News Releases
BMO Capital Markets, the investment and corporate banking arm of BMO Financial Group (TSX, NYSE: BMO), has been named by StarMine the No. 2 stock picker in the U.S. based on BMO's coverage of stocks on the S&P 500.
BMO Capital Markets has also ranked No. 4 in earnings estimates in the U.S. category by StarMine in its annual review of “Top Global Brokerage Houses.” StarMine is a San Francisco-based firm that measures the performance of equity analysts and provides insightful analytics to institutional investors.
StarMine has previously ranked BMO Capital Markets first in stock picking in Canada for the last three years in its annual Financial Post/StarMine Top Analyst Awards.
“This is an outstanding recognition for the entire equity research team,” said Mike Miller, Head of Equity Products, BMO Capital Markets. “Our approach at BMO is to cultivate a research group that has had significant industry expertise and long tenured analyst experience, a powerful combination that provides our clients with research that adds value.”
BMO Capital Markets is committed to maintaining its long tradition of independence and leadership in research. Our clients can continue to expect us to measure the value-added of our recommendations, put forth proprietary investment ideas and continue to be innovative in our approach to research,” added Mr. Miller.
“We would like to congratulate BMO Capital Markets on this fine achievement. StarMine's objective rankings recognize true value-add in stock picking and earnings estimation, and BMO Capital Markets has demonstrated excellence in both,” said Mary Morgan, StarMine's Rankings Director.
StarMine's 2007 global results appeared in the international editions of the Financial Times today. Other global investment banks were recognized for excellence in research in various geographic categories that included Europe and Asia. BMO Capital Markets ranked No. 2 in the U.S. category among 29 ranked firms. To qualify for ranking, companies had to cover at least 125 stocks in the S&P 500.
In addition, StarMine recognized three of BMO Capital Markets' best stock picks of 2007:
- Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD), which is covered by Brian Piccioni, one of the analysts on BMO's Technology team
- GameStop (GME-N), which is covered by Edward Williams, BMO's Interactive Entertainment analyst
- Hess Corp. (HES), which is covered by Jim Byrne, one of the analysts on BMO's Oil & Gas team
The BMO Capital Markets Equity Research Group consists of 70 analysts in Canada, the United States and London, England, covering more than 920 North American stocks across diverse industry sectors. BMO's Research Group has an excellent long-term track record of identifying winning companies. The group also provides equity strategy, quantitative analysis and portfolio management services to clients.
About StarMine Corporation
StarMine Corporation, a Reuters company, is the world leader in objective research performance measurement and analytics. Its equity research management tools and analytics help investment firms around the globe generate alpha and process equity information more efficiently. Since launching in 1998, StarMine's customer base has expanded to include over 550 investment firms and many of the world's largest investment banks.
About BMO Capital Markets
BMO Capital Markets is a leading full-service North American financial services provider, with over 2,000 employees operating in 14 North American offices and 26 worldwide, offering corporate, institutional and government clients access to a complete range of investment and corporate banking products and services. BMO Capital Markets is a member of BMO Financial Group (NYSE, TSX: BMO), one of the largest diversified financial services providers in North America with more than US$388 billion total assets and more than 35,000 employees as at October 31, 2007.
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