BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research Names Alan Todd as Head of U.S. CMBS Research

BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research today announced that Alan Todd will join the group in August as head of U.S. Commercial Mortgage Backed Securities (CMBS) Research. In this role, Todd will be responsible for generating high-level, relative value and trade specific research recommendations to external and internal clients in both cash and synthetics. He will also focus on providing macro-level overviews and in-depth analysis of the U.S. CMBS and commercial real estate markets. Todd will report to Chris Flanagan, head of U.S. Mortgages and Structured Finance Research and will be based in New York.

“I look forward to Alan joining the firm,” said Flanagan. “With more than 11 years of experience and market-leading insights into the U.S. CMBS space, Alan has a proven track record of making timely market calls and invaluable investment recommendations. His addition to the team demonstrates our continued commitment to the CMBS business and above all, to providing our clients with best-in-class research.”

Todd correctly called the recovery of the U.S. CMBS market since the 2009 bottom and the decline of the U.S. CMBS market in 2008. He is currently ranked No. 1 in the CMBS category of the Institutional Investor All-America Fixed Income Research team survey and has been among the top-ranked analysts for the past five years.

Todd joins from J.P. Morgan, where he was head of U.S. CMBS research since 2005. Previously, he spent five years at Bear Stearns, also in CMBS Research. Todd received his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Syracuse University and his master’s degree in finance from Vanderbilt University.

The BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research franchise covers over 3,300 stocks and 950 credits globally and ranks in the top tier in many external surveys. Most recently, the group was named No. 1 in the 2011 Institutional Investor All-Japan Research team survey. The group was previously named No. 1 in the 2010 Institutional Investor All-Emerging Europe and All-Latin America Research team surveys and No. 3 in the 2010 Institutional Investor All-America Equity, All-America Fixed Income and All-Europe Research team surveys.

In addition, the group was named 2010 Top Global Broker (second consecutive year), Top Europe Broker, No. 2 U.S. Broker and No. 3 Asia broker by Financial Times/StarMine. The team was named Best Brokerage by Forbes/Zacks for the second consecutive year, and was also the winner of the Emerging Markets’ magazine EM Research Global Award for 2010.

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