What did markets earn over the summer — and what does the back-to-school season mean for investors? In this episode, host Hilly Cutler sits down with Matt Montemurro to assess how equities, bonds, and commodities performed over the past few months, where ETF flows are heading, and what key themes — from Fed rate decisions to the AI trade and upcoming mega IPOs — could shape the final quarter of 2026.

Hilly Cutler is Director of Portfolio Consulting and Senior Portfolio Consultant at BMO Global Asset Management (BMO GAM) and Matt Montemurro is Head of Fixed Income and Equity Index ETFs at BMO GAM. This episode was recorded live on Monday, September 14, 2026.

Funds mentioned:

Source: Morningstar Direct, BMO Global Asset Management as at September 11, 2026

CPI: Consumer Price Index

The Fed: The U.S. Federal Reserve Board

FOMC: Federal Open Market Committee

EAFE: Developed markets in Europe, Australasia, and the Far East.

Emerging markets: Major economies and many smaller countries such as China, India, Brazil, South Korea, Taiwan, and South Africa.

Collateralized Loan Obligation (CLO): A structured financial product where a manager pools together corporate loans and repackages them into tranches, or classes of securities, based on their risk level.

Correlation: 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).

Duration: A measure of the sensitivity of the price of a fixed income investment to a change in interest rates. Duration is expressed as number of years. The price of a bond with a longer duration would be expected to rise (fall) more than the price of a bond with lower duration when interest rates fall (rise).

Yield curve: A line that plots the interest rates of bonds having equal credit quality but differing maturity dates. A normal or steep yield curve indicates that long-term interest rates are higher than short-term interest rates. A flat yield curve indicates that short-term rates are in line with long-term rates, whereas an inverted yield curve indicates that short-term rates are higher than long-term rates.

Disclaimers:

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This podcast is for information purposes. The viewpoints expressed by the speakers represent their assessment of the markets at the time of recording. Those views are subject to change without notice at any time. The information contained herein is not, and should not be construed as, investment, tax or legal advice to any party. Investments should be evaluated relative to the individual’s investment objectives and professional advice should be obtained with respect to any circumstance.

Any statement that necessarily depends on future events may be a forward-looking statement. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of performance. They involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Although such statements are based on assumptions that are believed to be reasonable, there can be no assurance that actual results will not differ materially from expectations. Investors are cautioned not to rely unduly on any forward-looking statements. In connection with any forward-looking statements, investors should carefully consider the areas of risk described in the most recent prospectus.

The BMO Broad Commodity ETF is an exchange-traded alternative mutual fund within the meaning of NI 81-102. As an alternative mutual fund, the BMO ETF has the ability to invest in asset classes and use investment strategies that are not permitted for conventional mutual funds, including the ability to invest in other alternative mutual funds, employ leverage and borrow cash to use for investment purposes and increased ability to invest in commodities. While these strategies will be used in accordance with the BMO ETF’s investment objective and strategies, during certain market conditions, they may accelerate the pace at which an investor’s investment decreases in value.

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CLOs are floating- or fixed-rate debt securities issued in different tranches, with varying degrees of risk, by trusts or other special purpose vehicles (“CLO Issuers”) and backed by an underlying portfolio consisting primarily of below investment-grade corporate loans. The BMO AAA CLO ETF pursues its investment objective by investing, under normal circumstances, at least 85% of its net assets in CLOs that, at the time of purchase, are rated AAA or the equivalent by a nationally recognized statistical rating organization. The BMO BBB CLO ETF pursues its investment objective by investing, under normal circumstances, at least 75% of its net assets in CLOs that are BBB-rated at the time of purchase.

AAA herein refers to the order of payments, should there be any defaults, and does not represent the ratings of the underlying loans within the CLO. If there are loan defaults or the CLO Issuer’s collateral otherwise underperforms, scheduled payments to senior tranches take precedence over those of mezzanine tranches (a tranche or tranches subordinated to the senior tranche; e.g., AAA tranches are the most senior, while BBB tranches are mezzanine-level), and scheduled payments to mezzanine tranches take precedence over those to subordinated/equity tranches. The riskiest portion is the “Equity” tranche, which bears the first losses and is expected to bear all or the bulk of defaults from the corporate loans held by the CLO Issuer serves to protect the other, more senior tranches from default.

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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.

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Summer Report Card: ETF Flows, Key Trends & Fall Outlook