TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Aug. 16, 2012) - BMO Investments Inc. today announced potential changes to the investment strategies of BMO Canadian Equity ETF Fund and BMO U.S. Equity Fund (the "ETF Index Funds").

"The proposed change in the benchmarks of the 'ETF Index Funds' will result in broader diversification, and more widely recognized market indices for investors and financial advisors looking to implement global asset allocation decisions within their mutual fund portfolios," said Steven Shepherd, Vice President of Equity Strategies with BMO Investments Inc.

Each of BMO Canadian Equity ETF Fund and BMO U.S. Equity ETF Fund invests up to 100 per cent of its assets in securities of an underlying exchange-traded fund namely, BMO Dow Jones Canada Titans 60 Index ETF and BMO US Equity Hedged to CAD Index ETF (the "Underlying ETFs"). BMO Asset Management Inc., the manager of the "Underlying ETFs", has announced that a special meeting of unitholders (Special Meeting) has been called to consider and approve changes to the investment objectives of the "Underlying ETFs" such that they will seek to replicate the performance of new indices as follows:

The proposed changes to the "Underlying ETFs", if approved, will result in corresponding changes to the investment strategies of the ETF Index Funds. The Special Meeting of unitholders of the "Underlying ETFs" will be held on September 13, 2012.

BMO ETFs are managed and administered by BMO Asset Management Inc. (BMO Asset Management), a portfolio manager, investment fund manager and a separate legal entity from Bank of Montreal. Further information about BMO ETFs can be found at [ www.bmo.com/etfs ].

Commissions, management fees and expenses all may be associated with investments in exchange traded funds. Please read the prospectus before investing. Exchange traded funds are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated.

"S&P" is a registered trademark of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC, "TSX" is a trademark of Toronto Stock Exchange, Dow Jones is a trademark of CME Group Index Services LLC and "BNY Mellon" is a service mark of The Bank of New York Mellon. These and associated trade and service marks have been licensed for use by BMO Asset Management. None of the BMO ETFs is sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by any index provider, and these entities make no representation, warranty or condition regarding the advisability of buying, selling or holding units in the BMO ETFs.

About BMO Investments Inc.

BMO Investments Inc. is a member of BMO Financial Group and part of the organization's Private Client Group (PCG). BMO's group of wealth management businesses, PCG, serves a full range of client segments from mainstream to ultra-high net worth and institutional, with a broad offering of wealth management products and solutions including insurance products. PCG operates in both Canada and the United States, as well as in Asia and Europe, and had total assets under management and administration of $445 billion as at April 30, 2012.

Publication Contributing Sources

• Market Wire