425 1 d236699d425.htm COLUMBIA FUNDS SERIES TRUST I Columbia Funds Series Trust I

 

Filing by Columbia Funds Series Trust I pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act of 1933, and deemed filed under Rule 14a-12(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

Subject Company:

BMO Funds, Inc.

(SEC File No. 811-58433)

 

LOGO  

November 12, 2021

 

   LOGO

COLUMBIA THREADNEEDLE INVESTMENTS: BMO-RELATED FUND LAUNCHES

Merger-related additions to the Columbia fund lineup

In connection with the proposed reorganization of Bank of Montreal’s (BMO) U.S. mutual funds into existing and new Columbia funds (see August 17 bulletin), we announced our intent to launch five new Columbia funds into which several BMO funds will merge. The new Columbia funds will mirror the investment strategies of merging BMO funds and adopt standard Columbia fund contracts and fee schedules. Initial filings have been made to register these new Columbia funds, which we expect will launch on the anticipated merger date, as noted in the table below.

Since these mergers require shareholder approval, the associated fund launches may be deferred if additional time is needed to complete the proxy voting process. The BMO Fund shareholder meeting held on November 8, 2021 was immediately adjourned to November 23, 2021. We will update you following this meeting with details regarding the anticipated fund mergers.

Attachment A provides additional fund profile details for the new funds. Importantly, please note that share classes involved in the mergers are available for sale ahead of any additional share classes. For example, share classes needed for mergers planned for December 10 will be available for sale on December 13 with additional share classes available for sale on December 15.

 

  Merging fund   Acquiring new fund   Anticipated merger date*  

 

New funds available

for sale*

 

   

  BMO Pyrford International Stock Fund

  Columbia Pyrford International Stock Fund   12/10/21   12/13/21
   

  BMO Ultra Short Tax-Free Fund

  Columbia Ultra Short Municipal Bond Fund   12/10/21   12/13/21
   

  BMO Dividend Income Fund

  Columbia Integrated Large Cap Value Fund   01/21/22   01/24/22
   

  BMO Large-Cap Growth Fund

  Columbia Integrated Large Cap Growth Fund   01/21/22   01/24/22
   

  BMO Large-Cap Value Fund

  Columbia Integrated Large Cap Value Fund   01/21/22   01/24/22
   

  BMO Low Volatility Equity Fund

  Columbia Integrated Large Cap Value Fund   01/21/22   01/24/22
   

  BMO Small-Cap Growth Fund

  Columbia Integrated Small Cap Growth Fund   01/21/22   01/24/22

The acquiring fund names shown above represent new Columbia funds that will not be publicly offered until their registration is effective and their applicable merging funds are reorganized into them. *Actual merger dates are dependent on shareholder approval and may be modified for operational or other reasons. Mergers are planned for the close of business on the date indicated with new funds in merging share classes available for sale at the start of the next business day. Share classes involved in the mergers are available for sale ahead of any additional share classes.

As always, your relationship manager or dedicated service team can assist with any questions regarding this information.

 

Institutional

Dealers

 

Broker

Dealers

 

 

Registered

Investment

Advisors

 

  Independent
Advisors
  Investment-Only
Distribution (DC/VA)
 

ETF

Sales Team

866.548.9501

  800.215.5005  

 

866.444.5435

 

  800.446.4008   877.894.3592   888.800.4347

Please have your clients read and consider investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses carefully before investing. Remind them to contact you or visit columbiathreadneedleus.com for a prospectus or summary prospectus, which contains this and other important information about the fund.

Investors should also review the Combined Proxy Statement/Prospectus relating to their fund for more information about the reorganizations and acquiring funds.

The foregoing is not an offer to sell, nor a solicitation of an offer to buy, shares of any fund. For information regarding an acquiring fund or the proposed mergers, please refer to the applicable combined proxy statement/prospectus. The combined proxy statement/prospectus contains important information about fund objectives, strategies, fees, expenses and risk considerations. Each combined proxy statement/prospectus and proxy statement is available for free on the website of the Securities and Exchange Commission (www.sec.gov). Copies are also available at no charge by contacting BMO Funds’ proxy solicitor toll free at 888-991-1289. Please read the applicable combined proxy statement/prospectus carefully before making any decision to invest or when considering a proposal.

