Amherst Capital Expands Senior Investment Team, adds Damon Pitler to Lead Portfolio Strategy for Private Funds

NEW YORK, April 24, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Amherst Capital Management LLC, a BNY Mellon investment boutique specializing in U.S. real estate, today announced the expansion of its private funds leadership team with the appointment of Damon Pitler as Managing Director – Portfolio Manager, Private Funds, effective April 10, 2017.

Mr. Pitler, a 15-year commercial real estate and institutional investing veteran, will manage Amherst Capital's U.S. Single Family Equity ("U.S. SFE") and Commercial Real Estate Lending ("CRE") portfolios. The appointment of Mr. Pitler represents an important milestone for Amherst Capital, which continues to add high-level talent to its senior leadership as it executes on its strategy of identifying differentiated real estate investment opportunities.

"Damon is an exciting addition to our portfolio management team and we are pleased to welcome him to Amherst Capital," said Sean Dobson, CEO and CIO. "Damon's deep institutional investment background, paired with his diverse real estate experience, makes him the ideal person to manage our SFE and CRE portfolios and to enhance our partnerships with institutional investors."

Prior to joining Amherst Capital, Mr. Pitler was a senior investment manager for real assets at the Teacher Retirement System of Texas, where he was instrumental in managing relationships with general partners and developing investment strategies for principal investments across real estate and infrastructure asset classes.

"I am honored to join Amherst Capital," said Mr. Pitler. "Amherst Capital has cultivated dynamic investment strategies, propelled by its in-house, innovative, market-leading data and analytic capabilities. I believe this approach uniquely positions Amherst Capital to optimize its portfolio construction and management initiatives and capitalize on market dislocations," he continued. "Sean has enabled Amherst Capital to emerge as a first-class fiduciary and partner for the institutional investor community, and I am excited for the opportunity to contribute the firm's continued success."    

Mr. Pitler previously served as director of real estate and infrastructure investments at OAS Investimentos S.A. in Sao Paulo, Brazil. He has also held investment and structuring roles with Brookfield Asset Management and Credit Suisse (via the Situs Companies). Mr. Pitler began his career with Clifford Chance in the real estate capital markets and international M&A practices. He graduated from Emory University with a B.A. in political science and earned a J.D. from The George Washington University Law School.

Mr. Pitler will report to Mr. Dobson and will be based in Austin, Texas.

About Amherst Capital Management

Amherst Capital Management LLC is a real estate investment specialist with approximately $5.7 billion of assets under management[1]. Amherst Capital was established in 2014 as a majority-owned subsidiary of BNY Mellon, and is minority-owned by Amherst Holdings, LLC. Amherst Holdings is not an affiliate of BNY Mellon. Texas Treasury Safekeeping Trust Company is a founding seed investor of Amherst Capital[2]. Amherst Capital offers traditional and alternative real estate investment strategies to private and institutional investors globally. Amherst Capital's investment strategies are grounded in deep intellectual capital and proprietary technology[3] designed to help clients meet their portfolio needs. For more information please visit www.amherstcapital.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 March 31, 2017, BNY Mellon had $30.6 trillion in assets under custody and/or administration, and $1.7 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 March 31, 2017. 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.

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[1] As of December 31, 2016. This amount includes $4.5 billion 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 with approximately $422 million are managed by certain of our employees in their capacity as dual officers of The Dreyfus Corporation.  AUM includes gross assets managed in the single family equity strategy, which includes $243 million of leverage.

[2] It is not known whether the listed client approves or disapproves of the adviser or the advisory services provided. 

[3] Amherst Capital has an exclusive license with Amherst InsightLabs ("AIL") in the asset management industry. AIL is an affiliate of Amherst Holdings, LLC

SOURCE Amherst Capital Management LLC