Strategy
Product Insights
Commodity ETFs

BMO ETF Launch Summary – Expanding Our Suite of Structured Outcome ETFs

Apr. 1, 2024

Get comfort when you need it the most! Introducing the BMO Buffer ETF ZAPR, a dynamic solution designed to suit specific investment objectives. Explore the next frontier of investments, where innovation meets opportunity.

Structured Outcome ETFs

ZAPR – BMO US Equity Buffer Hedged to CAD ETF – April

A shock absorber for your portfolio

Key Points:

  • Have the potential to enjoy a smoother investment experience and know your structured outcomes prior to investing.
  • Buffer ETFs, help you participate in the upside to a pre-determined level or cap with a buffer zone to mitigate losses (-15% downside protection if held from inception< to the end of the Target Outcome Period).*
  • When the underlying reference ETF pays a dividend, it flows through the Buffer ETF directly to unitholders. Dividends are not subject to the downside buffer or the price cap.
  • ZAPR invests in the BMO S&P 500 Hedged to CAD Index ETF (ticker: ZUE)> which can complement your core equity positions while mitigating risk.
  • Distributions: Quarterly
  • Management Fee: 0.65%
  • ^Risk Rating: Medium

Get Comfort When You Need it the Most: Three ETFs with a built-in buffer to help mitigate losses, and potentially provide you with greater certainty over time. Read

  1. ZAPR – BMO US Equity Buffer Hedged to CAD ETF – April
  2. ZJAN – BMO US Equity Buffer Hedged to CAD ETF – January
  3. ZOCT – BMO US Equity Buffer Hedged to CAD ETF – October

Announcement: See the New Structured Outcome ETF Press Release. Read

ZJAN – BMO US Equity Buffer Hedged to CAD ETF – January

A shock absorber for your portfolio

Why Buy?

  • Have the potential to enjoy a smoother investment experience and know your structured outcomes prior to investing.
  • Buffer ETFs help you participate in the upside to a pre-determined level or cap with a buffer zone to mitigate losses (-15% downside protection if held from inception to the end of the Target Outcome Period).**
  • When the underlying reference ETF pays a dividend, it flows through the Buffer ETF directly to unitholders. Dividends are not subject to the downside buffer or the price cap.
  • ZJAN invests in the BMO S&P 500 Hedged to CAD Index ETF (ticker: ZUE)† which can complement your core equity positions while mitigating risk.
  • Distributions: Quarterly
  • Management Fee: 0.65%
  • Risk Rating: Medium

ZOCT - BMO US Equity Buffer Hedged to CAD ETF – October

A shock absorber for your portfolio

Why Buy?

  • Designed for investors looking for downside protection up to a 15% decline (before fees taxes and expenses) over a 1-year outcome period.
  • Investors know their structured outcomes prior to investing and can defend their investment.††
  • The ETF Invests in broad U.S. equities which compliments core equity positions while mitigating risk.
  • Distributions: Quarterly
  • Management Fee: 0.65%
  • Risk Rating: Medium

ZUEA – BMO US Equity Accelerator Hedged to CAD ETF

Dial up your equity return 

Why Buy?

  • Designed to offer approximately 2x the price return on the S&P 500 hedged to CAD, to a cap of 8% (before fees taxes and expenses), with single exposure‡‡ on the downside over a 3-month period.
  • Accelerator ETFs reset every three months to continue capturing upside to the cap.
  • Distributions: Quarterly
  • Management Fee: 0.65%
  • Risk¶ Rating: Medium

ZEBA – BMO Canadian Banks Accelerator ETF

Dial up your equity return 

Why Buy?

  • Offers approximately 2x the price return on Canadian banks, to a cap of 8% (before fees taxes and expenses) with single exposure on the downside, over a 3-month period.
  • Accelerator ETFs reset every three months to continue capturing upside to the cap.
  • Distributions: Monthly
  • Management Fee: 0.65%
  • Risk Rating: Medium

For more on our Buffer and Accelerator ETFs please visit: Dial your equity risk down featuring BMO’s ZOCT ETF and Dial Your Equity Returns Up featuring BMO’s ZUEA and ZEBA ETFs.

Built for all investors, BMO ETFs are proud to have changed investing for the better. We focus on listening to our partners to develop innovative ETFs that address real investor needs.

Gold ETFs

ZGLD*/ZGLH/ZGLD.U – BMO Gold Bullion ETF

Get the Gold You Really Want

Why Buy?

