- Also announces proposed fund merger, proposed investment
objective changes, and management fee and administration fee
reductions
TORONTO, Aug. 26, 2021 /CNW/ - BMO Investments Inc.
("BMOII"), the manager of the BMO Mutual Funds, announced today the
qualification of Series F and Series F6 securities for the
following funds on or about August 27,
2021:
Fund
|
Series
|
BMO Ascent™ Balanced
Portfolio
|
Series F6
|
BMO Ascent™
Conservative Portfolio
|
Series F6
|
BMO Ascent™ Equity
Growth Portfolio
|
Series F6
|
BMO Ascent™ Growth
Portfolio
|
Series F6
|
BMO Ascent™ Income
Portfolio
|
Series F6
|
BMO Asset Allocation
Fund
|
Series F6
|
BMO Balanced ETF
Portfolio Class
|
Series F6
|
BMO Canadian Large
Cap Equity Fund
|
Series F6
|
BMO Diversified
Income Portfolio
|
Series F6
|
BMO Equity Growth ETF
Portfolio Class
|
Series F6
|
BMO Fixed Income ETF
Portfolio
|
Series F6
|
BMO
FundSelect® Balanced Portfolio
|
Series F
|
BMO
FundSelect® Equity Growth Portfolio
|
Series F
|
BMO
FundSelect® Growth Portfolio
|
Series F
|
BMO
FundSelect® Income Portfolio
|
Series F
|
BMO Global Low
Volatility ETF Class
|
Series F6
|
BMO Global Monthly
Income Fund
|
Series F
Series F6
|
BMO Growth and Income
Fund
|
Series F6
|
BMO Growth ETF
Portfolio Class
|
Series F6
|
BMO Income ETF
Portfolio Class
|
Series F6
|
BMO Monthly High
Income Fund II
|
Series F6
|
BMO
SelectClass® Balanced Portfolio
|
Series F6
|
BMO
SelectClass® Equity Growth Portfolio
|
Series F6
|
BMO
SelectClass® Growth Portfolio
|
Series F6
|
BMO
SelectClass® Income Portfolio
|
Series F6
|
BMO
SelectTrust® Fixed Income Portfolio
|
Series F6
|
BMO Target Education
2025 Portfolio
|
Series F
|
BMO Target Education
2030 Portfolio
|
Series F
|
BMO Target Education
2035 Portfolio
|
Series F
|
BMO Target Education
2040 Portfolio
|
Series F
|
BMO Target Education
Income Portfolio
|
Series F
|
BMO U.S. Dollar
Equity Index Fund
|
Series F
|
BMO U.S. Dollar Money
Market Fund
|
Series F
|
BMO U.S. Dollar
Monthly Income Fund
|
Series F6
|
Proposed Merger
BMOII also announced today a proposal to merge (the "Merger"),
subject to obtaining all necessary securityholder and regulatory
approvals, BMO Global Growth & Income Fund (the "Terminating
Fund") into BMO Global Equity Fund (the "Continuing Fund").
If approved, the Merger will be effective on or about
November 19, 2021 (the "Effective
Date").
Approval from securityholders of the Terminating Fund will be
sought at a special meeting to be held on or about November 5, 2021. If securityholders of the
Series F units of the Terminating Fund do not approve the Merger,
the Manager proposes to terminate the Series F units of the
Terminating Fund and redeem such units prior to the Effective
Date.
In advance of the meetings, a notice-and-access document will be
sent to securityholders 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 merger. The notice-and-access document and
management information circular will also be available on SEDAR at
www.sedar.com.
The merger of the Terminating Fund into the Continuing Fund will
be effected on a tax-deferred basis for securityholders.
If the proposed Merger is approved, it will be implemented by
exchanging securities of each series of the Terminating Fund for
securities of the equivalent series of the Continuing Fund in the
same currency, having a net asset value on the Effective Date equal
to the net asset value of the securities tendered. The Terminating
Fund will be wound up as soon as reasonably possible following its
Merger.
The Independent Review Committee of the Terminating Fund and the
Continuing Fund has reviewed the potential conflict of interest
matters related to the proposed Merger and has provided BMOII with
a positive recommendation for the Merger after determining that, if
implemented, the Merger would achieve a fair and reasonable result
for the Terminating Fund and the Continuing Fund.
Purchases of, and switches into, securities of the Terminating
Fund will be suspended at the close of business on the third
business day prior to the Effective Date, except for purchases made
pursuant to pre-established continuous savings plans which will be
suspended as of the close of business on the fifth business day
immediately preceding the Effective Date.
Securityholders of the Terminating Fund will have the right to
redeem securities of, or make switches out of, the Terminating Fund
up to the close of business on the business day immediately before
the Effective Date.
Investment Objective Changes
BMOII today also announced proposed changes to the investment
objectives (each, an "Investment Objective Change" and
collectively, the "Investment Objective Changes") of BMO Global
Multi-Sector Bond Fund and BMO Global Balanced Fund to
add a responsible investment approach to their investment
objectives.
Subject to obtaining all necessary approvals, including any
approvals with respect to the ETF Series of BMO Global Multi-Sector
Bond Fund, BMOII proposes to change the investment objectives for
each of BMO Global Multi-Sector Bond Fund and BMO Global
Balanced Fund, which will result in corresponding other changes to
the funds, including:
- Changes to the investment strategies to reflect a responsible
investment approach; and
- Changing the names of the funds to BMO Sustainable Global
Multi-Sector Bond Fund and BMO Sustainable Global Balanced Fund,
respectively.
If approved for each fund, the applicable Investment Objective
Change will be effective on or about November 19, 2021.
Approval from unitholders of BMO Global Multi-Sector Bond
Fund and BMO Global Balanced Fund will be sought at
special meetings to be held on or about 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.
Fee Reduction and U.S. Dollar Purchase
Option for BMO Global Equity Fund
The management fee applicable to Series A, Advisor Series and
Series T6 securities of BMO Global Equity Fund will be reduced
effective on or about November 19,
2021 to facilitate the Merger as follows:
Series of
Securities of
BMO Global Equity
Fund
|
Current
Annual
Management
Fee
|
New Annual
Management Fee
|
Series A
|
1.85%
|
1.60%
|
Advisor
Series
|
1.85%
|
1.60%
|
Series T6
|
1.85%
|
1.60%
|
The administration fee for BMO Global Equity Fund will also be
reduced from 0.30 per cent to 0.25 per cent effective on or about
November 19, 2021.
Prior to November 19, 2021, Series
T6, Advisor Series and Series F securities of BMO Global Equity
Fund will also be available for purchase in U.S. dollars.
For more information about BMO Mutual Funds, please visit
www.bmo.com/mutualfunds.
®/™Registered trademarks/trademark of Bank of
Montreal, used under licence.
BMO Global Asset Management is a brand name that comprises BMO
Asset Management Inc., BMO Investments Inc., BMO Asset Management
Corp., BMO Asset Management Limited and BMO's specialized
investment management firms.
BMO Mutual Funds are managed by BMO Investments Inc., which is
an investment fund manager and a separate legal entity from Bank of
Montreal.
Commissions, trailing commissions (if applicable), management
fees and expenses all may be associated with mutual fund
investments. Please read the fund facts or the simplified
prospectus of the relevant mutual fund before investing.
Mutual funds are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and
past performance may not be repeated. Distributions are not
guaranteed and are subject to change and/or elimination. For a
summary of the risks of an investment in BMO Mutual Funds, please
see the specific risks set out in the simplified
prospectus.
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
$971 billion as of July 31, 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