TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwire) -- 02/02/13 -- Investors and football fans will be tuning in to the Super Bowl this Sunday, hoping the "Super Bowl Indicator" continues its uncanny ability to predict bearish and bullish stock market trends for the year ahead.

The Super Bowl Indicator (SBI), a calculation for stock market performance based on the winning team, has been regarded as a way to predict a bear or bull market. The formula: when the team representing the National Football Conference (NFC) wins the Super Bowl, the market goes up. When an American Football Conference (AFC) franchise wins, the market goes down. Based on movements in the S&P 500 Index, the Super Bowl indicator has being correct just under 80 per cent of the time.

Jack Ablin, Chief Investment Officer, BMO Harris Private Bank, notes the Super Bowl Indicator worked according to plan in 2012. "It held up remarkably well; the New York Giants won the Super Bowl and the S&P gained 13 per cent. 2013 is shaping up to be a strong year too, we had the best January on record since 1994 and the NFC team - the San Francisco 49ers - are favoured by more than 4.5 points. The Super Bowl indicator is lining up for another good year in the market," he said.

BMO Financial Group has personal finance experts who can provide advice and information on a variety of topics, including:

--  Investing strategies for Registered Retirement Savings Plans this season
--  How to navigate markets in volatile times 
--  Integrating Exchange Traded Funds into your investment portfolio 
--  Where is the smart money going these days? Are there specific sectors
    you should be taking a closer look at?

BMO Ads to Air During Super Bowl

Football fans across North America will see BMO's latest television advertisements during the broadcast of the Super Bowl on Sunday.

The Canadian advertisement for BMO Bank of Montreal will appear across the country in both languages. Meanwhile, the broadcast premiere of the U.S. advertisement for BMO Harris Bank, will appear in seven key U.S. markets: Chicago, Green Bay/Appleton, Madison, Milwaukee, Indianapolis, Minneapolis/St. Paul and Phoenix. These locations represent approximately 10 per cent of the U.S. viewing audience.

The advertisements can be viewed at the following YouTube links:

Great Feeling (Canada English): http://youtu.be/qgenK00OAKg

Profitez (Canada French): http://youtu.be/7tkhDbu3aSY

Dream Home (U.S.): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvyTc4RrQN4

About BMO Financial Group

Established in 1817 as Bank of Montreal, BMO Financial Group is a highly diversified North American financial services organization. With total assets of $525 billion as at October 31, 2012, and more than 46,000 employees, BMO Financial Group provides a broad range of retail banking, wealth management and investment banking products and solutions.

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