Bank of Montreal (BMO), Canada's fourth-largest bank, filed Q4 2025 with $288.73 billion in U.S. equity holdings and 78 new positions opened. NVIDIA leads at 5.02% weight.
A Canadian bank with a $289B U.S. equity book. This is what cross-border institutional investing looks like in 13F data.
The filing snapshot
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 13F AUM | $288.73B |
| New positions opened | 78 |
| Top holding | NVIDIA (NVDA) at 5.02% |
| Top-5 concentration | 18.22% |
| Notable holding | Royal Bank of Canada (RY) |
| Top ETF | SPY |
Why a Canadian bank files 13F
BMO is required to file 13F because it manages over $100M in U.S.-listed securities. The $289B reflects:
- BMO Global Asset Management: The bank's asset management arm managing funds for Canadian and global clients
- BMO Capital Markets: Trading and market-making in U.S. securities
- Wealth management: Client portfolios that include U.S. equities
- Bank investment portfolio: BMO's own treasury investments in U.S. markets
The cross-border dynamic
Canadian banks are among the largest foreign holders of U.S. equities:
- Royal Bank of Canada (RBC): Files 13F for hundreds of billions
- TD Bank: Major U.S. equity holder through TD Ameritrade integration
- BMO: $289B in U.S. equity exposure
- Bank of Nova Scotia: Files 13F for global equity exposure
These filings show how deeply integrated Canadian and U.S. capital markets are.
78 new positions: what they signal
78 new positions in one quarter for a $289B filer suggests:
Model portfolio refresh
BMO's wealth management platform likely updated its recommended holdings list. 78 additions (with corresponding exits) = a quarterly model review.
Sector rotation
New positions concentrated in specific sectors would signal a deliberate tilt. The ticker list (NVDA, RY, SPY) suggests a mix of:
- U.S. tech (NVDA)
- Canadian financials (RY — their own domestic peer)
- Broad U.S. exposure (SPY)
ETF sleeve adjustments
Some of the 78 new positions may be sector or thematic ETFs added to allocation models.
NVDA at 5.02%: above index weight
NVIDIA at 5.02% of BMO's portfolio is slightly below NVDA's S&P 500 weight (~6-7%), but still the single largest position. For a Canadian bank's U.S. equity book, having NVDA as #1 reflects:
- The AI trade has reached Canadian institutional portfolios
- BMO's models include meaningful individual stock exposure (not just ETFs)
- NVDA at 5% is a deliberate allocation, not just index pass-through
Top-5 at 18.22%: moderately diversified
18.22% in the top 5 positions means BMO's portfolio is broadly diversified:
| Concentration level | What it means |
|---|---|
| BMO: 18.22% top-5 | Moderate — diversified across many holdings |
| S&P 500: ~25% top-5 | Market concentration baseline |
| Jennison: 47.6% top-10 | High conviction |
| D.E. Shaw: 18.8% top-10 | Ultra-broad (quant) |
BMO's concentration is BELOW the S&P 500's natural concentration. This means BMO is actively underweighting the largest names relative to the index — a mild anti-concentration stance.
RY (Royal Bank of Canada) in the holdings
BMO holding shares of its Canadian banking competitor RY is notable:
- Could be client accounts that hold RY stock
- Could be BMO's own treasury investing in Canadian bank peers
- Canadian banks commonly hold each other's stock (cross-holdings within the Canadian banking oligopoly)
What matters for BMO's 13F
Track quarter-over-quarter
- Is NVDA weight growing or shrinking? (AI conviction trajectory)
- Are they adding more individual stocks or more ETFs? (Active vs. passive trend)
- Is the 78-new-positions pace typical or elevated? (Portfolio activity level)
Cross-reference with other Canadian banks
- Are RBC, TD, and Scotiabank making similar U.S. equity moves?
- Is there a consensus among Canadian banks on U.S. sector allocation?
- Canadian bank 13Fs collectively represent $1T+ in U.S. equity exposure
Originally published at 13F Insight
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