LONDON, CHICAGO and TORONTO, Jan. 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Lloyd George Management (LGM), a member of BMO Global Asset Management, has enhanced the experience of its frontier markets equity team with the recent appointments of Dr. Greg Mills, Dafydd Lewis and Donatas Uzkurelis.

Frontier markets consist of countries with market-oriented economies in the early stages of economic development, reflecting many of the same characteristics of the original global emerging markets, such as China and India, some 20 years ago.

Dr. Greg Mills will take on the role of advisor to the LGM frontier strategy. Dr. Mills has extensive experience providing financial advice to national governments. In his most recent role, Dr. Mills was the National Director of the South African Institute of International Affairs. He now heads the Johannesburg based Brenthurst Foundation, which is dedicated to strengthening Africa's economic performance.

Dafydd Lewis joins the LGM team after having worked for an investment management firm in Dubai where he was responsible for researching frontier markets. He has seven years of experience in global emerging and frontier markets. In his new role at LGM, Mr. Lewis will focus primarily on the financial services industry across frontier markets.

Donatas Uzkurelis joins LGM after six years in Lithuania where he was an analyst for a leading European bank. At LGM, Mr. Uzkurelis will cover the consumer discretionary and staples sectors across frontier markets.

"The addition of Greg, Dafydd and Donatas reflects the growth and expertise of our team and our commitment to strengthening our frontier markets strategy," said Barry McInerney, Co-CEO, BMO Global Asset Management. "These individuals have a wealth of knowledge and experience, and we look forward to the contributions they will make to the team responsible for our clients' frontier markets assets."

LGM also announced that its two frontier markets funds are gaining steady traction, and have already garnered more than US$100 million from institutional investors.

"The development and success of our frontier markets funds is another milestone in our ongoing objective to be one of the leading managers of frontier markets equities," commented Robert Lloyd George, Investment Chairman, LGM.

About Lloyd George Management

Established in 1991, Lloyd George Management is a specialist Asian, Global Emerging and Frontier Markets equity manager with $2.9 billion in assets under management (as of October 31, 2011). Its team of 28 investment professionals is based in offices in Hong Kong, Singapore, Mumbai, London and Florida. Lloyd George Management's approach is active and primarily stock driven, with a focus on high quality sustainable growth companies with strong capital management. It seeks investment opportunities across the market cap spectrum. In April 2011, Lloyd George Management became a wholly owned subsidiary within BMO Financial Group.

About BMO Global Asset Management

BMO Global Asset Management comprises BMO Asset Management U.S., BMO Asset Management Canada, and BMO's specialized investment boutiques: HIM Monegy, Inc.®, Pyrford International Ltd, Lloyd George Management (BVI) Ltd, and Taplin, Canida & Habacht, LLC. BMO Asset Management U.S. consists of Harris Investment Management, Inc. and M&I Investment Management Corp., and BMO Asset Management Canada consists of BMO Asset Management Inc. (formerly Jones Heward Investment Counsel Inc.). BMO Global Asset Management is part of the BMO Financial Group, a service mark of Bank of Montreal (BMO).

Certain companies within BMO Global Asset Management offer a number of products and services designed specifically for various categories of investors in a number of different countries and regions. These products or services are only offered to such investors in those countries and regions in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.

Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking statements, and are typically identified by words such as "believe" and other similar expressions. By their nature, forward-looking statements require us to make various assumptions and are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties and other factors which could cause results to differ, including those discussed in the Bank of Montreal 2011 annual consolidated financial statements and management's discussion and analysis, and quarterly reports to shareholders. We caution readers of this press release not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements.

SOURCE BMO Financial Group