Mutual funds are a diversified investment in which a pool of money from multiple investors is collected and professionally managed. This is often seen as a decent way to diversify your portfolio, though you should keep an eye on any hidden fees. Most banks have an investing arm that offers mutual funds, including BMO.
BMO’s mutual fund offerings are fairly straightforward. You can hold mutual funds in a variety of registered or unregistered accounts, and there are low minimum investments ranging from $50/month to a flat $500 on most accounts. They have a number of different types of funds and portfolio options available, and their fees are pretty average.
BMO mutual funds features
Here’s what BMO has to offer in terms of their mutual funds.
Why You Want It
Get expert advice on your investments + Choose from over 125 funds.
Special Features
- Set up regular contributions to your investment accounts
- Get $100 for saving regularly
Features
Minimum Investment
$500
Account Types
- RRSP
- RESP
- RRIF
- TFSA
- RDSP
Fund Types
- Security
- Income
- Growth
- Equity Growth
- Group RRSP
# Of Funds Available
404
Porfolio Options
- BMO ETF
- BMO Ascent
- BMO Retirement
- BMO Target Education
- BMO SelectTrust
- BMO Sustainable
- BMO Managed
Min MER
0.06%
Max MER
2.5%
Personalized Advice?
BMO mutual funds rating: 5.0 stars
We gave BMO mutual funds 5.0 stars for a few reasons. They’re available for all registered account types. The minimum investment isn’t that high, but can still be a barrier to entry for people who just want to get started.
They also have a fairly large number of funds they manage, as well as a good mix of fund types and portfolio options. BMO also has a “Continuous Savings Plan” option which can help people become savers through regular contributions.
Rating methodology
To calculate our Genius Ratings, we compare the features of the account or product in question with other similar products in Canada. We give each feature a score out of 5 based on that comparison. Once we’ve rated all the features, we run them through our proprietary algorithm to produce a final rating out of 5.
Learn more about our rating methodology.
The pros of BMO mutual funds
So, what’s good about BMO mutual funds?
Pros
Available for all registered account types
BMO mutual funds are available for all registered account types, including RRSPs, RESPs, RRIFs, TFSAs, and RDSPs, letting you take advantage of this investment type regardless of what you’re saving for.
Continuous Savings Plan option
BMO offers a simple way to get started investing in mutual funds, called the Continuous Savings Plan (CSP). Start with a relatively small initial investment, but then add to it every month through a simple automatic withdrawal from your savings account. Your investment will snowball as you go. If you’d like to see those numbers in action, BMO has a CSP calculator over on their site (scroll down a bit).
Reasonable mix of fund types and portfolio options
BMO has 5 types of mutual funds available, including security, income, growth, equity growth, and more. They also have 9 portfolios available, giving you even more flexibility in how you invest your money. You can find the full list of BMO mutual funds on their website.
Personalized advice is available
While most banks offer some sort of personalized advice around investing in mutual funds, it’s nice to see that BMO makes it relatively easy to get in touch. You can schedule a call, book an in-person appointment, or contact them through their online support tool. If you need to contact BMO, you can find all available options on their Contact Us webpage.
The cons of BMO mutual funds
But there are some drawbacks.
Cons
$500 minimum investment (or $50/month)
While $500 isn’t a huge amount of money, it can be tricky for some to come up with all at once. A smaller minimum investment would be better, just to make it easier for people to take that all important first step of opening an investment account. That said, you can get around this minimum investment by taking advantage of their CSP, as discussed above.
Higher MERs than some alternatives
In Canada, Management Expense Ratios (MERs) differ between mutual funds, and they’re a little bit invisible unless you’re paying attention. You never have to actively pay an MER, they’re simply taken out of your investment earnings before that money hits your account. So if your fund has an MER of 2.25% and had a 10% return over a given period, the fund actually earned 12.25%. You are paying these fees, so they’re something you should keep an eye on. BMO’s MERs range between 0.64% – 2.57%, which isn’t bad, but it’s also not best.
BMO mutual funds alternatives
Wondering how some of the other big banks’ mutual fund offerings measure up? Turns out there’s not a huge difference between them.
 |  |  | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Account | BMO Mutual Funds | Scotiabank Mutual Funds | TD Mutual Funds |
| Genius Rating | |||
| Why You Want It | Get expert advice on your investments + Choose from over 125 funds. | Low $500 minimum investment + Personalized advice available. | Choose from numerous mutual funds + Get help from an advisor or DIY. |
| Minimum Investment | $500 | $500 | $100 |
| Account Types |
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| Fund Types |
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| # Of Funds Available | 404 | 3,500 | 133 |
| Porfolio Options |
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Show More | |||
| Open an account See more BMO products Compare | Learn More See more Scotiabank products Compare | Learn More See more TD products Compare |
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BMO mutual funds FAQ
Where can I find the BMO mutual funds list?
BMO has a full list of their mutual funds available on their website, including information about current BMO mutual fund prices, performance, and fees.
Where can I find BMO mutual funds contact information?
You can contact BMO by phone or online, for whatever questions or help you may need. These options are all outlined on their website.
Can I hold a BMO mutual fund in my RDSP?
You can keep BMO mutual funds in your RDSP, and any other sort of registered account you have, including RRSP, TFSA, RRIF, and RESP. You can also take advantage of BMO’s Continuous Savings Plan option to help automate your investing.
Editorial Disclaimer: The content here reflects the author's opinion alone, and is not endorsed or sponsored by a bank, credit card issuer, rewards program or other entity. For complete and updated product information please visit the product issuer's website.
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