BMO Global Asset Management Recognized at Fundata FundGrade A+ Awards

• Nineteen BMO ETFs and mutual funds awarded A+ Rating for 2017

TORONTO, Jan. 26, 2018 /CNW/ - BMO Global Asset Management was honoured at last night's annual Fundata FundGrade A+ Awards in Toronto, where 19 BMO exchange traded funds (ETFs) and mutual funds were recognized for their 2017 performance.

The FundGrade A+ Awards recognize funds that have shown consistent, risk-adjusted performance in a calendar year.

The following BMO ETFs and mutual funds were awarded Fundata's A+ rating:

• BMO Short Corporate Bond Index ETF (Ticker: ZCS)
• BMO Long Corporate Bond Index ETF (Ticker: ZLC)
• BMO Mid Corporate Bond Index ETF (Ticker: ZCM)
• BMO Low Volatility Canadian Equity ETF (Ticker: ZLB)
• BMO US Dividend ETF (Ticker: ZDY)
• BMO Mid-Term US IG Corporate Bond Index ETF (Ticker: ZIC)
• BMO MSCI Europe High Quality Hedged to CAD Index ETF (Ticker: ZEQ)
• BMO Floating Rate High Yield ETF (Ticker: ZFH)
• BMO MSCI All Country World High Quality Index ETF (Ticker: ZGQ)
• BMO Mid Provincial Bond Index ETF (Ticker: ZMP)
• BMO US High Dividend Covered Call ETF (Ticker: ZWH)
• BMO Enterprise Fund Advisor Series
• BMO Tactical Dividend ETF Fund Series A
• BMO Target Education 2025 Portfolio Series A
• BMO Target Education 2030 Portfolio Series A
• BMO Emerging Markets Fund Series A
• BMO Resource Fund Series A
• BMO Target Education 2035 Portfolio Series A
• BMO Conservative ETF Portfolio Series A

"Having multiple ETFs and mutual funds honoured by Fundata demonstrates the quality and depth of our product shelf," said Kevin Gopaul, Head of BMO Global Asset Management Canada. "We're committed to providing investment products that best benefit investor portfolios, regardless of the product type, across traditional active mutual funds, ETFs with precise exposures, and solution based funds. Being recognized for both our active and passive funds is a testament to our commitment to offering a comprehensive suite of industry-leading funds to investors."

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

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About BMO Financial Group
Serving customers for 200 years and counting, BMO is a highly diversified financial services provider – the 8^th largest bank, by assets, in North America. With total assets of $710 billion as of October 31, 2017, and more than 45,000 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, Wealth Management and BMO Capital Markets.

About the Fundata FundGrade A + Rating
FundGrade A+® is used with permission from Fundata Canada Inc., all rights reserved. The annual FundGrade A+® Awards are presented by Fundata Canada Inc. to recognize the "best of the best" among Canadian investment funds. The FundGrade A+® calculation is supplemental to the monthly FundGrade ratings and is calculated at the end of each calendar year. The FundGrade rating system evaluates funds based on their risk-adjusted performance, measured by Sharpe Ratio, Sortino Ratio, and Information Ratio. The score for each ratio is calculated individually, covering all time periods from 2 to 10 years. The scores are then weighted equally in calculating a monthly FundGrade. The top 10% of funds earn an A Grade; the next 20% of funds earn a B Grade; the next 40% of funds earn a C Grade; the next 20% of funds receive a D Grade; and the lowest 10% of funds receive an E Grade. To be eligible, a fund must have received a FundGrade rating every month in the previous year. The FundGrade A+® uses a GPA-style calculation, where each monthly FundGrade from "A" to "E" receives a score from 4 to 0, respectively. A fund's average score for the year determines its GPA. Any fund with a GPA of 3.5 or greater is awarded a FundGrade A+® Award. For more information, see http://www.fundgradeawards.com. Although Fundata makes every effort to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the data contained herein, the accuracy is not guaranteed by Fundata. The FundGrade A+ Awards and the FundGrade Ratings being referenced are calculated based on comparisons of performance of investment funds within a specified category established by the CIFSC.

