Former SunTrust private-equity practice joins SunTrust's multifamily office. Multifamily office Asset Management Advisors (AMA) has hired a private-equity team, formerly a division of AMA's corporate parent SunTrust Banks, to help its clients access private-equity and venture-capital fund investing as well as direct private-equity investments in sponsored and un-sponsored transactions.

Led by Ted Mayden, AMA's new private-equity team had worked for the last six years as SunTrust Equity Partners investing directly in 38 "discrete" buyout and venture-capital investments and committing $360 million to 42 private equity and venture capital funds.

Close to home

"We are very excited to be able to bring this talented team on board representing nearly three decades of private equity experience," says AMA's CIO Andrew Mehalko. "This is an asset class AMA has been broadly investing in for over 13 years, and distinguishing ourselves with a proprietary approach that includes direct co-investments and customized services for individual families."

The former SunTrust Equity Partners' move to AMA wasn't orchestrated by Atlanta-based SunTrust Banks, adds Mehalko. He says the holding company had already decided to wind down its private-equity business just as AMA -- which operates autonomously -- was looking to hire a private-equity team. "We talked to four or five other teams; one in New York, several down here [in Florida]," Mehalko says. "But then [Mayden] called us: we'd known them for years and we knew how they worked, so it was a great fit."

Mayden's team includes Ken Millar, Jeff McNeill and David Cusimano.

"Over time, private equity as an asset class has provided many AMA clients with compelling long-term returns, in a highly tax-efficient manner," says Mehalko. "Our new team will continue with AMA's highly disciplined approach to mitigating risk through diversification across vintage year, sector, investment stage and industry."

AMA advises clients on assets of about $10 billion. In addition to its headquarters in Palm Beach, Fla., it has offices in Washington, D.C., Tampa Bay, Fla., Sarasota, Fla., Orlando, Fla., New York, Miami, Greenwich, Conn., Charlotte, N.C., and Atlanta. Its private-equity team has offices in Atlanta and in Nashville, Tenn. -FWR

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