The private wealth group plans to reach across the breadth of the BMO Financial Group, Diana Reid, head of the group, told Family Wealth Report. The effort includes consolidated statements and reporting, tax packages and access to third-party managers, for example. The idea is “how to make it simple and seamless for clients,” she said.

Reid said in Canada there are 27,000 households who fit this market, which she describes as significantly under served by financial institutions.

While the private bank has always serviced the UHNW the unit was launched to capture the growth of this segment. Canada’s UHNW market is being driven by wealthy business owning Baby Boomers.

The banking group as a whole services this segment as business owners so it’s a natural progression to capture the transfer of wealth when they sell, said Reid. “The transfer of wealth that is beginning is quite staggering,” she added.

Reid said BMO is able to compete with established players, such as Citi Private bank in Canada which targets the $25 million and up crowd, because they are focused more on investments. “We will talk about solutions versus product,” she said.   

Reid said the bank is very focused on the education of business families. She said that handling the UHNW is never about money but more about family dynamics and generational issues.

The private wealth group has about 20 client facing pros in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Montreal. It plans to grow that number by a minimum of 10 per cent annually, said Reid adding it is still early days.