- Additionally announces proposed investment objective changes
for BMO China Equity Index ETF and BMO India Equity Index
ETF
TORONTO, Aug. 18, 2021 /CNW/ - BMO Asset Management Inc.
("BMOAM") today announced it is reducing the annual management fees
on BMO Equal Weight Banks Index ETF ("ZEB") and BMO Monthly Income
ETF ("ZMI").
Effective on or about September 1,
2021, the annual management fees for ZEB and ZMI will be
reduced as follows:
ETF
|
Ticker
|
Current Annual
Management Fee
(%)
|
New Annual
Management Fee
(%)
|
BMO Equal Weight
Banks Index ETF
|
ZEB
|
0.55
|
0.25
|
BMO Monthly Income
ETF
|
ZMI
|
0.55
|
0.18
|
"Since our first launch in 2009, the BMO ETF team has
continuously looked for opportunities for investors to benefit from
the growth of our products. With ZEB, we are recognizing the
success of the largest Canadian bank ETF, built with an
easy-to-understand equal weight strategy. Canadian banks are a core
holding in investors' portfolios and deliver both dividend yield
and market growth, where we saw record net subscriptions in
July 2021," said Mark Raes, Head of Product, BMO Global Asset
Management Canada. "On ZMI, we are addressing investor demand for
all-in-one, easy-to-use income solutions. With these fee
reductions, we are continuing on our path of partnering with
investors and passing on savings to them."
Proposed Investment Objective Changes
BMOAM today also announced proposed changes to the investment
objectives (collectively the "Investment Objective Changes") of BMO
China Equity Index ETF ("ZCH") and BMO India Equity Index ETF
("ZID") to, among other things, add a responsible investment
overlay to the ETFs.
Subject to obtaining all necessary approvals BMOAM proposes to
change the investment objectives for each of ZCH and ZID, which
will result in corresponding other changes to the BMO ETFs,
including:
- Changing the names to BMO MSCI China ESG Leaders Index ETF and
BMO MSCI India ESG Leaders Index ETF
- Changing indexes to the MSCI China ESG Leaders Index and MSCI
India ESG Leaders Index
- Investing directly in local markets
- Lowering the annual management fees from 0.65 per cent to 0.60
per cent
"We are excited to have the opportunity to broaden these ETFs by
investing directly in local markets," commented Mr. Raes. "We also
recognize the investor demand for ESG solutions and are pleased to
extend our partnership with MSCI by tracking further indexes from
the well-known MSCI ESG Leaders suite."
If approved, the Investment Objective Change for ZCH will be
effective on or about December 3,
2021 and the Investment Objective Change for ZID will be
effective on or about December 13,
2021.
Approval from unitholders of ZCH and ZID will be sought at
special meetings to be held on November 5,
2021.
In advance of the meetings, a notice-and-access document will be
sent to unitholders of record as at September 20, 2021. The notice-and-access
document will describe the various ways in which securityholders
can obtain a copy of a management information circular that
contains full details of the proposed investment objective changes.
The notice-and-access document and management information circular
will also be available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
Further information about BMO ETFs can be found at
www.bmo.com/etfs.
The BMO ETFs or securities referred to herein are not sponsored,
endorsed or promoted by MSCI Inc. ("MSCI"), and MSCI bears no
liability with respect to any such BMO ETFs or securities or any
index on which such BMO ETFs or securities are based. The
prospectus of the BMO ETFs contains a more detailed description of
the limited relationship MSCI has with BMO Asset Management Inc.
and any related BMO ETFs.
®/™Registered trademarks/trademark of Bank
of Montreal, used under licence.
|
Commissions, management fees and expenses all may be associated
with investments in exchange traded funds. Please read the ETF
Facts or prospectus of the BMO ETFs before investing. Exchange
traded funds are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and
past performance may not be repeated.
For a summary of the risks of an investment in the BMO ETFs,
please see the specific risks set out in the BMO ETF's
prospectus. BMO ETFs trade like stocks, fluctuate in market
value and may trade at a discount to their net asset value, which
may increase the risk of loss. Distributions are not guaranteed and
are subject to change and/or elimination.
BMO ETFs are managed by BMO Asset Management Inc., which is an
investment fund manager and a portfolio manager, and a separate
legal entity from Bank of Montreal.
About BMO Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs)
BMO Exchange
Traded Funds has been a leading ETF provider
in Canada for more than 11 years, with over 100
strategies, over 25 per cent market share
in Canada1, and $80.6 billion in assets
under management. BMO ETFs are designed to stay ahead of market
trends and provide compelling solutions to help advisors and
investors. This includes a comprehensive suite of ETFs developed
in Canada for Canadians, such as cost effective core
equity ETFs following market leading indexes, and a broad range of
fixed income ETFs; solution-based ETFs responding to client demand;
and innovation with smart beta ETFs, as well as combining active
and passive investing with ETF series of active mutual funds.
About BMO Financial Group
Serving customers for
200 years and counting, BMO is a highly diversified financial
services provider - the 8th largest bank, by assets, in North
America. With total assets of $950 billion as
of April 30, 2021, and a team of diverse and highly engaged
employees, BMO provides a broad range of personal and commercial
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,
BMO Wealth Management and BMO Capital Markets.
SOURCE BMO Financial Group