Responsible Investing Through BMO Nesbitt Burns Architect Program®

Today’s investors have heightened expectations for transparency regarding the management of their investment portfolio, and the companies in which they invest. In fact, they are increasingly prioritizing Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (“ESG”) considerations into their investment objectives.

The BMO Nesbitt Burns Architect Program (“Architect Program”) is ideally suited to investors who want flexibility in building a portfolio aligned to their investor profile and objectives, while ensuring their ESG priorities are accommodated.

Manager selection and due diligence

The BMO Nesbitt Burns Managed Assets Strategy and Analytics team is responsible for the investment managers participating in the Architect Program. Through a rigorous and disciplined due diligence process, the team ensures that only the most qualified are selected and remain in the program to meet the needs of investors.
This process also includes considering how these investment managers incorporate ESG criteria into their processes, including: identifying firms integrating responsible investing into their investment management practices; confirming resources dedicated to implementing these ESG considerations; and where these managers have taken a stand to support these principles.
This ensures that investors in the Architect Program have access to a range of investment solutions that make ESG considerations an important part of their investment process.

Applying your own ESG constraints

While many managers in the Architect Program actively consider ESG priorities in the investment management of their portfolios, investors in the Architect Program also have the opportunity to apply additional, personalized constraints to any of the investment strategies available through the program.
After selecting an appropriate investment strategy based on your investor profile, you can request that the accountable manager refrain from investing in specific companies or sectors that are consistent with your personal ESG priorities. By doing so, these investments will not be included in your portfolio. This flexibility allows you to control and screen investments made in your Architect portfolio based on your personal values, in addition to any ESG factors already considered by the investment manager.
And, because your Architect portfolio includes both a Managed and a Client-directed portion, the Client-directed portion further enhances your ESG flexibility. Through the Client-directed portion you can add complementary individual stocks, bonds, mutual funds and Exchange-traded Funds (“ETFs”), allowing you to increase your exposure to companies that promote ethical practices and sustainability, or add investment funds that are fully dedicated to responsible investment.