(January 11 – 17:45 ET) – Bank of Montreal has sketched out a private client strategy for 2000 in its latest annual report.
The report, which was just filed with regulators, indicates that the bank intends to beef up its newly formed Private Client Group by “investing in people and technology.” BMO says that it plans to add to its retail advisor force, both by hiring new full-service advisors at Nesbitt, and by building a new “Investment Funds Specialist” sales force within the branch network.
Nesbitt’s new IAs will be “trained to provide retirement and investment planning/advice and insurance services.”
The new IFS sales force will “offer innovative new asset management products, proprietary deposit products and mutual funds, as well as selected third-party investment options.” (Today CIBC introduced its own plan to sell third-party funds in its branch network.)
According to the BMO report, branch-bound IAs will work closely with this new sales force to offer a full lineup of retail investment products. “Clients with the most complex situations will be served by a coordinated, dedicated team of financial professionals offering an integrated array of customized products and services, including investment management, brokerage, trust, estate, tax planning, financing and banking.”
BMO will focus on integrating all the parts of its retail investment group. The First Canadian Funds call centre will also expand its brief to include retail investment products. It also plans to integrate this with its electronic banking service.
BMO says it plans to integrate all the parts of the PCG and adopt a North American strategy. It will also rationalize its product offerings, technology and operations in search of efficiencies.