BMO SmartFolio: A Comprehensive Investment Solution

BMO SmartFolio is a comprehensive investment solution designed to help individuals achieve their long-term financial goals. It's a digital investment platform that offers a range of investment portfolios to suit different risk tolerance and investment objectives.

With BMO SmartFolio, you can invest in a variety of asset classes, including stocks, bonds, and ETFs. This diversification helps to minimize risk and maximize returns over time.

The platform allows you to set your investment goals and risk tolerance, and then creates a personalized portfolio based on your input. This ensures that your investments are tailored to your specific needs and objectives.

BMO SmartFolio also offers low fees and no management fees, making it a cost-effective investment option. This means you get to keep more of your hard-earned money.

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BMO SmartFolio bills itself as an easy and affordable, "hands-free", professionally managed, online portfolio service. This is a big deal for Canadians who pay among the highest investment fees in the world.

It's not a pure robo-advisor, but rather an online service with a team of investing experts making each investment decision for you. This team, known as the SmartFolio management team, consists of 17 professionals with over 300 years of combined experience in the financial industry.

BMO SmartFolio is a service that's been innovated by Canada's oldest bank, which has been on the cutting edge of banking technology. BMO was the first big bank to create its own ETFs with BMO Global Asset Management.

The service is designed to be low-cost, which is a major advantage for Canadians who want to grow their investments without eating into their returns.

BMO SmartFolio offers a range of key features that make it an attractive option for investors.

The platform provides a user-friendly interface, allowing users to easily navigate and manage their investments. This is particularly important for beginners who may be new to investing.

BMO SmartFolio also offers a low-cost investment option, with management fees as low as 0.25%. This is significantly lower than many other investment platforms on the market.

With BMO SmartFolio, users can invest in a variety of asset classes, including stocks, bonds, and ETFs. This diversification can help to minimize risk and maximize returns.

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Our team discovered that a key feature of a successful investment strategy is understanding the fears of potential investors. Many investors find the idea of investing online genuinely terrifying. We found this out through qualitative research.

By addressing this fear, we were able to create a more effective campaign. We reassured investors that they could invest for themselves without investing by themselves. This simple shift in messaging had a significant impact on our results.

Here are some key statistics that illustrate the effectiveness of this approach:

This shows that by understanding and addressing the fears of our target audience, we were able to create a more effective investment strategy.

To match you with a suitable portfolio, BMO SmartFolio asks you to complete an online questionnaire about your current assets, investment goals, and risk tolerance.

The questionnaire helps determine the weightings of the ETFs in your portfolio, and it's not a one-size-fits-all approach. BMO SmartFolio has five model ETF portfolios to choose from, each with a unique asset allocation.

Here are the five model portfolios:

A registered representative from BMO SmartFolio reviews every application to ensure you're matched with the right portfolio for your needs.

BMO SmartFolio uses a diversified investment approach to manage your investments, allocating your money across different asset classes, such as stocks, bonds, and cash.

This approach aims to reduce risk and increase potential returns over the long-term. BMO SmartFolio offers a range of portfolios with different risk levels, from conservative to aggressive.

You can choose a portfolio that suits your risk tolerance and investment goals, and the platform will automatically rebalance your investments to maintain the target asset mix.

Invest online, not alone. BMO SmartFolio offers a unique approach to investment management, one that combines the benefits of technology with the expertise of a portfolio management group.

You no longer have to choose between high fees and do-it-yourself investing. Robo-advisors like BMO SmartFolio provide a third option, one that offers professional management at a lower cost.

BMO SmartFolio uses ETFs to build your portfolio, allowing you to diversify your investments while reducing trading costs. ETFs are traded on a stock exchange and track a market index, making them a transparent and liquid investment option.

Here are some of the ETFs used in BMO SmartFolio's portfolios:

With BMO SmartFolio, you can have a professional manage your investments while keeping costs low. This is a great option for those who want to invest online, but don't want to go it alone.

The investment process starts with a solid plan. This involves extending marketing efforts throughout the entire funnel, as seen in a campaign that targeted the RRSP deadline.

Tactical advertising played a crucial role in presenting special offers and messaging to potential investors. This approach helped grab attention and encourage people to take action.

A key decision in the plan was lowering the account minimum for SmartFolio. This made the investment option less daunting for those who wanted to try it out but didn't have a lot to invest.

BMO SmartFolio's advisory fees are charged quarterly, based on an average of your three month-end balances of the quarter. The fees are tiered, so the more you invest, the lower your average advisory fees are.

The fees are as follows: 0.70% for the first $100,000, 0.60% for balances between $100,000 and $250,000, and 0.50% for balances beyond $250,000. For accounts above $500,000, the fee drops to 0.40%.

The fees don't include the management expense ratios (MERs) of the ETFs you'd be investing in, which can range between 0.20% and 0.35%. This means you'll need to factor in these additional costs when considering your overall investment expenses.

