Invest in you.

BMO U.S. Benefits

Home > Retirement & Savings > Employee Share Purchase Plan

Employee Share Purchase

Be a BMO shareholder. Invest in BMO shares at a discount with the Employee Share Purchase Plan (ESPP). The better BMO stock performs, the more valuable your investment becomes.

How the plan works

The ESPP is an easy and cost effective way to purchase shares of BMO common stock at a discount. Here’s a high-level overview of the Employee Share Purchase Plan. For details, review the 2021 Employee Share Purchase Plans SPD.


To help decide if you want to participate in the ESPP, check out Your guide to the BMO Employee Share Purchase Plan.

Features
Eligibility

You are eligible following six months of employment.

  • Most BMO Financial Group U.S. subsidiary employees are eligible for the Qualified ESPP.
  • Bank of Montreal U.S. employees are eligible for the Nonqualified ESPP.*
Enrollment
  • You can enroll on Workday or by calling the Human Resource Centre at 1-888-927-7700 prior to the start of any quarter.
  • Your election remains in effect for the entire quarter and continues each subsequent quarter unless you change it during a future enrollment period.
Account Access

Access your ESPP account online:

Inside BMO network:

  • Go to Workday, click Pay application
  • Under External Links, click Employee Share Purchase Plan

Outside BMO network:

  • Go to Workday, select More Tools application, then HR Intranet
  • Under the Benefits tab, click Share Ownership, then ESPP (U.S.)

Or, call the Human Resource Centre at 1-888-927-7700.
Contributions
  • You may contribute 1% to 15% of your eligible pay through payroll deductions on an after-tax basis.
  • Your contributions are limited to $13,500 annually. In addition, your purchases are subject to an annual fair market value (FMV) limit of $15,000. If you exceed the FMV limit, your contributions will stop for the remainder of the year and you will receive a refund of any excess contributions.
Buying Shares
  • Your contributions will be used to purchase BMO common stock at 90% of the fair market value of the closing price on the last day of each calendar quarter.
  • BMO contributes the 10% difference between your discounted cost for the shares and their actual market price.
  • Dividends are automatically reinvested to buy more shares.
Managing your Shares
  • Shares are credited to your account within 5 business days following their purchase each quarter.
  • You can sell shares anytime and receive a distribution in cash, request Direct Registration (DRS), or transfer your shares to another broker.
Beneficiaries If you die while participating in the ESPP, your shares (and any cash) will become the property of your estate. The executor of your estate should report the death to the Computershare Service Center at
1-800-545-7996.

* Due to IRS code, employees of the Bank of Montreal U.S. cannot participate in the qualified plan. Therefore, they are offered a similar plan, the Nonqualified Employee Share Purchase Plan.

Trading window

Employees who are considered “insiders” and have material, confidential information about the company need to follow trading window requirements before executing any Employee Share Purchase Plan dispositions.

For more information, review Employee Trading Resources in BMO Central.

Trading window

Employees who are considered “insiders” and have material, confidential information about the company need to follow trading window requirements before executing any Employee Share Purchase Plan dispositions.

For more information, review Employee Trading Resources in BMO Central.

Related Links

Computershare

Important Docs

2021 Employee Share Purchase Plans SPD

2020 Employee Share Purchase Plans SPD

Your guide to the BMO Employee Share Purchase Plan (ESPP)


Need assistance?

Call the Human Resources Centre

1-888-927-7700
Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. CT