BMO Financial Group Tuesday announced that it intends to launch BMO China A-Share Fund, which began its initial offering period on April 30.

BMO China A-Share Fund will offer Canadian accredited investors a unique way to access China’s equity and fixed income markets. BMO says it is the first Canadian financial services organization to offer clients access to China A-Shares through a Canadian-domiciled pooled fund.

A-Shares are shares of Chinese companies that are incorporated in mainland China and listed on the Shanghai or Shenzhen stock exchanges — a market including more than 2,300 issuers with a total market capitalization second only to the S&P 500 index. These securities are now accessible to foreign investors via a Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (QFII) licence. BMO Financial Group secured a QFII licence in December 2010, enabling it to create an A-Share fund with full access to the Chinese A-Share market.

The new fund will seek to provide accredited investors with the opportunity to achieve long term capital appreciation by investing primarily in a diversified portfolio of Chinese securities denominated in Renminbi across all equity sectors

BMO says the fund is suited for accredited investors who have an investment time horizon of at least five years, are seeking an international growth component to complement their existing portfolio and seek exposure to mainland Chinese equity markets.

“China commands a strategic place in the global arena. With China set to lead the world in gross domestic product in a few years, Canadian investors are looking for innovative ways to access the Chinese economy,” says Rajiv Silgardo, Co-CEO, BMO Global Asset Management. “For Canadian investors, the opportunity to access this strategic market much more broadly and deeply is now achievable through the cutting-edge BMO China A-Share Fund.”

The fund is managed by China-based Fullgoal Fund Management Co. Ltd., an award-winning advisor and one of China’s first 10 fund companies. Fullgoal has been partially owned by Bank of Montreal since 2003.

For more information on BMO China A-Share Fund, contact your local BMO Guardian wholesaler.