BMO Retirement Services Strengthens Team With Addition of Ben Jones as Manager, Defined Contribution Investment-Only

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS--(Marketwire - Jan. 22, 2013) - BMO Global Asset Management today announced the appointment of Ben Jones as Manager, Defined Contribution Investment-Only (DCIO), BMO Retirement Services. In this newly created position, Jones reports to Matt Smith, Head of Sales and Strategy, BMO Retirement Services. Jones is responsible for overseeing BMO's investment product sales in defined contribution markets across the country. He is based in Park City, Utah.

Prior to joining BMO, Jones served as Director of Defined Contribution at Russell Investments, where he was responsible for managing all aspects of its intermediary retirement plan distribution across the United States.

"BMO Retirement Services is dedicated to helping individuals reach a more secure retirement, and one of the ways we do this is by providing world-class investment products to defined contribution plans," said Smith.

"Ben's wealth of knowledge in the DCIO space, combined with his energy and professionalism, will further raise the visibility of our investment capabilities and provide more plan sponsors with opportunities to take advantage of our asset management expertise. We are pleased to welcome Ben to the BMO team."

Smith noted that BMO Retirement Services continues to add to its team of professionals and is currently seeking professionals who have experience and a successful track record in selling investment strategies in the Defined Contribution market.

According to Phil Enochs, Managing Director and Head of Relationship Management at BMO Asset Management, BMO has initiatives in place to:

• Increase the visibility of BMO investment products with new and existing record-keeping clients, while maintaining a firm commitment to open architecture
• Seek institutional asset management mandates from defined contribution plans
• Raise BMO's investment profile with consultants and advisors

"With Ben's insight and leadership, we will continue to capture a meaningful share of defined contribution assets under management and build on our record of service," Enochs added.

A Chartered Retirement Plan Specialist (CRPS), Jones is a member of the DCIO Forum and the Defined Contribution Institutional Investment Association (DCIIA). He was nominated as one of the 100 Most Influential People in Defined Contribution in 2010 and 2011.

For more information, please visit http://www.bmoretirementservices.com.

About BMO Retirement Services

BMO Retirement Services is an integral part of Global Asset Management and a premiere, award-winning provider of retirement, trust and custody services.

BMO Global Asset Management provides holistic, solution-driven services to our institutional and high-net-worth clients and the BMO family of mutual funds. With a nearly 40-year legacy of fiduciary service - and goal of promoting retirement readiness to our more than 500,000 participants in over 1,500 retirement plans - our clients include retirement plans, Taft-Hartley funds, government and public funds, not-for-profit organizations and family offices. BMO Global Asset Management's commitment to service excellence has led us to be recognized by Pension & Investments as one of the Top 100 largest asset managers.

We are a part of BMO Financial Group (NYSE:BMO), a fully diversified financial services firm with $525 billion total assets and more than 46,000 employees as of October 31, 2012.

BMO Retirement Services is a part of BMO Global Asset Management and a division of the BMO Harris Bank N.A., offering products and services through various affiliates of BMO Financial Group.

BMO Global Asset Management is the brand name for various affiliated entities of BMO Financial Group, that provide trust, custody, securities lending, investment management, and retirement plan services. Certain of the products and services offered under the brand name BMO Global Asset Management are designed specifically for various categories of investors in a number of different countries and regions. Those products and services are only offered to such investors in those countries and regions in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. BMO Financial Group is a service mark of Bank of Montreal (BMO). Investment products are: NOT FDIC INSURED - NO BANK GUARANTEE - MAY LOSE VALUE.