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CALGARY, ALBERTA--(Marketwired - June 12, 2015) - BMO Wealth Management today launched a first-of-its-kind national Wealth Index, which provides a snapshot of Canadians' financial situation and measures their ability to manage their wealth.

The inaugural BMO Wealth Management Index ranks residents of each province, out of a score of 100, on which residents are most successful at managing their wealth. The study looked at a variety of criteria, including: having, reviewing and maintaining a financial plan; household debts and assets; retirement savings; having insurance in place; estate planning components; rainy day savings; and the sustainability of their current financial situation. The Index is unique among financial measures because it considers more than just "balance sheets" (i.e. how much money Canadians have).

Alberta scored 70.6 out of 100, placing them third behind Saskatchewan (72.9) and Quebec (71.1). The national average score was 69.3.

Albertans scored highest in the following areas:

• Having a financial strategy (81 per cent have one, equal to the national average)
• Having household assets of high value (average of $671,000, which is the highest amount among the provinces and $200,000 more than the national average)
• Having a significant amount in a rainy day fund (average of $104,000, which is the highest amount among the provinces and three times the national average)

The categories in which Albertans scored lowest included:

• Ensuring the effectiveness of their financial plan (71 per cent have not used a professional to draft their plan)
• Having a high level of debt (average of $121,100, which is $20,000 above the national average)
• Prioritizing retirement savings in a financial plan (of those with a financial plan, 30 per cent said it is not a priority at the moment)

"It's encouraging to see that Albertans have, on average, such a robust amount of assets. However, they should also appreciate the importance of addressing their debt and how critical it is to have a financial plan," said Michael Wood, Senior Vice-President and Managing Director, BMO Nesbitt Burns, a part of BMO Wealth Management. "The concept of wealth is multidimensional. That's why BMO Wealth Management launched this index - to see how each province fares in all aspects of wealth planning by examining more than how much we have in our bank accounts and investment portfolios."

Albertans Confident About Financial Preparedness

In addition to Index ranking questions, Albertans were asked about how they would fare financially in the event of a major life event (such as getting married, the birth of a child, loss of a job, etc.):

• Sixty-five per cent are confident that they would be prepared financially
• Nineteen per cent are not very confident that they would be prepared financially
• Ten per cent are not at all confident that they would be prepared financially

"It's encouraging that almost two thirds of Albertans believe they can take on a major change successfully," said Betsey Chung, Chief Marketing Officer, Canadian Banking & Wealth Management, BMO Financial Group. "Life events and market changes are often catalysts for people to reconsider their approach to wealth management. We're here to help clients turn these changes into opportunities - whether it's a fresh start, a new endeavour or a chance to give back."

BMO Wealth Management recently launched a multi-faceted ad campaign that is appearing across all customer experience platforms and webpages. The campaign tells the stories of clients going through significant life changes - newly single, aging parents, kids returning after university and changing market conditions, to name a few - and showcases how BMO Wealth Management can help clients turn those changes into opportunities for greater financial success and peace of mind.

BMO Wealth Management Index - Provincial Breakdown

Province	Index Score
National	69.3
Saskatchewan	72.9
Quebec	71.1
Alberta	70.6
Newfoundland & Labrador	70.4
Nova Scotia	70.0
Ontario	69.2
Manitoba	68.4
PEI	66.7
B.C.	66.3
New Brunswick	58.9

BMO Wealth Management Index - Key National Findings:

• Canadians scored well on having a financial strategy (81 per cent) and ensuring their loved ones were financially secure by having a life insurance policy (66 per cent)
• Opportunities exist for them to improve by working with a professional to ensure the effectiveness of their financial plan (66 per cent have not used a professional) and prioritizing saving for retirement (65 per cent do not do so)
• When Canadians were asked about how they would fare financially in the event of a major life event (such as getting married, the birth of a child, loss of a job, etc.), 62 per cent are confident that they would be prepared financially, 21 per cent are not very confident and 10 per cent are not at all confident

Survey results cited in this report are from online interviews with a random sample of 1,403 Canadians, 18 years of age and over, conducted between April 10^th and 13^th, 2015.

As a guideline, a probability sample of this size would yield results accurate to ± 2.6%, 19 times out of 20. Results have been weighted using the latest census data to be representative of Canadians as a whole.

For more information on BMO Wealth Management, please visit: http://www.bmo.com/main/wealth-management.

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About BMO Financial Group

Established in 1817, BMO Financial Group is a highly diversified financial services provider based in North America. With total assets of approximately $633 billion as of April 30, 2015, and more than 47,000 employees, BMO provides a broad range of retail banking, wealth management and investment banking products and services to more than 12 million customers and conducts business through three operating groups: Personal and Commercial Banking, Wealth Management and BMO Capital Markets.