Speaking to International Adviser on Tuesday, BMO Global Asset Management head of UK retail and wholesale, Rob Thorpe, said the rebrand has repositioned the fund house as a “truly global business”.
The newly named BMO Global Asset Management has set its sights firmly on the pan-European market and, as well as making various appointments, is looking to open more offices in and around the Continent, including in Italy and Sweden.
“We are currently putting the distribution strategies in place and hiring individuals to help the business tap into those markets,” said Thorpe.
He said the business will soon be adding a number of ETFs to its fund range, which will be offered to clients in the UK initially, and then in wider Europe. The firm is also planning to distribute its Pyrford products into the retail space to help it expand its offering in new markets.
With the addition of F&C’s distribution and manufacturing capabilities in Europe, Thorpe said BMO now has a “multiple manufacturing capabilities” which extend to Canada and the United States.
Well-known and respected
He also highlighted that the F&C rebrand has taken place at a distribution level and not a fund level, with the distribution team now operating under the overarching BMO name, while the F&C funds remain intact from a brand perspective.
This means that in the UK consumer space, there will be no changes to the F&C funds and trusts, a decision derived from the fact that the funds are, as Thorpe explained, very well-known and respected among its retail customers.
The business has also recently opened an office in Paris to house the newly named BMO Real Estate Partners, the direct property investors that were formerly called F&C REIT.
BMO rebranded officially yesterday following an announcement in June.
In March last year, F&C shareholders unanimously agreed to allow the Bank of Montreal to buy the business through the bank’s subsidiary, BMO Global Asset Management.
