BNY Mellon Investment Manager Identifies Opportunities Unavailable through Public Markets

NEW YORK and LONDON, September 18, 2012 — Services and other sectors linked to domestic consumption are among the attractive areas for investing in emerging markets private equity (EMPE), according to Siguler Guff & Company, LP, part of BNY Mellon Investment Management. 

A recent white paper from Siguler Guff, Private Equity Opportunities in the BRICs and Beyond, notes that investment opportunities in Russia as well as the other BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) countries are likely to dominate future EMPE fundraising.  The BRIC countries already rank in the top 12 global economies and are projected to be in the top six by 2018, the report said.

Overall, the EMPE asset class shows strong potential for better returns and better downside protection than the public markets, according to the report.

"Private equity strategies allow investors to access some of the most compelling growth segments of emerging markets that are often inaccessible through public markets," said Ralph Jaeger, managing director, Siguler Guff, and the author of the report.   "Entry valuations in private BRIC companies also tend to be more attractive than those of investments in public equity."

Inflows into EMPE have experienced tremendous growth since the mid-2000s, driven by the strong performance of the asset class and the increasing appetite of institutional investors for alternative investments in emerging markets, the report said.

Jaeger attributes the strong performance of the asset class to the improving quality of local private equity managers, the rapid growth of private companies, the value arbitrage versus the public markets, and the resilience of private equity performance both during and after the global financial crisis.

"Patience, selectivity and a deep local understanding of the macroeconomic, regulatory and private equity dynamics in each market are key ingredients to investing successfully in the emerging markets," he said.

Siguler Guff & Company is a multi-strategy private equity investment firm which, together with its affiliates, has over $10.0 billion of assets under management across three lines of business: fund-of-funds, direct investment funds, and separate accounts. Siguler Guff serves over 450 institutional clients and over 500 high-net-worth individuals, and the funds it manages have invested in over 350 private equity funds. The firm is headquartered in New York and has offices in Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Moscow, Shanghai, Sao Paulo and a local affiliate office in Mumbai. BNY Mellon holds a 20% interest in Siguler Guff & Company, LP and certain related entities (including Siguler Guff Advisers, LLC). To learn more about Siguler Guff, please visit www.sigulerguff.com.

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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