Columbia Threadneedle Investments (Columbia Threadneedle) is the global brand name of the Columbia and Threadneedle group of companies.

Columbia funds are distributed by Columbia Management Investment Distributors, Inc., member FINRA. Columbia funds are managed by Columbia Management Investment Advisers, LLC (CMIA).

 

For institutional and broker/dealer use only. This material has not been filed with FINRA and may not be shown, quoted to, or used with, members of the general public.

©2021 Columbia Management Investment Advisers, LLC. All rights reserved.

Columbia Management Investment Distributors, Inc.

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columbiathreadneedle.com/us

800.426.3750

   3912139 (11/21)

 

Attachment A: New fund launch details

Funds are listed below with the planned December launches shown first. Please note the share class launch dates below. Share classes involved in mergers launch prior to any additional share classes.

 

    Product Feature    Columbia Pyrford
International Stock Fund
  

 

Columbia Ultra Short

Municipal Bond Fund

 

   Columbia Integrated
Large Cap Growth Fund
   Columbia Integrated
Large Cap Value Fund
   Columbia Integrated
Small Cap Growth Fund

Investment objective

   Seeks capital appreciation   

 

Seeks current income exempt from U.S. federal income tax, consistent with preservation of capital

 

   Seeks capital appreciation    Seeks capital appreciation    Seeks capital appreciation

Benchmark

   MSCI EAFE Index   

 

Blended Benchmark (50% Bloomberg 1 Year Municipal Bond Index and 50% iMoneyNet,Inc. Money Market Fund Tax-Free National Retail Index)

 

   Russell 1000 Growth Index    Russell 1000 Value Index    Russell 2000 Growth Index

Launch dates by share class

   Advisor

A

C

Institutional

Institutional 2

Institutional 3

R

  

 

12/13/21

12/13/21

12/15/21

12/15/21

12/15/21

12/13/21

12/15/21

 

   Advisor

A

Institutional

Institutional 3

   12/13/21

12/13/21

12/15/21

12/15/21

   Advisor

A

C

Institutional

Institutional 2

Institutional 3

R

   1/24/22

1/24/22

1/26/22

1/26/22

1/26/22

1/24/22

1/26/22

   Advisor

A

C

Institutional

Institutional 2

Institutional 3

R

   1/24/22

1/24/22

1/26/22

1/26/22

1/26/22

1/24/22

1/26/22

   Advisor

A

C

Institutional

Institutional 2

Institutional 3

R

   1/24/22

1/24/22

1/26/22

1/26/22

1/26/22

1/26/22

1/26/22

Symbol

   Advisor

A

C

Institutional

Institutional 2

Institutional 3

R

  

 

PISKX

PISDX

PISEX

PISLX

PISOX

PISQX

PISJX

 

   Advisor

A

Institutional

Institutional 3

   USMDX

USMBX

USMEX

USMFX

   Advisor

A

C

Institutional

Institutional 2

Institutional 3

R

   ILGFX

ILGCX

ILGDX

ILGGX

ILGHX

ILGJX

ILGEX

   Advisor

A

C

Institutional

Institutional 2

Institutional 3

R

   ILVEX

ILVBX

ILVCX

ILVFX

ILVGX

ILVHX

ILVDX

   Advisor

A

C

Institutional

Institutional 2

Institutional 3

R

   ISGLX

ISGDX

ISGFX

ISGNX

ISGOX

ISGQX

ISGHX

CUSIP

   Advisor

A

C

Institutional

Institutional 2

Institutional 3

R

  

 

19766Q783 

19766Q825 

19766Q817 

19766Q775 

19766Q767 

19766Q759 

19766Q791 

 

   Advisor

A

Institutional

Institutional 3

   19766J227 

19766J235 

19766J219 

19766J193 

   Advisor

A

C

Institutional

Institutional 2

Institutional 3

R

   19766Q403 

19766Q106 

19766Q205 

19766Q502 

19766Q601 

19766Q700 

19766Q304 

   Advisor

A

C

Institutional

Institutional 2

Institutional 3

R

   19766Q866 

19766Q809 

19766Q882 

19766Q858 

19766Q841 

19766Q833 

19766Q874 

   Advisor

A

C

Institutional

Institutional 2

Institutional 3

R

   19766Q718 

19766Q742 

19766Q734 

19766Q692 

19766Q684 

19766Q676 

19766Q726 

 

Names of
Columbia portfolio
managers or
subadvisor

 

   Pyrford International Ltd.   

