News Releases

TORONTO, January 18, 2010 – BMO Mutual Funds has been recognized for exceptional customer service by Dalbar Inc., the world's premier financial services strategy and operations research firm.

For the fourth year in a row, BMO Mutual Funds ranked highest among mutual funds companies for its English and French language services in Dalbar's Performance Evaluation of Mutual Funds Service, Annual Rankings and Trending Report.

Moreover, BMO InvestorLine placed second on Dalbar's Direct Brokerage Sales Effectiveness Rankings and Trend Reporting.

"We are delighted to be recognized by Dalbar as a leader in customer service," said Ross Kappele, Co-President, BMO Investments Inc. "BMO takes particular pride in our strong showing this year given the challenging market environment we've faced. We're committed to helping our clients with their financial decisions. Being recognized for our efforts is very gratifying."

Dalbar Measurement
These awards are given to the firms placing first in Dalbar's year-end rankings, which are based on evaluations made over the calendar year measuring a company's quality of performance in product and procedural knowledge, professionalism, level of accommodation and their ability to expand and deepen relationships with clients.

About BMO Financial Group
BMO Financial Group is a highly diversified North American financial services organization. With total assets of $388 billion as at October 31, 2009, and more than 36,000 employees, BMO provides a broad range of retail banking, wealth management and investment banking products and solutions.

About Dalbar Inc.
As the world's premier financial services strategy and operations research firm, Dalbar helps leading enterprises develop, build, and operate strong businesses that deliver sustained shareholder value growth. Dalbar's proprietary business design techniques, combined with its specialized industry knowledge and behavioural research expertise, enable companies to anticipate changes in customer priorities and the competitive environment, and then design their businesses and improve operations to seize opportunities created by those changes. The firm serves clients in the Americas and Europe.