Legal

Important Legal Notices to All Users

If you access or use this Website (the "Website"), you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to accept and be bound by the terms of the Legal Notices (the "Legal Notices") set out below. If you do not accept any of the terms below, please discontinue use of this Website, and any of its associated pages.

Legal Notices:

A. BMO Investments Inc.

BMO Investments Inc. ("BMO Investments") is a financial services firm and separate wholly-owned subsidiary of the Bank of Montreal. BMO Investments is currently registered as a "mutual fund dealer" or its equivalent with securities regulators in all provinces and territories across Canada. BMO Investments is also registered as an "investment fund manager" in Ontario, Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador. BMO Investments is a member of the Investment Funds Institute of Canada and a member of the Mutual Fund Dealers' Association of Canada. BMO Investments is a registered trade-mark of the Bank of Montreal.

The BMO Financial Group ("BMO") includes the Bank of Montreal and its subsidiaries and affiliates who provide deposit, investment, loan, securities trust, insurance and other products or services. Subsidiaries and affiliates include BMO Investments, BMO InvestorLine Inc., BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc., BMO Nesbitt Burns Ltee/Ltd., BMO Asset Management Inc. and BMO Investment Services

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B. Mutual Funds and Asset Allocation Disclosure

BMO Mutual Funds, BMO CustomSelect, BMO Intuition, BMO Investor Profiler and BMO MatchMaker Strategic Investment Portfolios, are all offered by BMO Investments Inc., a financial services firm and a wholly owned subsidiary of Bank of Montreal. Commissions, trailing commissions, management fees and expenses all may be associated with mutual fund investments. Please read the prospectus of the funds in which investments may be made before investing. The indicated rates of returns for the funds, are the historical annual compounded total returns including changes in unit value and reinvestment of all distributions and do not take into account sales, redemption, distribution or optional charges or income taxes payable by any unit holder that would have reduced returns. The indicated rates of return for the BMO CustomSelect, BMO Intuition, BMO Investor Profiler and BMO MatchMaker Strategic Investment Portfolios are their historical annual compounded total returns assuming the investment strategy recommended by the asset allocation service is used. The returns are after the deduction of the fees and charges in respect of the service and are based on the returns of the underlying funds. Mutual funds are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated. Units of the mutual funds are not insured by the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Régie de l'assurance-dépôts du Québec or any other government deposit insurer, and are not guaranteed by Bank of Montreal.

BMO Security Funds (additional information): There can be no assurances that the fund will be able to maintain its net asset value per security at a constant amount or that the full amount of your investment in the fund will be returned to you.

BMO Global Tax Advantage Funds (additional information): These funds are classes of BMO Global Tax Advantage Funds Inc., a mutual fund corporation managed by BMO Investments Inc. For details on how these funds are structured to allow transfers without the realization of capital gains, please read prospectus.

BMO LifeStage Plus Funds (additional information): BMO LifeStage Plus Funds are designed for investors with long-term investment horizons who are prepared to hold the units of the fund to the Target End Date. They are not designed as a short-term investment. In order to receive the Guaranteed Maturity Amount, investors must remain invested in the fund until the fund's Target End Date. If an investor redeems any of his or her units prior to the fund's Target End Date, the investor will receive the price per unit based on the fund's net asset value next determined by BMO Investments' receipt of their redemption request, which may be less than the Guaranteed Maturity Amount. Please read prospectus before investing and for important information on the Guaranteed Maturity Amount.

BMO Monthly Dividend Fund Ltd. is a mutual fund corporation managed by BMO Investments.

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C. Borrowing Money to Buy Securities (Leveraging)

Risks of Borrowing for Purchasing Investments

Mutual funds units and other securities may be purchased using available cash, or a combination of cash and borrowed money. If cash is used to pay for the purchase in full, the percentage gain or loss will equal the percentage increase or decrease in the value of the securities. The purchase of securities using borrowed money magnifies the gain or loss on the cash invested. This effect is called leveraging.

