BMO to extend Australian footprint



North American-based investment manager BMO Financial Group has announced it will be extending its footprint in Australia.
The company announced this week that it will be establishing a base for its institutional asset management business in Melbourne, operating as BMO Global Asset Management.
The announcement said the proposed office would focus on sales and serving the needs of Australian institutional investors.
BMO Financial Group has had a presence in Australia since 2004, when BMO Capital Markets Limited opened a representative office in Melbourne offering investment and corporate banking services to global clients doing business in the Asia Pacific region.
Commenting on the move, BMO Financial Group chief executive officer, Private Client Group, Gilles Ouellett said the company believed that with its growing presence in the Asia Pacific it could offer current and potential clients more investment options and easier access to its global network and expertise.
"Australians have more money invested in managed funds per capita than any other economy so there's tremendous upside for our asset management business in the region," BMO Global Asset Management co-chief executive, Barry McInerney said.
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