Business & Finance
Wed, March 28, 2012Tue, March 27, 2012Mon, March 26, 2012Sun, March 25, 2012Sat, March 24, 2012Fri, March 23, 2012Thu, March 22, 2012Wed, March 21, 2012BMO Investments Inc. Announces Proposed Changes to its Mutual Fund Line-Up
Published in Business and Finance on Friday, March 23rd 2012 at 12:21 GMT by Market Wire
March 23, 2012 15:16 ET
BMO Investments Inc. Announces Proposed Changes to its Mutual Fund Line-Up
TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - March 23, 2012) - BMO Investments Inc. today announced proposed changes to the BMO Mutual Funds and the BMO Guardian Funds line-ups. The primary objective of these changes is to reduce duplicate fund offerings and streamline the product suite to provide more cost-effective investment solutions for investors.
Proposed Fund Mergers
Subject to obtaining all necessary securityholder and regulatory approvals, BMO Investments Inc. proposes that each Terminating Fund listed in the table below be merged into the corresponding Continuing Fund also listed below. If approved, the mergers will be effective in June 2012.
| Terminating Fund | Continuing Fund |
| BMO Japanese Fund | BMO Guardian Asian Growth and Income Fund |
| BMO Guardian Global Bond Fund | BMO World Bond Fund |
| BMO U.S. Special Equity Fund | BMO Guardian Global Small Cap Fund |
| BMO Guardian Global Technology Fund | BMO Guardian Global Small Cap Fund |
| BMO Guardian Global Equity Fund | BMO Global Equity Class* |
| BMO Global Absolute Return Class* | BMO Global Equity Class* |
| BMO Emerging Markets Class* | BMO Global Equity Class* |
| BMO Global Small Cap Class* | BMO Global Equity Class* |
| BMO Global Technology Class* | BMO Global Equity Class* |
| BMO Guardian Dividend Growth Fund | BMO Dividend Fund |
| BMO U.S. Growth Fund | BMO U.S. Equity Fund |
| BMO Global Energy Class* | BMO Canadian Equity Class* |
| BMO Resource Class* | BMO Canadian Equity Class* |
| BMO Canadian Large Cap Equity Class* | BMO Canadian Equity Class* |
| BMO Enterprise Class* | BMO Canadian Equity Class* |
| BMO T-Bill Fund | BMO Money Market Fund |
| BMO Global Monthly Income Fund | BMO Diversified Income Portfolio |
| * A class of shares of BMO Global Tax Advantage Funds Inc. | |
If the proposed mergers are approved, securityholders of each class or series of each Terminating Fund will receive securities of the equivalent class or series of the corresponding Continuing Fund, determined on a dollar-for-dollar basis. Securities of the Terminating Funds will no longer be offered for sale beginning May 24, 2012. The Terminating Funds will be wound up as soon as possible following the mergers.
Securityholder approval for the relevant funds will be sought at special meetings to be held on or about May 18, 2012. In advance of the meetings, full details of the proposed mergers will be set out in notices of meetings and management information circulars that will be sent to securityholders of record as at April 9, 2012. The notices of meetings and management information circulars will also available on SEDAR at [ www.sedar.com ].
The Independent Review Committee of the funds listed above has reviewed the potential conflict of interest matters related to the proposed mergers and has provided BMO Investments Inc., the manager of the funds, with a positive recommendation for each merger after determining that each merger, if implemented, achieves a fair and reasonable result for the applicable funds.
Pre-Approved Fund Mergers
BMO Investments Inc. also announced today that the following two pre-approved mergers will be effective in June 2012.
| Terminating Fund | Continuing Fund |
| BMO Premium Money Market Fund | BMO Money Market Fund |
| BMO Canadian Money Market Fund | BMO Money Market Fund |
Each of these mergers has received approval from the Independent Review Committee after determining that each merger, if implemented, achieves a fair and reasonable result for the applicable funds. As these mergers satisfy certain regulatory criteria, they are not subject to securityholder or regulatory approvals. However, securityholders of each of these Terminating Funds will receive written notice of these mergers at least 60 days prior to the effective date of each merger.
Securityholders of each series of each of these Terminating Funds will receive securities of the equivalent series of the applicable Continuing Fund, determined on a dollar-for-dollar basis. Securities of these Terminating Funds will no longer be offered for sale beginning May 24, 2012. These Terminating Funds will be wound up as soon as possible following the mergers.
BMO Investments Inc. encourages securityholders to contact their financial advisor to determine the solution that best meets their individual investment needs and circumstances.
About BMO Investments Inc.
BMO Investments Inc. is a member of BMO Financial Group and part of the organization's Private Client Group. The Private Client Group provides integrated wealth management services and had total assets under management and administration of $435 billion as at January 31, 2012.