For example, if $100,000 of mutual fund units are purchased and paid for with $25,000 from available cash and $75,000 from borrowings, and the value of the fund units declines by 10% to $90,000, your equity interest (the difference between the value of the securities and the amount borrowed) has declined by 40%, i.e., from $25,000 to $15,000.

It is important that an investor proposing to borrow for the purchase of securities be aware that a purchase with borrowed monies involves greater risk than a purchase using cash resources only.

To what extent a purchase involves undue risk is a determination to be made by each purchaser and will vary depending on the circumstances of the purchaser and the securities purchased.

Financial Resources Required for Investments Purchased with Borrowed Funds

It is also important that the investor be aware of the terms of a loan secured by securities. The lender may require that the amount outstanding on the loan not rise above an agreed percentage of the market value of the securities. Should this occur, the borrower must pay down the loan or sell the securities so as to return the loan to the agreed percentage relationship. In our example above, the lender may require that the loan not exceed 75% of the market value of the mutual fund units. On a decline in value of the units to $90,000 the borrower must reduce the loan to $67,500 (75% of $90,000). If the borrower does not have cash available, the borrower must sell units at a loss to provide money to reduce the loan.

Money is, of course, also required to pay interest on the loan. Under these circumstances, investors who use borrowed funds to purchase their investment are advised to have adequate financial resources available both to pay interest, and also to reduce the loan if borrowing arrangements require such a payment.

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D. Available Only Where Permitted by Law

Products and services of BMO Investments are only offered in jurisdictions where they may be lawfully offered for sale. All products and services are subject to the terms of each and every applicable agreement. It is important to note that not all products, services and information are available in all jurisdictions outside Canada. The information contained in this Website does not constitute an offer or solicitation by anyone to buy or sell any currency, investment fund or other product, service or information to anyone in any jurisdiction in which an offer or solicitation is not authorized or cannot be legally made or to any person to whom it is unlawful to make an offer of solicitation. Prospective investors who are not resident in Canada should consult with their financial advisor to determine if these securities may lawfully be sold in their jurisdiction.

If you choose to access this Website from outside of Canada, you do so on your own initiative and are responsible for compliance with applicable local, national or international laws. You may not use or export or re-export any of the information contained in this Website or copy any adaptation in violation of any applicable laws or regulations, including export laws and regulations of Canada in force from time to time.

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E. Use of Website

BMO is not responsible in any manner and will not be liable to you or anyone else for any damages whatsoever (including direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary or punitive damages, and without limitation, lost revenues or profits or loss of prospective economic advantage) arising out of your use or inability to make use of this Website or the information therein, and/or any web browser, including any damages you may suffer if you transmit confidential or sensitive information to us or if we communicate such information to you at your request over the Internet. Furthermore, we are not liable for any action or decision made by you in reliance on this Website or the information contained therein, or any unauthorized use or reproduction of the Website or the information, even if BMO has been advised of the possibility of damages. Links to other websites from this Website are for convenience only. No endorsement of any third party products, services or information is expressed or implied by any information, material or content referred to or included on, or linked from or to this Website.

All products and services of BMO are subject to the terms and conditions of the applicable agreements governing their use. These Legal Notices are to be read by you together with any terms, conditions or disclaimers provided in the pages of this Website. In the event of any conflict, the terms provided in the pages of the Website will govern.

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F. Information

Information provided by BMO and other sources on this Website is believed to be accurate and reliable when placed on this Website, but we cannot guarantee that it is accurate or complete or current at all times. Information on this Website is for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide financial, legal, accounting or tax advice and should not be relied upon in that regard. Many factors relating to your particular circumstances that are unknown to us may affect the applicability of any statement or comment that we make on this Website. You should not act or rely on the information in this Website without seeking the advice of your appropriate professional advisors.

