Merrill Lynch announced today that it has agreed to make a non-controlling investment in Sterling Stamos Capital Management LP, a private investment firm that manages more than US$4 billion in assets on behalf of high net worth individuals and institutional investors globally.

Sterling Stamos will remain an independent firm. Founded in 2002, the firm invests in alternative and traditional assets — absolute return, fixed income, public equity, real assets and private equity. The firm has offices in New York, Menlo Park, Ca. and Tokyo. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“Sterling Stamos is a leading investment firm with an outstanding management team,” said Rohit D’Souza, head of Global Alternative Investments and head of Global Equities at Merrill Lynch. “We will work with Sterling Stamos to grow their successful business by using Merrill Lynch’s global resources.”

“Partnering with a world-class institution like Merrill Lynch allows us to better serve our investors,” said Peter Stamos, chairman and CEO of Sterling Stamos. “We believe this partnership uniquely positions us in the industry by bringing together Merrill Lynch’s global infrastructure and resources with our experience in the alternative investment space.”