Canadian ETF provider BMO Financial Group has announced that its ETF business recently surpassed CAD$5 billion in assets under management (AUM). In the first two months of 2012 alone, AUM grew by 32%.

ETFs at Canada-based ETF provider BMO have surpassed $5 billion in AUM in under three years. In the first two months of 2012 alone, AUM grew by 32%.

According to Kevin Gopaul, Vice President and CIO of BMO Asset Management, “growth can be attributed to the strength of our team, a commitment to ongoing product innovation and our ability to draw on the strength and stability of the BMO brand.

“We are delighted that the success we had in 2011 has carried over into this year as well.”

First introduced in 2009, the BMO range of ETFs has grown to 44 funds.

Last year, BMO led the Canadian ETF industry in growth, accounting for CAD$2.3 billion or 49% of the growth of assets under management.

The following ETF categories and ETFs were significant contributors in driving recent growth:

– Fixed income ETFs including the BMO Aggregate Bond Index ETF and the BMO High Yield US Corporate Bond Hedged to CAD Index ETF

– Strategic, non-indexed ETFs including the BMO Covered Call Dow Jones Industrial Average Hedged to CAD ETF and the BMO Low Volatility Canadian Equity ETF

– Yield-oriented equity ETFs including the BMO Equal Weight REITs Index ETF and the BMO Equal Weight Utilities Index ETF

According to a recent report issues by the company, the Canadian ETF industry is set for dramatic growth in 2012, fuelled by the emergence of new ETF providers, the introduction of more active and strategy-based ETFs, more sophisticated product offerings, including the introduction of hybrid structures such as mutual funds that invest directly in ETFs, and increased price competition.