BMO Mutual Funds, Franklin Templeton Investments and RBC Direct Investing
outperform their peers to remain the best firms at providing service to their
clients.

TORONTO , Jan. 7 /CNW/ - After a tumultuous 2009 where no financial services company was unscathed by the unsettling of the economic climate, a handful of firms did fare better than the rest when it came to the service they provided to their clients.

Dalbar is pleased to announce the winners for its 2009 Mutual Fund Service Award and its 2009 Discount Brokerage Service Award. The end of the calendar year also marked the end of 12 consecutive months of client experience evaluations and testing; BMO Mutual Funds and Franklin Templeton Investments Corporation are the No. 1 leading service providers in the mutual fund industry and RBC Direct Investing Inc. is the No. 1 service provider in the discount brokerage industry. BMO Mutual Funds also ranked No. 1 in service delivered by their French-speaking centre. Each of the aforementioned firms is a past award recipient. This is the fourth consecutive year that BMO Mutual Funds is receiving the Award (for both English & French language service), Franklin Templeton Investments Corporation has won the Award for two consecutive years and RBC Direct Investing Inc. has won the Award for three consecutive years.

"Earning our Award in any given year is a challenge in itself but to do so after the year that we all faced was definitely no easy feat" says Anita Lo , Practice Leader, Dalbar Canada . "This past year, front line service representatives were expected to demonstrate more depth to their knowledge, respond faster to inquiries, and empathize with greater sincerity, so I applaud these three firms for protecting their track record as a result of their unwavering commitment to service excellence!" Anita continues to say, "2009 reinforced one important thing, a firm's front line staff who is responsible for delivering exceptional experiences over the telephone, through e-mail, and online will remain a firm's best line of defence in times of economic unrest."

    
     Top 3 Mutual Fund Companies Service Levels in Canada (English Service):

            ------------------------------------------------------
             Rank                 Firm                    Score
                                                        (Max 3.00)
            ------------------------------------------------------
               1   BMO Mutual Funds                        2.66
            ------------------------------------------------------
               1   Franklin Templeton Investments Corp.    2.66
            ------------------------------------------------------
               3   Manulife AIC                            2.49
            ------------------------------------------------------
                   Industry Average                        2.44
            ------------------------------------------------------

      Top 3 Mutual Fund Companies Service Levels in Canada (French Service):

            ------------------------------------------------------
             Rank                 Firm                    Score
                                                        (Max 3.00)
            ------------------------------------------------------
               1   BMO Mutual Funds                        2.71
            ------------------------------------------------------
               2   Franklin Templeton Investments Corp.    2.64
            ------------------------------------------------------
               3   RBC Asset Management Inc.               2.56
            ------------------------------------------------------
                   Industry Average                        2.49
            ------------------------------------------------------

         Top 3 Discount Brokerage Companies Service Levels in Canada

            ------------------------------------------------------
             Rank                 Firm                    Score
                                                        (Max 3.00)
            ------------------------------------------------------
               1   RBC Direct Investing Inc.               2.56
            ------------------------------------------------------
               2   BMO InvestorLine Inc.                   2.44
            ------------------------------------------------------
               2   TD Waterhouse Discount Brokerage        2.44
            ------------------------------------------------------
                   Industry Average                        2.45
            ------------------------------------------------------
    

These Awards are given to the firms placing first in Dalbar's year-end rankings, which are based on evaluations made over the calendar year measuring a company's quality of performance in product and procedural knowledge, professionalism, level of accommodation and their ability to expand and deepen relationships with clients. Online client experiences and e-mail effectiveness is also considered for Discount Brokerage Firms.

For interviews and questions concerning the rankings and trends, or to participate in the 2010 programs please contact Anita Lo at 416.777.1103 ext 223.

About Dalbar Inc.: As the world's premier financial services strategy and operations research firm, Dalbar, Inc. helps leading enterprises develop, build, and operate strong businesses that deliver sustained shareholder value growth. Dalbar's proprietary business design techniques, combined with its specialized industry knowledge and behavioural research expertise, enable companies to anticipate changes in customer priorities and the competitive environment, and then design their businesses and improve operations to seize opportunities created by those changes. The firm serves clients in the Americas and Europe .

For further information: Anita Lo, Practice Leader, [phone], ext 223, [email protected], www.dalbar.ca