BMO SmartFolio is backed by a well-known Canadian big bank, which should give you peace of mind.

The fact that BMO SmartFolio is a member of the Canada Investor Protection Fund (CIPF) means your money's protected up to certain limits in the unlikely event something were to happen to BMO Nesbitt Burns.

There's no guarantee you'll come out ahead with any investment, but using BMO SmartFolio to develop a disciplined investment approach gives you a decent chance your investments will grow over time.

Having multiple family members invest with BMO SmartFolio can help reduce fees, as you can group your household assets together and take advantage of lowered tiered fee thresholds.

You can sync your BMO SmartFolio investments with your BMO Online Banking Summary, allowing you to see all your account and balances in one place at the same time.

The goal-tracking feature in BMO SmartFolio makes it easy to monitor the progress of your financial goals and adjust variables like rate of return and contribution amounts to see how much sooner you can achieve them.

Opening a BMO SmartFolio account is simple to do online, requiring basic information and a few questions about your assets and risk tolerance.

You must be a Canadian resident and the age of majority in Canada to open an account. The minimum account size is $1,000, which may seem like a lot, but is manageable for most investors.

You can transfer cash into your account via cheque, direct deposit as a BMO account holder, or as a bill-pay from any financial institution in Canada. These transfers take between 3-5 business days to process.

If you need help during the process, BMO SmartFolio's dedicated advisors are available by phone or live chat.

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With BMO SmartFolio, you can invest your money in a variety of accounts to suit your needs.

You can choose from different types of investment accounts, including joint investment accounts, which allow you to share ownership with someone else.

Registered accounts are also available, such as Registered Retirement Income Funds (RRIFs) and Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSP), which can help you save for your future.

You can also open a Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) to save for your child's education.

In addition to these options, you can also set up a Spousal Registered Retirement Income Fund (RRIF) or a Spousal Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP).

For those who want more flexibility, a Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) can be a good choice.

Here are the types of accounts you can open with BMO SmartFolio:

Fees are a crucial aspect of any investment product, and BMO SmartFolio is no exception. The fees are tiered, so the more you invest, the lower your average advisory fees are.

The minimum investment required is $1,000, which is a relatively low threshold. If you invest less than $100,000, you'll pay an advisory fee of 0.70% per quarter.

Here's a breakdown of the fees you can expect to pay, depending on your total asset value:

In addition to the advisory fees, you'll also need to pay management expense ratios (MERs) for the ETFs in your portfolio, which can range from 0.20% to 0.35% per year.

It's next to impossible to predict your investment returns with any precision. Investment returns are affected by many factors, including market conditions, economic events, and the underlying assets.

You can expect your BMO SmartFolio portfolio to be rebalanced about two to six times a year. This helps keep your investments on track and avoids costly trading fees.

Investing in ETFs can provide better diversification of your money, allowing you to invest in thousands of companies worldwide. This is similar to a mutual fund, but at a lower cost.

By investing with BMO SmartFolio, you can take advantage of their award-winning BMO Global Asset Management ETFs. This means you can get a portfolio of ETFs tailored to your asset allocation needs.

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BMO SmartFolio was the first "roboadvisor" from a Canadian big bank. This innovative service allowed investors to put their investments on autopilot, automatically rebalancing their portfolio without the need for a traditional investment advisor.

The financial industry experienced a significant disruption following the 2007-2008 financial crisis. New financial technology startups began offering digital investment management services to meet consumer demands for technology-based solutions to lower the costs of investing.

These online investment management services are available in various countries, including the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, India, and Asia.

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BMO SmartFolio was the first "roboadvisor" from a Canadian big bank, offering a low-cost investment solution with automated rebalancing.

Using a roboadvisor puts your investments on autopilot, eliminating the need for frequent portfolio adjustments and high fees associated with traditional investment advisors.

The launch campaign for BMO SmartFolio flopped, requiring a new strategy to be developed.

Planner Susan Meisels and the copywriter worked closely together to create a new campaign that would convince investors to open accounts.

The investment industry has undergone significant disruption in recent years. New financial technology startups began offering digital investment management services, or robo-advisors, to meet consumer demands for technology-based solutions to lower the costs of investing.

These online investment management services are most common in the United States, but are also available in Canada, Europe, Australia, India, and Asia. A notable example is BMO SmartFolio, which differs from its peers in the U.S. and UK by having portfolios monitored and managed by a portfolio management group, rather than a computer algorithm.

The traditional investment options have been high-fee mutual funds and the DIY approach, which required investors to make their own investment decisions with no guidance. The former came with high fees, while the latter required significant time, effort, and expertise.

The emergence of robo-advisors like BMO SmartFolio offers a new option for investors, providing professional management with lower annual fees and improved returns.

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