Bank of Montreal’s capital markets unit has hired François Trahan as chief investment strategist , according to a person familiar with the matter. Trahan replaces research veteran Brian Belski , who departed BMO Capital Markets last year to launch his own advisory firm, Humilis Investment Strategies.

Trahan holds over 25 years of experience in macroeconomic and equity research, with senior roles at firms including UBS and Cornerstone Macro, according to his LinkedIn profile. He’s the founder of his own boutique firm, Trahan Macro Research, as well as The Macro Institute, a learning program for financial professionals.

BMO has expanded its global research platform over the past year, adding senior equity research analyst Brennan Hawken from UBS to cover brokers and asset managers, Sean Dodge from Royal Bank of Canada to cover health care technology and services, and Andrew Bauch from Wells Fargo to cover payments firms and fintech.

  • Former AIMCo chief executive Evan Siddall joining BMO
  • Thom to retire as Bank of Montreal’s head of credit trading