  • Inflation hedge & haven: Gold tends to outperform during periods of global economic uncertainty.
  • Diversification: Historically, precious metals have a lower correlation† to traditional asset classes.*
  • Return Potential: Demand for physical gold is on the rise, sitting higher than its 10-year average.‡
  • Cost efficient: Competitive management fees for physical gold trusts that trades over the TSX.§
  • Ease of access: Investors do not have to handle and or store physical gold. BMO Gold ETFs provide exposure to the price of Gold Bullion and can be bought and sold on the TSX on any open trading day.
  • Locally housed in Canada: Physical gold is held in a local BMO vault that is audited periodically.
  • Currency exposure management: Investors can get exposure to physical gold via three different ETF options.
  • Distributions: Annual
  • Management Fee: 0.20%
  • Risk Rating: Medium 

ZGLD is purchased in Canadian dollars, ZGLH is hedged to the Canadian dollar and ZGLD.U is purchased in U.S dollars.

For more on investing in Gold ETFs, have a look at our Gold whitepaper. Please Read

Canadian Broad Based

ZIU - BMO S&P/TSX 60 Index ETF

Canada’s concentrated index

Why Buy?

  • Get exposure to the 60 largest companies by market capitalization that are listed on the TSX.
  • Access to some of Canada’s biggest sectors – Financials, Energy and Materials.
  • A concentrated exposure to the largest and most liquid publicly traded companies within Canada.
  • Distributions: Quarterly
  • Management Fee: 0.13%
  • Risk¶ Rating: Medium

Please see the ZIU Sales Aid.

U.S. Cash

ZUCM/ZUCM.U - BMO USD Cash Management ETF

A place to park cash

Why Buy?

  • Access to short term U.S. Treasury Bills which are backed by the U.S. Government.
  • Get capital preservation with highly liquid securities and no lock up periods.
  • Lower interest rate sensitivity due to short duration§§ bonds.
  • Distributions: Monthly
  • Management Fee: 0.12%
  • RiskRating: ZUCM* Low to Medium, ZUCM.U Low

For more places to park cash please visit A Place to Park Cash ZMMK, ZUCM, ZST, ZUS.V.

Canadian and U.S. Alternatives

ZLSC - BMO Long Short Canadian Equity ETF

Benefit from both directions of price movements within the Canadian market

Why Buy?

  • Long and short positions within a portfolio to capitalize on rises and declines in stock prices at the same time.
  • Potential for stronger risk-adjusted performance than long-only equity funds, and to enhance returns in turbulent markets within Canada.
  • Access a liquid alternative strategy that can complement existing portfolio holdings without the typical rigorous documentation requirements of traditional alternative strategies.
  • Distributions: Quarterly
  • Management Fee: 0.65%
  • Risk Rating: Low to Medium

ZLSU - BMO Long Short US Equity ETF

Benefit from both directions of price movements within the U.S. market

Why Buy?

  • Long and short positions within a portfolio to capitalize on rises and declines in stock prices at the same time.
  • Potential for stronger risk-adjusted performance than long-only equity funds, and to enhance returns in turbulent markets within the U.S.
  • Access a liquid alternative strategy that can complement existing portfolio holdings without the typical rigorous documentation requirements of traditional alternative strategies.
  • Distributions: Quarterly
  • Management Fee: 0.65%
  • Risk Rating: Low to Medium

Please see our  Why invest in BMO ETF’s Long-Short Strategy Job Aid.

Active Alpha-Seeking

BGDV - BMO Global Dividend Opportunities Fund Active ETF Series

Dividend paying companies diversified across multiple sectors and geographies

Why Buy?

  • Invests in global dividend companies that have proven business models with healthy balance sheets and effective capital management across economic cycles.
  • Disciplined investment process that is driven by the dynamic interaction of innovative themes, sector expertise and economic insights.
  • Distributions: Monthly
  • Management Fee: 0.75%
  • Risk Rating: Medium

Download PDF >

>Changes in rates of exchange may also reduce the value of your investment

<BMO Buffer ETFs seeks to provide income and appreciation that match the return of a Reference Index up to a cap (before fees, expenses and taxes), while providing a buffer against the first 15% (before fees, expenses and taxes) of a decrease in the Reference Index over a period of approximately one year, starting from the first business day of the stated outcome period.

*Provided investors remain invested throughout the duration of the Target Outcome Period. The Target Outcome Period for ZOCT is approximately one year from the first business day of October of each year to on or about the last business day of September of that year. The Target Outcome Period for ZJAN, is approximately one year from the third Friday of January of each year to on or about the third Friday of January of the following year. The Target Outcome Period for ZAPR, is approximately one year from the first business day of April of each year to on or about the last business day of March of the following year.

