BMO Global Asset Management Receives Multiple Honours at 2018 Lipper Fund Awards

Mutual funds and ETFs both recognized

TORONTO, Nov. 8, 2018 /CNW/ - BMO Global Asset Management (BMO GAM) was recognized at the 2018 Thomson Reuters Lipper Fund Awards in Toronto, with three BMO Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) and three BMO Mutual Funds claiming top honours.

Every year, the Lipper Fund Awards honour top risk-adjusted performing funds while also recognizing fund families with high average scores for all funds overall or within a particular asset class.

BMO GAM received top honours for the following:

• BMO Global Energy Class Series A: Best Mutual Fund in the Energy Equity Space over three years
• BMO Global Energy Class Series A: Best Mutual Fund in the Energy Equity Space over five years
• BMO Tactical Dividend ETF Series A: Best Mutual Fund in the Tactical Balanced Space over three years
• BMO Equal Weight U.S. Banks Index ETF (ticker ZBK): Best ETF in the Financial Services Equity Space over three years
• BMO MSCI All Country World High Quality Index ETF (ticker ZGQ): Best ETF in the Global Equity Space over three years
• BMO NASDAQ 100 Equity Hedged to CAD Index ETF (ticker ZQQ): Best ETF in the U.S. Equity Space over five years

"Being recognized by Lipper is a testament to our team's hard work, and we are truly honoured," said Kevin Gopaul, Global Head of ETFs, BMO Global Asset Management. "We have no plans to slow down, and we will continue to anticipate the evolving needs of investors with a diverse and comprehensive suite of strong and innovative investment products."

For more information please visit: www.bmo.com/gam/ca

BMO ETFs are administered and managed by BMO Asset Management Inc., which is an investment fund manager and portfolio manager and a separate legal entity from Bank of Montreal.

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.

BMO Mutual Funds refers to certain mutual funds and/or series of mutual funds offered by BMO Investments Inc., a financial services firm and separate legal entity from Bank of Montreal.

Commissions, trailing commissions, management fees and expenses all may be associated with mutual fund investments. Please read the fund facts or prospectus of the mutual fund before investing. Mutual funds are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated.

BMO Global Asset Management is a brand name that comprises BMO Asset Management Inc., BMO Investments Inc., BMO Asset Management Corp. and BMO's specialized investment management firms.

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 $765 billion as of July 31, 2018, 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.

About The Lipper Fund Awards
The Lipper Fund Awards, granted annually, are part of the Thomson Reuters Awards for Excellence awarded by Lipper, Inc. and highlight funds that have excelled in delivering consistently strong risk-adjusted performance relative to their peers. The Lipper Fund Awards are based on the Lipper Ratings for Consistent Return, which is a risk-adjusted performance measure calculated over 36, 60 and 120 month periods. The highest 20% of funds in each category are named Lipper Leaders for Consistent Return and receive a score of 5, the next 20% receive a score of 4, the middle 20% are scored 3, the next 20% are scored 2 and the lowest 20% are scored 1. The highest Lipper Leader for Consistent Return in each category wins the Lipper Fund Award. Lipper Leader ratings change monthly. For more information, see www.lipperweb.com. Although Lipper makes reasonable efforts to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the data contained herein, the accuracy is not guaranteed by Lipper.

Lipper and Lipper Leader are trademarks of Lipper Limited, a Thomson Reuters Company, and have been licensed for use by the Bank of Montreal.

BMO Global Energy Class Series A was awarded the 2018 Lipper Fund Award in the Energy Equity category for the 3 year period ending July 31, 2018 out of a total of 16 funds. The corresponding Lipper Leader ratings of the fund for the same period are as follows:  5 (3 years), 5 (5 years), N/A (10 years).

BMO Global Energy Class Series A was awarded the 2018 Lipper Fund Award in the Energy Equity category for the five year period ending July 31, 2018 out of a total of 15 funds. The corresponding Lipper Leader ratings of the fund for the same period are as follows: 5 (3 years), 5 (5 years), N/A (10 years).

BMO Tactical Divided ETF Series A was awarded the 2018 Lipper Fund Award in the Canadian Tactical Balanced category for the three year period ending July 31, 2018 out of a total of 40 funds. The corresponding Lipper Leader ratings of the fund for the same period are as follows: 5 (3 years), N/A (5 years), N/A (10 years).

BMO Equal Weight U.S. Banks Index ETF (Ticker ZBK) Best ETF in the Financial Services Equity Space was awarded the 2018 Lipper Fund Award in the Financial Services Equity category for the three year period ending July 31, 2018 out of a total of 12 funds. The corresponding Lipper Leader ratings of the fund for the same period are as follows: 5 (3 years), 2 (5 years), N/A (10 years).

BMO MSCI All Country World High Quality Index ETF (Ticker ZGQ) was awarded the 2018 Lipper Fund Award in the Global Equity category for the three year period ending July 31, 2018 out of a total of 11 funds. The corresponding Lipper Leader ratings of the fund for the same period are as follows:  5 (3 years), N/A (5 years), N/A (10 years).

BMO NASDAQ 100 Equity Hedged to CAD Index ETF (Ticker ZQQ) was awarded the 2018 Lipper Fund Award in the US Equity category for the five year period ending July 31, 2018 out of a total of 26 funds. The corresponding Lipper Leader ratings of the fund for the same period are as follows: 5 (3 years), 5 (5 years), N/A (10 years).

The exchange traded funds or securities referred to herein are not sponsored, endorsed or promoted by MSCI, and MSCI bears no liability with respect to any such funds or securities or any index on which such funds or securities are based. The prospectus contains a more detailed description of the limited relationship MSCI has with BMO Asset Management Inc. and any related funds.

Nasdaq-100®, is a registered trademark of The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. (which with its affiliates is referred to as the "Corporations") and are licensed for use by BMO Asset Management Inc. The BMO Nasdaq 100 Equity Hedged to CAD Index ETF has not been passed on by the Corporations as to its legality or suitability and is not issued, endorsed, sold, or promoted by the Corporations. THE CORPORATIONS MAKE NO WARRANTIES AND BEAR NO LIABILITY WITH RESPECT TO The BMO Nasdaq 100 Equity Hedged to CAD Index ETF.

SOURCE BMO Financial Group

Media Contacts: Amanda Robinson, Toronto, [email protected], [phone]; Valérie Doucet, Montreal, [email protected], [phone]