The Bank of Montreal has partnered with a majority Indigenous-owned investment dealer to issue a first-of-its-kind offering for a North American bank — a bond that will finance Indigenous-owned businesses and communities.
“Proceeds from the offering will be allocated toward Indigenous-owned enterprises and Indigenous communities, as outlined in BMO’s Sustainable Bond Framework,” a release said.
BMO Capital Markets is acting as the lead agent, while Cedar Leaf Capital Inc. is serving as co-manager on the bond issue.
BMO said it will report publicly on the use of the bond’s proceeds within a year of issuance, with annual reports to follow.
As the private markets continue to gain traction, New York-headquartered Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. has introduced a private equity evergreen fund geared toward individual Canadian investors.
The Brookfield Private Equity Fund (Canada) provides investors with exposure to a diversified portfolio of businesses.
The fund offers monthly subscriptions and has a $25,000 investment minimum, as the asset manager seeks to increase accessibility to these products for individual investors. It also has quarterly liquidity, subject to availability.
“Allocations to alternatives are growing rapidly — not just for institutions, but also among individual investors,” said David Nowak, president of Brookfield’s Private Equity Group, in a release.
“Building on Brookfield’s private wealth experience across real estate, infrastructure, and credit, we look forward to bringing our 25-year track record to the advisor community in Canada, and to continuing to expand our capabilities for individual investors globally over the coming months.”
Brookfield boasts US$150 billion in assets under management. The firm has a team of 160 investment professionals and 142,000 employees worldwide.
BMO Asset Management Inc. has launched an ETF that provides investors with exposure to the global commodity markets without requiring them to trade individual commodities on their own.
The BMO Broad Commodity ETF (Cboe: ZCOM) offers exposure to a wide range of commodity sectors including energy, agriculture, livestock, and both industrial and precious metals, said Bipan Rai, managing director and head of ETF and alternatives strategy with BMO Global Asset Management, in a release.
It also trades in Canadian dollars to help reduce currency risk.
The fund seeks to replicate the total return performance of a broad-based commodity index or a successor index, net of fees and expenses. Currently, it seeks to replicate the performance of the Bloomberg Commodity Index Total Return.
The ETF has a 0.26% management fee.
Separately, BMO announced the addition of five new Canadian Depository Receipts (CDRs) to its lineup on Thursday.
They include:
CDRs allow Canadian investors to purchase shares of international companies in Canadian dollars, minimizing currency risk in their portfolios.
LongPoint Asset Management Inc. has unveiled nine new leveraged single-stock ETFs.
This includes:
Employing leverage, the ETFs seek to deliver two times the daily returns of the stock they hold, before fees, expenses, distributions, brokerage commissions and other transaction costs.
LongPoint notes on its website, however, that these funds are “intended for use in daily or short-term trading strategies by very knowledgeable, sophisticated investors.” If an investor holds any of these ETFs for more than a single day, their return “could vary considerably from the ETF’s daily target return,” it adds.
The funds all have a high risk rating and 1.25% management fee.
They add to LongPoint’s growing lineup of leveraged and inverse-leveraged ETFs.
Mackenzie Investments and Northleaf Capital Partners have launched a fund that invests in multiple pockets of the private markets.
The Mackenzie Northleaf Multi-Asset Private Markets Fund provides investors with actively managed exposure to mid-market private equity, private credit and infrastructure investments in a single product, a release said.
Available to accredited investors in Canada, the fund will target a 60/40 mix of growth and income opportunities, the release noted.
Two separate investment fund managers have announced their plans to terminate funds.
Onex Canada Asset Management Inc. says it intends to terminate the Onex Global Equity Fund on or about Dec. 29.
As of Oct. 17, the fund is closed to purchases by new and existing investors.
Unitholders have until Dec. 24 to redeem their units in the fund, “in accordance with the procedures set out in the simplified prospectus,” a release said.
Investors of the Onex fund are to receive a notice in the mail at least 60 days prior to the termination date, the release noted.
Meanwhile, Connor, Clark & Lunn Funds Inc. says it will terminate the CC&L Market Neutral Fund on or about Dec. 10.
In a release, Connor, Clark & Lunn Funds said it decided to terminate the fund “after careful consideration of various factors” and that this is part of the manager’s “ongoing effort to ensure its product lineup remains aligned with investor preferences and needs and meets long-term goals.”
As of Thursday, the fund is no longer available for purchase.
Existing unitholders may redeem or switch their units of the fund for settlement on or prior to Dec. 9. After that, remaining unitholders will have their units automatically redeemed at the net asset value per unit as of the termination date.
Investors are set to receive a notice with further information regarding the termination.
Home Trust Co. has introduced a suite of reverse mortgage products that allow Canadians aged 55 and above to convert their home equity into tax-free and payment-free funds to support their financial and retirement goals.
Unveiled at a conference in Ottawa, the EquityAccess suite of products is now available in Ontario through Home Trust’s mortgage broker network.
It’s slated to be expanded to British Columbia later this year, with rollout to additional provinces expected in the first half of 2026.
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