We strive to keep the rates and fees posted at this site current. Yet rates, fees and other information posted on this Website are subject to change at any time without notice to users, and the posted rates and fees on the Website may not immediately reflect such changes. Please consult the BMO Investments office in your jurisdiction for complete up to date information on products and services. Changes may be made to these Legal Notices at any time also without warning, by updating this posting. As a user, you agree to review these Legal Notices regularly, and your continued access or use of this Website will mean that you agree to any changes.

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G. Trade-Marks and Copyrights

Certain names, words, titles, phrases, logos, icons, graphics or designs or other content in the pages of this Website may constitute trade names, registered or unregistered trade-marks or service-marks ("Trade-marks") of the members of BMO, including BMO Investments or of third parties and are used under licence by BMO Investments or the other members of BMO. However, the display of trade-marks on pages of this Website does not imply that any licence has been granted to any third party. Trade-marks may be registered in Canada and in other countries.

® "BMO (M Roundel)", "BMO", "MatchMaker", "Intuition" and "CustomSelect" are registered trade-marks of the Bank of Montreal, used under licence.
™ The phrase "Investment Solutions for All of Us" is a trade-mark of the Bank of Montreal, used under licence.

All information in this Website is protected under the copyright laws of Canada and other countries. Users of this Website shall be entitled to copy any information for their own personal use but may not republish or reproduce any such information in any manner, including electronic reproduction by "uploading" or "downloading", without the prior written consent of the Bank or BMO Investments. Otherwise, no one has permission to copy, redistribute, reproduce or republish, store in any medium, re-transmit, modify or make public or commercial use of, in any form, any information found in the pages of this Website.

Any unauthorized downloading, re-transmission, or other copying or modification of trade-marks or other contents of this Website may be a violation of statutory or common law rights which could subject the violator to legal action.

Nothing contained in this section shall be construed as conferring any right or licence under any copyright of BMO Investments, BMO, or any other person who owns the copyright in the content provided on this Website.

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H. No Endorsements (including links and software)

Links to other websites or references to advice, opinions, information, products, services or publications other than those of BMO Investments at this Website do not imply the expressed or implied endorsement or approval of such websites, advice, opinions, information, products, services or publications by BMO Investments.

Links from or to websites outside of this Website are intended for convenience only. BMO does not review, approve, endorse or control, and is not responsible for any sites linked from or to this Website, the content of those sites, the third parties named therein, or their products and services. Linking to any other site is at your own risk, and BMO will not be responsible or liable for any damages in connection with linking. Links to downloadable software sites are for convenience only and BMO is not responsible or liable for any difficulties associated with downloading the software. While every effort is made to ensure that all software provided at this Website, or at a link from this Website, is suitable for use on a wide variety of computer systems, you should take reasonable and appropriate precautions to scan for computer viruses and ensure compatibility of the software with your specific computer system. Use of any downloaded software is governed by the terms of licence agreement, if any, which accompanies or is provided with the software.

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I. Confidentiality (Internet and E-mail)

Confidentiality and security of information over the Internet is not possible at this time. BMO Investments cannot ensure the privacy and authenticity of any information or instructions you send to us or that we send to you over the Internet. BMO Investments will not be responsible for any damages you may incur if you communicate confidential information to us over the Internet or if we communicate such information to you at your request.

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J. No Warranties

BMO and its officers, directors, employees or agents provide the Website on an "as is, where is" basis and do not make any express or implied warranties, representations, endorsements or conditions with respect to the Website or the information contained therein, including without limitation, warranties as to merchantability, operation, non-infringement, usefulness, completeness, accuracy, timeliness, reliability and fitness for a particular purpose. Further, BMO does not represent or warrant that the Website will be available and meet your requirements, that access will be uninterrupted, that there will be no delays, failures, errors (including typographical) or omissions or loss of transmitted information, that no viruses or other contaminating or destructive properties will be transmitted or that no damage will occur to your computer system. You have the sole responsibility for adequate protection and backup of data and/or equipment and to take reasonable and appropriate precautions to scan for viruses or other destructive properties. Some jurisdictions do not allow for the exclusion of implied warranties, so the above may not apply to you.

