News Releases

BEIJING, CHINA and LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM--(Marketwired - Dec. 4, 2013) - Lloyd George Management (LGM), a part of BMO Global Asset Management and a long-time investor in Asian and Global Emerging Markets (GEM), has just launched its Asian Growth and Income strategy. This follows the success of the firm's GEM Growth and Income and Frontier Markets strategies.

The Asian Growth and Income strategy will be managed by Christopher Darling, LGM's CIO Asia, who will be supported by Chris Tang, CFA. The strategy will be available to institutional investors and qualified retail investors in Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

The strategy's objective is to identify high quality growth franchises with sustainable business models, proven management teams and strong cash flows to support growing dividend streams. This focus is expected to generate returns through a balance of growth and income. Dividends are a major contributor to total returns in Asia; estimates indicate that over the last twenty years or so in Asia ex-Japan, dividends have accounted for more than 30 per cent of total returns.¹

Robert Lloyd George, Investment Chairman of LGM, noted: "We are delighted to expand our firm's offerings. The Asian Growth and Income strategy will be an excellent complement to our existing approach in GEM, which has more than US$530 million under management.² It's our belief that applying our growth and income focus in this region will translate into attractive long-term investment returns for our clients."

LGM's active, stock-driven investment process emphasizes first-hand company research to seek inefficiencies in the markets in which they invest. This permits the construction of long-term, conviction portfolios in which the resultant holdings may diverge significantly from the regional indices.

"The launch of our Asian Growth and Income strategy extends the opportunities BMO Global Asset Management can provide to investors around the world and leverages Lloyd George Management's more than 20 years of experience in Asia and GEM," stated Barry McInerney, Co-CEO, BMO Global Asset Management.

About Lloyd George Management

Established in 1991, Lloyd George Management is a specialist Asian, Global Emerging and Frontier Markets equity manager with US$2.6 billion in assets under management (as of October 31, 2013). Its team of investment professionals is based in offices in Hong Kong, London and Mumbai. Lloyd George Management's approach is active and primarily stock driven, with a focus on high quality sustainable growth companies with strong capital management. It seeks investment opportunities across the market cap spectrum. In April 2011, Lloyd George Management became a wholly owned subsidiary within BMO Financial Group.

About BMO Global Asset Management

BMO Global Asset Management is a global investment manager with more than $129 billion in assets under management, including discretionary and non-discretionary assets under management, and more than $164 billion in assets under administration as of July 31, 2013.

Our two multi-disciplined teams are based in Toronto and Chicago/Milwaukee, and our network of world-class boutique managers is strategically located across the globe. They include Monegy, Inc., Pyrford International Ltd., Lloyd George Management and Taplin, Canida & Habacht, LLC. BMO Global Asset Management delivers service excellence from offices throughout North America, and in London, Abu Dhabi, Mumbai, Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Melbourne and Sydney. Our approach has led us to be recognized by Pension & Investments as one of the world's largest 100 asset managers based on combined assets under management as of December 31, 2012.

We are a part of BMO Financial Group (TSX:BMO)(NYSE:BMO), a fully diversified financial services organization with $549 billion CND total assets and more than 46,500 employees as of July 31, 2013.

About BMO Financial Group

Established in 1817 as Bank of Montreal, BMO Financial Group is a highly diversified North American financial services organization. With total assets of CAD$537 billion as at October 31, 2013, and more than 45,000 employees, BMO Financial Group provides a broad range of personal and commercial banking, wealth management and investment banking products and solutions.

Disclosures

BMO Global Asset Management is the brand name for various affiliated entities of BMO Financial Group that provide investment management, retirement, and trust and custody services. Certain of the products and services offered under the brand name BMO Global Asset Management are designed specifically for various categories of investors in a number of different countries and regions. Products and services are only offered to such investors in those countries and regions in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. BMO Financial Group (NYSE:BMO), is a service mark of Bank of Montreal (BMO).

Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking statements, and are typically identified by words such as "believe" and other similar expressions. By their nature, forward-looking statements require us to make various assumptions and are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties and other factors which could cause results to differ, including those discussed in the Bank of Montreal 2012 annual consolidated financial statements and management's discussion and analysis, and quarterly reports to shareholders. We caution readers of this press release not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements.

¹ MSCI, Bloomberg as at December 31, 2012

² As of October 31, 2013