Catherine Stienstra

Anders Myhran

  

Ernesto Ramos

J.P. Gurnee

Jason Hans

  

Ernesto Ramos

J.P. Gurnee

Jason Hans

  

Ernesto Ramos

Jason Hans

Thomas Lettenberger

 

For institutional and broker/dealer use only. This material has not been filed with FINRA and may not be shown, quoted to, or used with, members of the general public.

 

Attachment B: Biographies of Columbia Threadneedle portfolio managers for new funds

J.P. Gurnee joined BMO Asset Management Corp. in 2018 and is expected to join Columbia Threadneedle Investments in December 2021. He started his career at Calamos Investments. Before joining BMO Asset Management Corp., J.P. Gurnee served as an analyst at Northern Trust. He holds a B.A. in economics cum laude from Hillsdale College and is a CFA® charterholder.

Jason Hans joined BMO Asset Management Corp. in 2008 and is expected to join Columbia Threadneedle Investments in December 2021. He started in the investment industry in 1998 and previously served as a managing director and head of research at Quantitative Services Group. He holds an MBA in finance from the University of Notre Dame and a B.S. in business, with a major in finance and a minor in physics, from Miami University. In addition, Jason Hans is a CFA® charterholder and a member of the CFA Institute, the CFA Society of Chicago and the Chicago Quantitative Alliance.

Thomas Lettenberger joined BMO Asset Management Corp. in 2005 and is expected to join Columbia Threadneedle Investments in December 2021. Previously, he served as a vice president and portfolio manager at Columbia Management and as an equity research analyst at William Blair & Company LLC. He entered the investment industry in 1994. He holds an M.A. in accounting and a B.B.A. in finance and accounting from the University of Michigan. In addition, Thomas Lettenberger is a CFA® charterholder, a certified public accountant (CPA) and a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society of Chicago.

Anders Myhran is a senior municipal portfolio manager and quantitative analyst at Columbia Threadneedle Investments. Mr. Myhran manages the suite of strategic municipal income strategies, a national short municipal strategy, national and state-specific intermediate strategies, a state-specific long municipal strategy and institutional client portfolios. Previously, Mr. Myhran was a member of the municipal bond credit research team where he spent several years covering multiple revenue-backed sectors. Prior to that, he worked in asset/liability management within the investment department performing profitability simulations and managing hedge portfolios. He joined one of the Columbia Threadneedle Investments legacy firms in 1992 and has been a member of the investment community since then. Mr. Myhran earned a B.A. in business with majors in finance and quantitative analysis from the University of Wisconsin. In addition, he holds the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation.

Ernesto Ramos joined BMO Asset Management Corp. in 2005 and is expected to join Columbia Threadneedle Investments in December 2021. Ernesto Ramos began his investment management career in 1992 with Batterymarch Financial Management. He was a partner and lead portfolio manager at Nicholas-Applegate Capital Management LLC, and he also served as a software developer at Bolt, Beranek and Newman. His career features investment management and research, econometric research, statistical research and computer graphics research. He holds a Ph.D. and an M.S. in statistics from Harvard University and a B.S. in mathematics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Catherine Stienstra is head of Municipal Bond Investments and a senior municipal portfolio manager at Columbia Threadneedle Investments. In this role, she oversees the firm’s municipal bond investment team and its wide range of municipal investment strategies, mutual funds, SMAs, ETF and numerous high-net-worth and institutional accounts. Catherine Stienstra is lead portfolio manager of Columbia Strategic Municipal Income Fund and a co-portfolio manager on the high-yield, state-specific long national and short national municipal strategies. In addition, she co-designed and launched the industry’s first strategic beta municipal bond ETF. She joined one of the Columbia Threadneedle Investments legacy firms in 2007. Previously, she was a senior portfolio manager at FAF Advisors, Inc. (formerly U.S. Bancorp Asset Management) for 17 years. She has been a member of the investment community since 1988 and earned a B.A. in international studies from the University of Nebraska.

 

For institutional and broker/dealer use only. This material has not been filed with FINRA and may not be shown, quoted to, or used with, members of the general public.