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2017 Canadian discount brokerage review & 2018 preview

Silvio Stroescu, President, BMO InvestorLine
Silvio Stroescu, President, BMO InvestorLine

BMO InvestorLine

Effortless investing with BMO Wealth Management

By Silvio Stroescu, President, BMO InvestorLine

This year we continued our pursuit of redefining digital investing to inspire and empower Canadians to invest smarter.

With the future in our sights, we’ve made enhancements to BMO Wealth Management’s full spectrum of online services:  BMO InvestorLine Self-Directed for DIY investors, adviceDirect for investors who seek recommendations to inform their trading decisions, and BMO SmartFolio, a product of BMO Nesbitt Burns, for Canadians who prefer to have their portfolios managed by our experts.

Recent enhancements across the board

BMO Market Pro, our active trader platform within BMO InvestorLine Self-Directed, evolved this year. We listened to our clients and introduced improvements to make the trading experience effortless.

This summer, decision-making became simpler for adviceDirect clients with a new Sample Portfolio feature that provides a snapshot of a well-balanced portfolio for their particular profile, updated as regularly as each day.

As of last month, our Self-Directed investors have new self-serve capabilities to save time and money when performing transactions with their dividends and registered accounts.

While most of us don’t find tax season particularly sexy, we’re making it easier with better online access to tax forms within all three digital services.

SmartFolio helps even more Canadians invest smarter

When we launched SmartFolio last year, it struck a chord and investors have embraced this innovative solution that’s redefining investing.

We made it easier for new clients coming on-board, enhanced the financial goal-planning tools and introduced new account types to meet the demands of retirees who are digital investors. We launched innovative e-signature capabilities for joint accounts, the first of its type in Canada.

Working with our clients, we will continue to co-create more evolved financial planning tools.

We listen to our clients

Even the most independent investors still want to connect with a person when they have a question or need assistance, and we’re here to help. We listen to our clients in our day-to-day interactions and act on feedback from our client surveys and advisory councils. We know where we already provide terrific service and where we must invest, pun intended, to get better.

Getting better at getting better

This summer we refined the way we innovate and deliver enhancements, by establishing an agile working model that will allow us to operate at an accelerated pace. We’re getting better at getting better because executing with pace and quality should be the norm, not the exception.

The future of digital investing

Across the full spectrum of online investors, one thing we see is increased cross-migration, as investors discover one size doesn’t always fit all. Self-directed investors are using SmartFolio for certain goals and some adviceDirect clients are preparing to become more self-directed as they approach retirement. We anticipate more robust activity as traditional investors and advisors discover what you already know about the value of digital investing.

We’re excited to be a catalyst for digital investing and look forward to making 2018 a banner year. While BMO has been around for over 200 years, in many ways we’re just getting started.

President of BMO InvestorLine since October 2016, Silvio Stroescu is the driving force behind the well-recognized performance and client experience of BMO Wealth Management’s three online investing services. A pioneer in digital banking, he first made his mark launching innovative services with Tangerine Bank in anticipation of evolving customer preferences.

BMO Wealth Management is the brand name for a business group consisting of Bank of Montreal and certain of its affiliates, including BMO InvestorLine and BMO Nesbitt Burns in providing wealth management products and services. Not all products and services are offered by all legal entities within BMO Wealth Management.

To learn more about BMO InvestorLine, visit their website at www.bmo.com/self-directed or view our profile of BMO InvestorLine here.

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