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K. Jurisdiction

This Website is administered by BMO Investments from its offices in Canada. This Website will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Province of Ontario and the laws of Canada applicable therein, without giving effect to any principles of conflicts of laws. All disputes, controversies or Claims arising out of or in connection with this Website shall be submitted to and be subject to the jurisdiction of the Courts of the Province of Ontario. As a user, you submit and attorn to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of the Province of Ontario to finally adjudicate or determine any suit, action, or proceeding arising out of or in connection with this Website.

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L. Use of Intellectual Property Rights

BMO Investments either owns the intellectual property rights in the underlying HTML, text, images, audio clips, video clips, software and other content that is made available to you on our Website, or has obtained the permission of the owner of the intellectual property in such content to use the content on our website.

BMO Investments grants you its limited permission to display on your computer, print, download and use the underlying HTML, text, images, audio clips, video clips, software and other content that is made available to you on our Website, for non-commercial, personal or educational purposes only, provided that:

  1. you do not modify any such content; and
  2. you include with and display on each copy of such content the associated copyright notice and this intellectual property notice.

No other use is permitted. Without limiting the foregoing, you may not:

  1. make any commercial use of such content;
  2. include such content in or with any product that you create or distribute; or
  3. copy such content onto your or any other person's web page.

Notwithstanding the above, nothing contained in this Section shall be construed as conferring any right or licence under any copyright of BMO Investments or any other person who owns the copyright in the content provided on our Website.

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M. Unclaimed Accounts of BC Residents

Currently three provinces, British Columbia, Quebec and Alberta have enacted legislation requiring certain organizations including mutual fund companies to have policies and procedures in place to permit investors or their agents to locate unclaimed property that we may be holding. Unclaimed property would include mutual fund units held in an account with us or uncashed cheques for distributions/dividends paid by a fund or proceeds on redemption of a fund.

Property would be deemed "unclaimed" if one or more of the following situations occur:

  1. A communication or cheque has been mailed to a client for whom we are holding an account and has been returned as "undeliverable".
  2. A communication has been sent to a client for whom we are holding an account requesting that an action be taken by a specified date, and no action has been taken.
  3. Three years have passed since a cheque was sent to a client for whom we are holding an account and the cheque has not been cashed.
  4. For Quebec resident accounts, where BMO Investments is the dealer of record, no activity in the account for three years, and no other contact by the client with BMO Investments.
  5. The value of the unclaimed property is $50.00 or more for owners of accounts residing in the province of British Columbia.
  6. The value of the unclaimed property is $100.00 or more for owners of accounts residing in the province of Quebec.
  7. The value of the unclaimed property is $250.00 or more for owners of accounts residing in the province of Alberta.

Once an account is deemed unclaimed, BMO Investments will take reasonable efforts to locate the investor by:

BMO Investments maintains a list of unclaimed property owners whom we have been unable to contact. If you would like to request a search of our database, please contact BMO Investment Centre at 1-800-665-7700.

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N. BMO Mutual Funds Internet and Electronic Trading Agreement

In this Agreement, the terms you, your, yourself and yours refer to you, the account holder. The terms BMO Mutual Funds, we, us and our refer to BMO Investments, and its directors, employees and agents. In consideration of us giving you access to BMO Mutual Funds Internet and Electronic Trading Services, you agree to the following:

  1. Definition of terms - In this Agreement:

    1. "Access Device" means any device, such as a telephone, cellular phone, portable phone, personal computer, intelligent terminal or similar device, that you use to access the Services.
    2. "Account" means your BMO Mutual Funds account with BMO Investments.
    3. "Password" means the personal password selected by you for access to the Services using the Access Device.
    4. "Investment" means mutual funds, term deposits or other investments.
    5. "Services" means the BMO Mutual Funds Internet and Electronic Trading Services and any and all related services, and the information, documents, software and content thereof.
    6. "Transaction Request(s)" means any buy, sell, or switch or other request to deal in any Investment that is created and transmitted to BMO Investments. Transaction Request also includes any request to change your personal information, including your investment objectives, time horizon or risk tolerance.

