BNY Mellon Asset Servicing Delivers New Private iQ™ Benchmark Service to Institutional Investors to Enable Private Equity Fund Comparisons

BOSTON, April 26, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- BNY Mellon, the global leader in investment management and investment services, announced that in conjunction with today's launch of Private iQ™ by the Burgiss Group it will be the first global custodian to make this new private capital benchmarking service available to institutional clients.  

Private iQ provides information and tools to help clients analyze the behavior and performance of private capital markets.  Subscribers will be able to benchmark private equity managers, compare asset classes, and stay informed about macro-level changes in the investment environment.  BNY Mellon Asset Servicing was the only custodian to work with Burgiss during the development of Private iQ, supporting clients that wished to contribute private equity investment data to the initiative.  

BNY Mellon's plan sponsor clients will be able to access Private iQ directly from its Workbench™ information delivery portal, opening up a range of private equity data and analytics, including fund performance by vintage year (with returns, multiples and cash flow statistics), fund behavior over time, concentration analysis, and fund track record comparisons against specific universes.  BNY Mellon also has developed a unique standard report with key information asset owners have been seeking, such as performance across asset type and vintage year.

"Plan sponsors look to service providers for help with their most pressing challenges, including assessing performance for private equity and other illiquid assets," said John Gruber, managing director, global product strategy of BNY Mellon Asset Servicing's Performance & Risk Analytics group.  "With access to Private iQ or our new standard report, our clients will be able to address the critical need for better understanding of the private capital markets."

According to data tracked by the BNY Mellon U.S. Master Trust Universe, for plans with more than $1 billion in assets, 95% have an allocation to private equity (PE).  The median PE allocation among all plan types was almost 10% of total assets, with foundations and endowments having the highest share at just under 30%.  As of Dec. 31, 2010, the market value of PE assets in the Trust Universe was $110 billion.

"There's been growing demand from investors and plan sponsors for better tools and comparative data on private equity funds," said James Kocis, president of the Burgiss Group.  "With Private iQ, we're taking a significant step to address that need, and BNY Mellon's support during the development phase was instrumental to today's launch."

In recent years BNY Mellon has announced multiple enhancements, working with leading data and software providers to advance its Performance & Risk Analytics product offering.  In March, BNY Mellon launched a new capability that allows institutional clients with a Burgiss data subscription for private equity holdings to access combined public and private investment reporting through Workbench.  

"Asset owners globally are demanding holistic solutions to their risk and transparency needs.  By teaming with other top financial technology firms, BNY Mellon can bring valuable new capabilities to our clients while focusing on the key elements of data integration and a superior delivery experience," said Gruber.

The Burgiss Group, LLC, headquartered in Hoboken, New Jersey, is a privately held data and technology company catering to limited partners, advisors and fund of funds in the private equity market. With over 300 clients worldwide, Burgiss provides solutions to manage investments through every stage of the private equity investment life cycle.  The Burgiss Group counts many of the world's largest investors in alternative assets among its customers, including pension funds, endowments, foundations, funds of funds, gatekeepers, consultants and family offices.

BNY Mellon Asset Servicing offers clients worldwide a broad spectrum of specialized asset servicing capabilities, including custody and fund services, securities lending, performance and analytics, and execution services.  BNY Mellon Asset Servicing provides services through BNY Mellon and other related companies.

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 $25.5 trillion in assets under custody and administration and $1.2 trillion in assets under management, services $11.9 trillion in outstanding debt and processes global payments averaging $1.7 trillion per day.  BNY Mellon is the corporate brand of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (NYSE: BK). Learn more at www.bnymellon.com.

SOURCE BNY Mellon