^Risk is defined as the uncertainty of return and the potential for capital loss in your investments

* Changes in rates of exchange may also reduce the value of your investment.

† A statistical measure of how two securities move in relation to one another. Positive correlation indicates similar movements, up or down together, while negative correlation indicates opposite movements (when one rises, the other falls).

‡ World Gold Council, https://www.gold.org/goldhub/research/gold-demand-trends/gold-demand-trends-q3-2023

§ Source: BMO Global Asset Management, Bloomberg, January 31st 2024.

Risk is defined as the uncertainty of return and the potential for capital loss in your investments.

** BMO Buffer ETFs seeks to provide income and appreciation that match the return of a Reference Index up to a cap (before fees, expenses and taxes), while providing a buffer against the first 15% (before fees, expenses and taxes) of a decrease in the Reference Index over a period of approximately one year, starting from the first business day of the stated outcome period.

†† Provided investors remain invested throughout the duration of the Target Outcome Period. The Target Outcome Period for ZOCT is approximately one year from the first business day of October of each year to on or about the last business day of September of that year. The Target Outcome Period for ZJAN, is approxi- mately one year from the third Friday of January of each year to on or about the third Friday of January of the following year.

‡‡ Single exposure is approximate and not exact.

§§ Duration: can measure how long it takes, in years, for an investor to be repaid a bond’s price by the bond’s total cash flows. Duration can also measure the sensitivity of a bond’s or fixed income portfolio’s price to changes in interest rates.

An investor that purchases Units of a Structured Outcome ETF other than at starting NAV on the first day of a Target Outcome Period and/​or sells Units of a Structured Outcome ETF prior to the end of a Target Outcome Period may experience results that are very different from the target outcomes sought by the Structured Outcome ETF for that Target Outcome Period. Both the cap and, where applicable, the buffer are fixed levels that are calculated in relation to the market price of the applicable Reference ETF and a Structured Outcome ETF’s NAV (as Structured herein) at the start of each Target Outcome Period. As the market price of the applicable Reference ETF and the Structured Outcome ETF’s NAV will change over the Target Outcome Period, an investor acquiring Units of a Structured Outcome ETF after the start of a Target Outcome Period will likely have a different return potential than an investor who purchased Units of a Structured Outcome ETF at the start of the Target Outcome Period. This is because while the cap and, as applicable, the buffer for the Target Outcome Period are fixed levels that remain constant throughout the Target Outcome Period, an investor purchasing Units of a Structured Outcome ETF at market value during the Target Outcome Period likely purchase Units of a Structured Outcome ETF at a market price that is different from the Structured Outcome ETF’s NAV at the start of the Target Outcome Period (i.e., the NAV that the cap and, as applicable, the buffer reference). In addition, the market price of the applicable Reference ETF is likely to be different from the price of that Reference ETF at the start of the Target Outcome Period. To achieve the intended target outcomes sought by a Structured Outcome ETF for a Target Outcome Period, an investor must hold Units of the Structured Outcome ETF for that entire Target Outcome Period.

The Index is a product of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC or its affiliates (“SPDJI”), and has been licensed for use by the Manager. S&P®, S&P 500®, US 500, The 500, iBoxx®, iTraxx® and CDX® are trademarks of S&P Global, Inc. or its affiliates (“S&P”) and Dow Jones® is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC (“Dow Jones”), and these trademarks have been licensed for use by SPDJI and sublicensed for certain purposes by the Manager. The ETF is not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by SPDJI, Dow Jones, S&P, their respective affiliates, and none of such parties make any representation regarding the advisability of investing in such product(s) nor do they have any liability for any errors, omissions, or interruptions of the Index.

Commissions, management fees and expenses all may be associated with investments in exchange traded funds. Please read the ETF Facts or prospectus of the BMO ETFs before investing. Exchange traded funds are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated.

For a summary of the risks of an investment in the BMO ETFs, please see the specific risks set out in the BMO ETF’s prospectus. BMO ETFs trade like stocks, fluctuate in market value and may trade at a discount to their net asset value, which may increase the risk of loss. Distributions are not guaranteed and are subject to change and/​or elimination.

BMO ETFs are managed by BMO Asset Management Inc., which is an investment fund manager and a portfolio manager, and a separate legal entity from Bank of Montreal.

This material is for information purposes. The information contained herein is not, and should not be construed as, investment, tax or legal advice to any party. Particular investments and/​or trading strategies should be evaluated relative to the individual’s investment objectives and professional advice should be obtained with respect to any circumstance. 

®/™Registered trademarks/​trademark of Bank of Montreal, used under licence.