  2. The Services

    Your first use of any of the Services will act as your acceptance of an agreement to be bound by the terms and conditions herein (as may be amended from time to time) and your acceptance of any other term, condition or restriction applicable in respect of the Services. BMO Investments may change the terms and conditions of use at any time without notice by updating this Agreement. You agree to review the terms of this Agreement periodically and your continued access to or use of the Services will constitute your agreement to any such changes.

  3. Passwords and Password Protection

    A Password is required to access your account information and to submit a trade for your account. You are responsible for creating your Password, as well as for keeping it confidential and ensuring that it is used only by yourself or by parties which are legally authorized to do so (e.g., a joint accountholder or a person authorized by your power of attorney). You agree to avoid selecting an obvious Password, such as a street address, date of birth, or telephone number, and you agree to change your Password on a regular basis to reduce the potential for unauthorized use.

    You agree to be solely responsible for maintaining the security of your Password and that you will be liable for all costs, charges and losses incurred through the use of your Password. We will not be responsible for any unauthorized access to your accounts through your Password.

    You agree that you will advise us immediately if you become aware of any unauthorized use of your Password. We may, without notice, terminate this agreement if we believe that your Password is being used inappropriately or without authorization, or if there is any unusual activity in your account.

  4. Transaction Requests

    You acknowledge and agree that:

    1. You hereby authorize us to accept all Transaction Requests from your Account using the Services and you agree that you are solely responsible for the accuracy of your Transaction Requests;
    2. BMO Investments may exercise its sole discretion in acting on any Transaction Requests placed through use of your Password, whether the Transaction Request was placed by you, by someone else or in error, and will not incur any liability by reason of acting or failing to act in respect of such Transaction Requests;
    3. BMO Investments has the right to determine, at its discretion, whether or not any Transaction Request is acceptable and whether to process any Transaction Request;
    4. Transaction Requests may not be processed if your account is not in good standing, if you do not have sufficient funds to complete the transaction or if the request is not consistent with your stated investment objectives and risk profile;
    5. Prior to processing, all Transaction Requests must be reviewed and approved by one of our qualified representatives. If your request is not approved for any reason, it may be cancelled. In certain circumstances, we may request additional confirmation of a Transaction Request before processing;
    6. Any request to buy, switch or redeem BMO mutual fund units that is submitted and approved before 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time on a business day will be processed at that day's unit price. Any requests received or approved after 4:00 p.m. (ET), will be processed at the next business day's price. Requests for transactions which relate to third-party mutual funds or funds that are to be held in BMO CustomSelect portfolios that are submitted or approved after 3:00 p.m. (ET), or on a non-business day, will generally be processed at the next business day's price.
    7. In order to allow us to provide you with these Services, you agree to permit BMO Investments to access and share client information about you held within the BMO Financial Group; and
    8. For mutual protection, BMO Investments keeps records of all Transaction Requests received in our database. These records will be conclusive and binding on you in any disputes, including any legal proceedings, as evidence of your account transactions using the Services, in the absence of clear proof that our records are erroneous or incomplete.

    You must advise us immediately if you: placed a Transaction Request, but did not receive a written confirmation; placed an Transaction Request, but received an inaccurate written confirmation; or received a written confirmation for a request that you did not make.

  5. Interruptions in Service

    The Services may periodically be unavailable to allow for maintenance or updates or other reasonable cause. We will not be responsible for any service interruptions due to negligence (except gross negligence), omission, or any forces beyond our control, including, but not limited to, acts or omissions of suppliers, failure of electronic or mechanical equipment or communication lines, connection problems, theft, power failure, and equipment or software problems.

