BMO Investments Inc. Announces New Mutual Fund Series

• 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

Media Contact: Colleen Hamilton, Toronto, [email protected], [phone]; Marie-Catherine Noël, [email protected], 514-877-8224