News Releases

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - May 16, 2014) - BMO InvestorLine has announced the availability of the Young Investor Offer, a new promotion designed to help young Canadians start investing.

The offer is available to anyone between the ages of 18 and 35 who opens a new BMO InvestorLine Self-Directed account from now until October 31, 2014. Those who take part in this offer will receive 35 free trades, waived fees, as well as an exclusive Globe and Mail eBook on investing and money management. There is no required minimum account opening deposit and clients who participate in this offer will have a chance to win a $3,500 cash prize.

"We know that younger Canadians are big players in the online world. We also know that the earlier an individual starts investing for key life events, like the purchase of a home and retirement, the higher the likelihood that they'll be able to meet their financial goals. Therefore, providing potential investors with the opportunity to begin their online investing experience as early as possible is a top priority for us," said Julie Barker-Merz, CEO, BMO InvestorLine. "With this offer, younger clients can begin building long-term growth and better understand the benefits that come with investing their money sooner rather than later."

Investing early on allows for huge growth opportunities on long term investments. For example, with an investment of $100/month beginning at age 18, at a six per cent rate of return, the end value at age 65 would be just over $313,000. Comparatively, investing the same amount per month starting at age 36, at the same rate of return, the end value at age 65 would be just under $95,500 - less than a third of the previous amount.

Ms. Barker-Merz noted that, according to a BMO InvestorLine study, 81 per cent of young Canadians aged 18-34 said they will likely begin investing online - purchasing, selling, managing or monitoring investments - within the next five years, compared to the national average of only 65 per cent. "However, our study also found that young Canadians ranked 'not having enough money to invest to make it worthwhile' and 'not knowing enough about investing' as their primary reasons for not currently investing online. It shows that there is room to make investing more accessible for younger Canadians."

The Young Investor Offer is just the latest example of BMO InvestorLine's ongoing commitment to make it easier for Canadians to invest online. In February of this year, BMO InvestorLine announced a flat fee of $9.95 per equity trade for Self-Directed clients of all ages.

BMO InvestorLine provides investors of all ages with a number of resources and tools to help them invest online with ease and confidence, including eCurriculum, the InSite eNewsletters and a variety of webcasts. These educational services are simple to use and offer clients a personalized navigational guide through their online investing decisions.

These results come from a Pollara survey, fielded online with 1,000 Canadians between April 17th and April 21st, 2013. As a guideline, a probability sample of this size would be accurate to +/- 3.0 per cent, 19 times out of 20.

For more information on this new offer, please visit www.bmoinvestorline.com/public/prosper.

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About BMO InvestorLine

BMO InvestorLine is an online investing service that provides clients with two ways to invest online. Clients can choose from BMO InvestorLine's top ranked Self-Directed service that provides tools to help investors make independent decisions on how to invest. BMO InvestorLine's other service, adviceDirect™ provides investors with online advice and investment recommendations for their portfolios. Clients have access to trading, quotes and account information 24 hours a day through a website or Automated Telephone Trading. BMO InvestorLine also provides users with third party research, along with leading edge tools that are informative and easy to use. As an all-in-one investment source, it is a constantly evolving, cost-efficient platform that is fully compatible with tablets.