian Tiger countries – China, Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia, Taiwan, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines and South Korea.

Matthews International Capital Management is the portfolio advisor. Matthews is an independent, San Francisco-based Asian market specialist managing $9 billion in assets and currently manages three funds for GGOF. Paul Matthews, Chairman and Chief Investment Officer of Matthews International, is the fund's lead manager. Mr. Matthews has managed a fund in the U.S. with a similar mandate since 1994, and was selected Value Line's Manager of the Year in 2002. Both this fund and the GGOF version have been less volatile than the S&P500 and the S&P/TSX over the last three years, due to investments in dividend-paying blue chip stocks in Asia and U.S. denominated convertible bonds issued by such companies.

"Buying dividend paying stocks provides investors with a less volatile way to access an attractive long term growth opportunity - a strategy that works just as well in Asia as in other countries,” said Gavin Graham, Chief Investment Officer, GGOF. “Many investors have been reluctant to invest in Asian markets, despite their excellent fundamentals and stock market performance, owing to the high level of volatility. Asian Growth and Income has a demonstrated track record of delivering excellent performance with lower volatility through its strategy of investing in well-established businesses that pay dividends or U.S. denominated convertible bonds issued by these companies."

GGOF provides investors with a full product line of 34 mutual funds, diversified by asset class, geographic region and capitalization. GGOF, with $6.1 billion of mutual fund assets under management at February 28, 2007, offers its funds exclusively through financial intermediaries.

GGOF is a member of BMO Financial Group and part of the organization's Private Client Group. BMO's 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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