Salient Partners Appoints Dr. Ajay Mehra as Head of Equities

HOUSTON, Sept. 20, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Salient Partners L.P. (Salient), a $17 billion asset management firm, announces that Dr. Ajay Mehra has joined the firm as Managing Director and Head of Equities.

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Dr. Mehra is based in New York and will directly oversee Salient client portfolios and equity related products. In addition, he will become a Partner serving as a member of Salient's senior investment team. Dr. Mehra most recently served as Managing Director and Head of Manager and Fund Research at UBS, where he reshaped the firm's liquid alternatives platform and oversaw the manager search and due diligence activities.

"Ajay will help Salient blend its quantitative and risk management skillsets with fundamental process-driven research in the global equity markets," said John A. Blaisdell, Salient Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "Such a combination will allow Salient to perform innovative work in the global equity management arena while continuing to provide sophisticated alternative strategies for retail and institutional investors."

Dr. Mehra holds a Ph.D. in Business Strategy from the University of Massachusetts as well as an MBA and a BS in Accounting from Panjab University in Chandigarh, India.

"Ajay's wealth of investment knowledge and experience complements Salient's already exceptional pool of talent," said Lee Partridge, CFA, Salient Chief Investment Officer. "His experience in fundamental equity research and the liquid alternative space will improve our ability to craft efficient and product-agnostic investment strategies."

Prior to working for UBS, Dr. Mehra was a Portfolio Manager and Partner at Columbus Nova, where he co-managed a global opportunity/macro hedge fund and managed a global long-biased equity fund. Earlier in his career, he was Head of Equity Research for State Street Research, where he was Lead Portfolio Manager for multiple funds. His track record of money management also includes five and half years as Senior Vice President and Portfolio Manager with Columbia Management Group.

In addition, Dr. Mehra was an Analyst in Morgan Stanley's Consumer Products Group (during his tenure, he was ranked second in the 1997 Reuters Analyst Survey) and an Assistant Professor of Strategic Management at West Virginia University's College of Business and Economics.

"Salient is deeply committed to researching and harnessing behavioral inefficiencies and market anomalies to help investors create more efficient and diversified portfolios," said Dr. Mehra. "I look forward to continuing Salient's dedication to formulating sophisticated alternative strategies that investors can use to generate potential returns for their respective levels of risk."

For more information about Salient, please contact Chris Moon of JCPR at 973-850-7304 or [email protected].

About Salient Partners L.P.
Salient Partners L.P. is a $17 billion investment management firm based in Houston, Texas. The firm is a recognized innovator in the development, management and delivery of sophisticated, non-traditional investment solutions for both institutional and retail investors. Through its comprehensive investment approach, Salient identifies and develops leading strategies that help eliminate unrewarded risk, reduce investing costs and focus on the fundamental drivers of returns to deliver the full potential of all markets to investors. For more information about Salient and its professionals, visit www.salientpartners.com.

SOURCE Salient Partners L.P.