TORONTO, June 4, 2009 – Today marked the first day of trading for BMO Exchange Traded Funds, making BMO Financial Group, through Jones Heward Investment Counsel Inc., the only major Canadian financial group to offer a family of ETFs.
“BMO is a leader in helping clients make sense of financial matters. We are pleased to provide a home-grown Canadian investment option that can help investors achieve their financial goals,” said Gilles Ouellette, President and CEO, Private Client Group, BMO Financial Group. “This is the first phase of our ETF offering, with additional products to come. Based on the popularity of ETFs world-wide, we anticipate this will contribute to the growth of BMO's wealth management business.”
BMO ETFs (www.bmo.com/etfs)
- BMO Canadian Government Bond Index ETF (BGB) has been designed to replicate, to the extent possible, the performance of the Citigroup Canadian Government Bond Index.
- BMO Dow Jones Canada Titans 60 Index ETF (BCA) has been designed to replicate, to the extent possible, the performance of the Dow Jones Canada Titans 60 Index.
- BMO US Equity Index ETF (BUE) has been designed to replicate, to the extent possible, the performance of the Dow Jones U.S. Large-Cap Index (CAD hedged).
- BMO Dow Jones DiamondsSM Index ETF (BDJ) has been designed to replicate, to the extent possible, the performance of the Dow Jones Industrial Average (CAD hedged).
The BMO US Equity Index ETF and BMO Dow Jones DiamondsSM Index ETF will hedge their exposure to U.S. dollars. The ETFs are offered through Jones Heward Investment Counsel Inc. (Jones Heward), an operating company within BMO Asset Management, and the trustee and manager of BMO ETFs.
ETFs are similar to index mutual funds, except they are listed and traded on a stock exchange like regular stocks. Each fund consists of a basket of stocks that tracks the performance of a specific market index, such as the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
About BMO Asset Management
BMO Asset Management is the umbrella structure for BMO Financial Group's institutional investment management companies, including Jones Heward Investment Counsel Inc., Harris Investment Management, Inc., HIM Monegy, Inc. and Pyrford International Limited. As a group, BMO Asset Management has $46 billion in assets under management (April 30, 2009).
About Jones Heward
Jones Heward Investment Counsel Inc. is a Canadian investment manager and has over $29 billion in total assets under management as at April 30, 2009. Its clients include pensions, endowments, trusts, insurance company reserves, corporations and mutual funds. Jones Heward is an indirect, wholly-owned, subsidiary of Bank of Montreal.
Commissions, management fees and expenses may be associated with mutual fund investments. Please read the prospectus before investing. Mutual funds are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated.
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