Amherst Capital brings world-class analytical tools, real estate expertise to Standish mortgage team

Laurie Goodman teams up with Amherst Capital

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Nov 05, 2015, 04:37 ET

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NEW YORK and BOSTON, Nov. 5, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Standish Mellon Asset Management Company LLC ("Standish"), a BNY Mellon investment boutique with a focus on fixed income, today announced that Standish's dedicated mortgage team have become employees of its subsidiary, Amherst Capital Management LLC ("Amherst Capital"), in order to unite Amherst Capital's deep real estate expertise and industry-leading technology with Standish's investment processes for mortgage-related assets.

By joining together the expansive global footprint and longevity of BNY Mellon and Standish with the real estate expertise of Amherst Holdings¹, Amherst Capital is poised to alter the real estate finance landscape in the U.S.

As dual officers of Standish, the mortgage team will remain in Boston and continue to utilize the same investment processes for Standish clients, while gaining access to Amherst Capital's real estate data set and analytical tools to provide an information advantage for specialized solutions in the U.S. real estate credit space. The mortgage team will provide investment advice with respect to approximately $6.5bn² of real estate-related assets.

"Amherst Capital's loan-level data analysis of the real estate capital markets provides the mortgage team with a unique perspective on the fundamental elements driving asset performance, and a specialized set of tools for managing risk," said Dave Leduc, CEO of Standish. "This collaboration reinforces Standish's long history of innovation, client service and working with the best talent in the industry to enhance the investing process for our clients."

Under the leadership of Sean Dobson, a well-known real estate finance executive with a history of managing U.S. real estate investment strategies, Amherst Capital is tapping the expertise of senior mortgage analysts, including Laurie Goodman, who provides leadership and guidance in research and investment strategy on an exclusive advisory basis as Non-Executive Director.

"This is an important milestone for Amherst Capital as we position ourselves to offer a comprehensive set of real estate credit investment capabilities, including direct lending strategies," said Sean Dobson, Amherst Capital CEO. "The U.S. real estate credit markets are still in disrepair from the financial crisis and asset managers will play a bigger role to facilitate recovery. Inefficiencies within the sector tend to reward a high level of investment in research and analytics, and as such, Amherst Capital is poised to play a significant role in this transformation."

Amherst Capital was established by BNY Mellon in collaboration with Amherst Holdings in 2015 to support Standish's capabilities in real estate investing and to also offer standalone real estate investment solutions to meet the growing demand of an underserved real estate credit market as a consequence of the changing U.S. regulatory landscape.

Notes to Editors:

About Amherst Capital Management
Amherst Capital Management is a real estate credit investment specialist with approximately $6.8bn³ of assets under management. Amherst Capital was established in 2015 as a majority-owned subsidiary of Standish, a BNY Mellon Investment boutique with a focus on fixed-income, and is minority-owned by Amherst Holdings. Texas Treasury Safekeeping Trust Company is a founding seed investor⁴. Amherst Capital offers traditional and alternative real estate investment strategies to private and institutional investors globally, grounded in deep intellectual capital and one of the world's most robust real estate datasets. For more information please visit www.amherstcapital.com

About Amherst Holdings
For over 20 years, the Amherst companies have provided institutional investors with a suite of financial services related to the U.S. mortgage markets and securitized products and were one of the few residential mortgage specialists to anticipate the 2008 mortgage crisis. Amherst's extensive data resources and proprietary analytical tools have been key drivers for positioning the firm as a market leader in the areas of behavioral economics and real estate lending risk analysis. Based on the company's advice and performance during the financial crisis, the company has become a valued advisor to many federal agencies and policy makers endeavoring to construct a more stable set of housing policies and programs. Amherst Holdings is majority employee-owned and has 547 associates around the globe. For more information please visit www.amherst.com

About Standish
Headquartered in Boston, MA USA, Standish is a dedicated fixed income manager with approximately US$157⁵ billion in assets under management (as of September 30, 2015). Standish traces its roots back to 1933, when its predecessor firm, Standish, Ayer & Wood, Inc., began managing fixed income portfolios for US financial institutions, banks and insurance companies. Standish currently offers a wide range of credit-based and specialty bond strategies for pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, central banks, endowments, foundations, insurance companies and other institutions. As a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, Standish enjoys the support and backing of a well-capitalized parent company with a strong balance sheet. Standish emphasizes fundamental research and quantitative models in an attempt to outperform agreed-upon client benchmarks. This combination permits highly customized client solutions and requires both strong risk controls and a high level of dedicated client service. For more information please visit www.standish.com

About BNY Mellon Investment Management
BNY Mellon Investment Management is one of the world's leading investment management organizations and one of the top U.S. wealth managers, with $1.6 trillion in assets under management. It encompasses BNY Mellon's affiliated investment management firms, wealth management services and global distribution companies. More information can be found at www.bnymellon.com

About BNY Mellon
BNY Mellon is a global investments company dedicated to helping its clients manage and service their financial assets throughout the investment lifecycle. Whether providing financial services for institutions, corporations or individual investors, BNY Mellon delivers informed investment management and investment services in 35 countries and more than 100 markets. As of Sept. 30, 2015, BNY Mellon had $28.5 trillion in assets under custody and/or administration, and $1.6 trillion in assets under management. BNY Mellon can act as a single point of contact for clients looking to create, trade, hold, manage, service, distribute or restructure investments. BNY Mellon is the corporate brand of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (NYSE: BK). Additional information is available on www.bnymellon.com. Follow us on Twitter @BNYMellon or visit our newsroom at www.bnymellon.com/newsroom for the latest company news.

All information source BNY Mellon as of September 30, 2015. This press release is qualified for issuance in the US only and is for information purposes only. It does not constitute an offer or solicitation of securities or investment services or an endorsement thereof in any jurisdiction or in any circumstance in which such offer or solicitation is unlawful or not authorized. This press release is issued by BNY Mellon Investment Management to members of the financial press and media and the information contained herein should not be construed as investment advice. Past performance is not a guide to future performance. A BNY Mellon Company.

¹ Amherst Holdings is not registered as an investment adviser with the SEC and is not providing advice to clients of Standish or Amherst Capital.
² As of November 2, 2015 this amount includes $6bn in assets pertaining to certain discretionary multi-sector fixed income clients of our affiliate Standish Mellon Asset Management Company LLC ("Standish"), for which certain Amherst Capital employees provide advice acting as dual officers of Standish. In addition, discretionary portfolios in the amount of approximately $460mm are managed by certain of our employees in their capacity as dual officers of The Dreyfus Corporation.
³ As of November 2, 2015, Amherst Capital provides investment advisory services with respect to $6.8 billion assets under management. This amount includes $6bn in assets pertaining to certain discretionary multi-sector fixed income clients of our affiliate Standish Mellon Asset Management Company LLC ("Standish"), for which certain Amherst Capital employees provide advice acting as dual officers of Standish. In addition, discretionary portfolios in the amount of approximately $460mm are managed by certain of our employees in their capacity as dual officers of The Dreyfus Corporation. Amherst Capital also has $350mm in committed capital.
⁴ It was not known whether the listed clients approve or disapprove of the adviser or the advisory services provided.
⁵ Assets under management (AUM) as of September 30, 2015. This figure includes assets managed by Standish personnel acting as dual officers of The Dreyfus Corporation or The Bank of New York Mellon, and high yield assets managed by personnel of Alcentra NY, LLC acting as dual officers of Standish. Standish, Dreyfus, and Alcentra are registered investment advisers; they and The Bank of New York Mellon are wholly-owned subsidiaries of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation.