BNY Mellon Investment Manager Sees Continuing Strength in Emerging Markets

NEW YORK and LONDON, August 22, 2012 — U.S. corporate credit, securitized products and some emerging market currencies appear attractive to bond investors in the second half of 2012, according to Standish Mellon Asset Management Company LLC, the fixed income specialist for BNY Mellon.

In the corporate credit area, Standish said it favors shorter-duration, medium quality credit. Standish made the observations in its August commentary, CIO View: Global Uncertainty and Thirst for Yield to Dominate Markets for Rest of 2012.   The report notes that the bond market rally during the first half of 2012 has made Standish less attracted to areas that have performed strongly, such as intermediate duration high yield bonds.

"We expect certain trends to continue, such as that growth in emerging markets will remain higher than in advanced economies," said David Leduc, chief investment officer of Standish.  "We'll continue to look for value in both local currency and external emerging market bonds."

The report notes that Standish believes that selected currencies, such as the Mexican peso, remain undervalued.  However, Standish said these currencies will continue to be highly correlated with global risk sentiment.

Standish expects the fiscal uncertainty in the U.S. and Europe and the slowdown in China will weigh on the markets for the rest of the year, with global economic activity accelerating modestly to 3.5 percent in 2013 after the U.S. resolves its budget issues.

"We view the European Central Bank proposals for purchasing the short-term debt of countries that request a bail out from the European Financial Stabilization Fund as potentially meaningful," said Leduc.   "However, we'd like to see additional steps such as structural reform or a roadmap for the eventual formation of a banking and fiscal union with joint Eurobond issuance."

Standish expects the focus to move to the U.S. as the election approaches and rhetoric about the fiscal cliff rises.  The report expects a resolution to the matter, but not until the "eleventh hour." 

Standish Mellon Asset Management Company LLC, with approximately $97.5 billion of assets under management, provides investment management services across a broad spectrum of fixed income asset classes. These include corporate credit (investment-grade and high-yield), emerging markets debt (dollar-denominated and local currency), core / core plus and opportunistic (U.S. and global) strategies.  Standish also offers full service capabilities in insurance and liability driven investing. The firm also includes assets managed by Standish personnel acting as dual officers of The Dreyfus Corporation and The Bank of New York Mellon.

BNY Mellon Investment Management is one of the world's leading investment management organizations and one of the top U.S. wealth managers, with $1.3 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.

BNY Mellon is a global financial services company focused on helping clients manage and service their financial assets, operating in 36 countries and serving more than 100 markets. BNY Mellon is a leading provider of financial services for institutions, corporations and high-net-worth individuals, offering superior investment management and investment services through a worldwide client-focused team. It has $27.1 trillion in assets under custody and administration and $1.3 trillion in assets under management, services $11.5 trillion in outstanding debt and processes global payments averaging $1.4 trillion per day. BNY Mellon is the corporate brand of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (NYSE: BK). Additional information is available on www.bnymellon.com or follow us on Twitter@BNYMellon.

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