BMO Harris Investment Management Inc. said Monday it will seek regulatory approval to change the investment objective of BMO Harris International Special Equity Portfolio.
The portfolio’s current investment objective is to achieve long-term growth through capital appreciation by primarily investing in small and mid-sized companies internationally.
BMO Harris says it has determined that at this time there are limited opportunities available for a mandate investing in small and mid capitalization companies in the international market, but that there are better investment opportunities in such issuers in the U.S. market. As a result, BMO Harris proposes that the portfolio’s investment objective be changed to reflect a U.S. small and mid capitalization equity mandate.
Providing all necessary regulatory approvals are received, the portfolio’s investment objective will be changed to achieve long-term growth through capital appreciation by primarily investing in equity securities of small and mid capitalization U.S. companies.
As a result of the investment objective change, BMO Harris also proposes to change the name of the portfolio to BMO Harris U.S. Special Equity Portfolio.
In addition, the company proposes to change the sub-advisor of the portfolio from GlobeFlex Capital, L.P. to a new sub-advisor with expertise in the U.S. small and mid capitalization market. It is anticipated that the portfolio will also adopt new investment strategies to reflect the investment style of the new sub-advisor. The changes are expected to be implemented at the earliest by mid-September.