Fund Name	CIFSC Category	Fund Count	FundGrade Start Date	FundGrade Calc date
BMO Short Corporate Bond Index ETF (ZCS)	Canadian Short Term Fixed Income	142	1/31/2010	12/31/2017
BMO Long Corporate Bond Index ETF (ZLC)	Canadian Long Term Fixed Income	8	1/31/2011	12/31/2017
BMO Mid Corporate Bond Index ETF (ZCM)	Canadian Fixed Income	321	1/31/2011	12/31/2017
BMO Low Volatility Canadian Equity ETF (ZLB)	Canadian Equity	321	1/31/2012	12/31/2017
BMO U.S. Dividend ETF (ZDY)	U.S. Equity	703	1/31/2014	12/31/2017
BMO Mid-Term U.S. IG Corporate Bond Idx ETF (ZIC)	Global Fixed Income	159	1/31/2014	12/31/2017
BMO MSCI Europe High Qlty Hgd to CAD Idx ETF (ZEQ)	European Equity	92	1/31/2015	12/31/2017
BMO Floating Rate High Yield ETF (ZFH)	Floating Rate Loan	49	1/31/2015	12/31/2017
BMO MSCI ACWI High Quality Index ETF (ZGQ)	Global Equity	838	1/31/2015	12/31/2017
BMO Mid Provincial Bond Index ETF (ZMP)	Canadian Fixed Income	321	1/31/2014	12/31/2017
BMO US High Dividend Covered Call ETF (ZWH)	U.S. Equity	703	1/31/2015	12/31/2017
BMO Enterprise Fund Advisor Series	Canadian Small/Mid Cap Equity	136	1/31/2008	12/31/2017
BMO Tactical Dividend ETF Fund Series A	Tactical Balanced	146	1/31/2014	12/31/2017
BMO Target Education 2025 Portfolio Series A	2025 Target Date Portfolio	15	1/31/2015	12/31/2017
BMO Target Education 2030 Portfolio Series A	2030 Target Date Portfolio	15	1/31/2015	12/31/2017
BMO Emerging Markets Fund Series A	Emerging Markets Equity	113	1/31/2008	12/31/2017
BMO Resource Fund Series A	Natural Resources Equity	76	1/31/2008	12/31/2017
BMO Target Education 2035 Portfolio Series A	2035 Target Date Portfolio	8	1/31/2015	12/31/2017
BMO Conservative ETF Portfolio Series A	Global Fixed Income Balanced	220	1/31/2014	12/31/2017

Performance for the Investment Funds for the period ending December 31, 2017 is as follows: BMO Short Corporate Bond Index ETF (ZCS), 083% (1 year), 1.85 (3 years), 2.17% (5 years), and 2.89% since inception (October 20, 2009); BMO Long Corporate Bond Index ETF (ZLC), 8.17% (1 year), 4.97 (3 years), 5.27% (5 years), and 7.62% since inception (January 19, 2010); BMO Mid Corporate Bond Index ETF (ZCM), 2.02% (1 year), 3.11% (3 years),3.71% (5 years), and 5.05% since inception (January 19, 2010); BMO Low Volatility Canadian Equity ETF (ZLB), 11.09% (1 year), 8.84% (3 years), 14.88% (5 years) and 14.92% since inception (October 21, 2011); BMO U.S. Dividend ETF (ZDY), 6.71% (1 year),  14.70 (3 years), and 18.71% since inception (March 19, 2013); BMO Mid-Term U.S. IG Corporate Bond Index ETF (ZIC), -1.53% (1 year), 6.34% (3 years), and 7.53% since inception (March 19, 2013); BMO MSCI Europe High Quality Hedged to CAD Index ETF (ZEQ), 14.80% (1 year), 10.03% (3 years) and 10.32% since inception (February 10, 2014); BMO Floating Rate High Yield Index ETF (ZFH), 5.47% (1 year), 5.97 (3 years) and 5.41% since inception (February 10, 2014); BMO MSCI All Country World High Quality Index ETF (ZGQ), 19.69% (1 year), 14.23% (3 years) and 14.41% since inception (November 5, 2014); BMO Mid Provincial Bond Index ETF (ZMP), 0.96% (1 year), 2.35% (3 years) and 3.03% since inception (March 19, 2013); BMO U.S. High Dividend Covered Call  ETF (ZWH), 5.75% (1 year), 13.08% (3 years), and 14.81% since inception (February 10, 2014); BMO Enterprise Fund (Advisor Series), 3.11% (1 year), 7.23% (3 years), 15.09% (5 years), 10.08% (10 years); BMO Tactical Dividend ETF Fund (Series A), 7.24% (1 year), 5.59% (3 years), and 7.12% since inception (August 7, 2013); BMO Target Education 2025 Portfolio  (Series A),  6.97% (1 year),5.99% (3 years) and 5.84% since inception (November 13, 2014); BMO Target Education 2030 Portfolio (Series A),  8.68% (1 year), 6.95% (3 years) and 6.75% since inception (November 13, 2014); BMO Emerging Markets  Fund (Series A),  25.43% (1 year), 9.40% (3 years), 7.86% (5 years), 2.50% (10 years); BMO Resource Fund (Series A), -5.42%, (1 year), 4.54% (3 years), 2.07% (5 years), -0.27% (10 years);  BMO Target Education 2035 Portfolio (Series A), 9.83% (1 year), 7.38 (3 years) and 7.05% since inception (November 13, 2014); BMO Conservative ETF Portfolio (Series A), 3.97% (1 year), 4.43% (3 years) and 5.67% since inception (August 7, 2013).

BMO Mutual Funds are offered by BMO Investments Inc., a financial services firm and separate entity from Bank of Montreal. BMO ETFs are managed and administered by BMO Asset Management Inc., an investment fund manager and portfolio manager and separate legal entity from Bank of Montreal.  Commissions, management fees and expenses may be associated with investments in mutual funds and exchange traded funds (ETFs). Trailing commissions may be associated with investments in mutual funds. Please read the fund facts or prospectus before investing. The indicated rates of return are the historical annual compounded total returns including changes in unit value and reinvestment of all dividends or distributions and do not take into account sales, redemption, distribution or optional charges or income taxes payable by any unitholder that would have reduced returns. Mutual funds and ETFs are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated.

SOURCE BMO Financial Group

Media Contacts: Alicia Skrinjar, Toronto, [email protected], [phone]; Valérie Doucet, Montreal, [email protected], [phone]