  6. Liability Limitations

    BMO Investments will not be liable to you or anyone else for any damages, whether direct or indirect, consequential or special, exemplary or punitive losses, costs or injury suffered by you, or by others, related to the use of the Services or cancellation of any or all of the Services by us.

  7. Client Information

    You agree that all personal information that you provide to us (including your investment objectives, time horizon, risk tolerance, address, telephone number and e-mail address) is complete, true and up to date. You also agree to advise us of any changes in your personal information as soon as the change occurs.

  8. Available Only Where Permitted by Law

    The Services are only available in jurisdictions where they may legally be offered.

  9. Cancellation of Service/Restrictions

    Any restrictions which are currently on your account will also apply to your use of the Services. Certain types of accounts may be restricted from using the Services. We may modify or cancel any or all Services at any time without notice to you. We will advise you of any such changes by notice in writing or via the Internet. Your continued use of the Services after the effective date of any such amendments shall constitute for all purposes your agreement and consent to any such amendments.

  10. Termination

    BMO Investments may terminate this Agreement at any time without notice. BMO Investments will have no liability for any loss or inconvenience that may result. The obligations described above relating to your Passwords and Transaction Requests will survive the termination of this Agreement.

  11. Legal Notices

    You acknowledge that you have read, understand and agree to accept and be bound by the terms of the legal notices incorporated by reference herein.

  12. General

    This Agreement is in addition to, and not in substitution of, any other present or future agreement between you and BMO Investments If there is a conflict between this Agreement and your account agreement, this Agreement shall govern. In all other respects the terms of your account agreement shall also apply to this Agreement.

  13. Governing Law

    This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Province of Ontario and the federal laws of Canada applicable therein.

  14. Successors and Assigns

    This Agreement shall be binding on the respective successors and permitted assigns of the parties hereto.

  15. No Assignment

    You agree that you may not assign the rights and obligations hereunder without our prior written consent.

  16. Severability

    If any provision of this Agreement is held to be invalid or unenforceable, such invalidity or unenforceability shall attach only to such provision. The validity of the remainder of the Agreement shall not be affected.

  17. Language

    This Agreement has been drafted in the English language at the express request of the parties. Les parties ont exige que le present contrat soit redige en anglais.

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O. Notice on Securities Lending, Repurchase and Reverse Repurchase Transactions

Securities lending, as well as repurchase and reverse repurchase transactions, have recently been approved by securities regulators as strategies for investments by mutual funds. We are pleased to announce that BMO Investments has begun the process which will allow the BMO Mutual Funds to engage in these transactions.

Securities lending is the loan of securities owned by a fund through an authorized agent to a credit-worthy borrower for a negotiated fee. The borrower of the securities provides the fund with collateral – usually cash or qualified securities.

A repurchase transaction is the sale of securities owned by a fund to a third party for cash, while agreeing to buy back the same securities from the third party at a later date at a specified price.

A reverse repurchase transaction is the purchase of securities by a fund from a third party, while agreeing to sell the securities back to the third party at a later date at a specified price.

What are the advantages for unitholders?

The funds will receive fees for engaging in these transactions, which will enhance their returns and benefit investors. These strategies will be used from time to time subject to availability of willing and qualified parties and will be used in conjunction with the other strategies adopted by a fund in a manner considered most favourable to achieve that fund's investment objectives.

What are the risks and how will they be addressed?

There is a risk that the other party may not live up to its obligation under the transaction. In this case a fund could suffer a loss if the collateral held is worth less than the securities loaned or sold to the third party. The funds will only deal with reputable and well-established institutions who are subject to a stringent credit evaluation. The value of the collateral will always be higher (at least 2% higher) than the value of the securities loaned or sold. The collateral is monitored and reset daily. For the protection of the fund, the aggregate market value of all securities loaned and sold by a fund cannot exceed 50% of the total assets of the fund (not including the collateral held by the fund).

© BMO Investments Inc.

 

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