By Christine Giordano
Photo credit: Styves Exantus
Robert Burd has been tapped again to become acting chief investment officer of the $70B Maryland State Retirement and Pension System (SRPS). Appointed by the board of trustees, he will take the seat on July 1, upon CIO Andrew Palmer’s retirement at the end of this month.
Recognized for his “steady hand and deep institutional knowledge” and “invaluable leadership” by State Comptroller and board chair Brooke E. Lierman, Burd was the natural choice for Palmer’s departure.
Having been at the SRPS since 2011, Burd currently serves as deputy CIO and has played a key role in shaping asset allocation strategy, managing investment risk and overseeing manager selection across the portfolio, according to a press release from the system.
Palmer, who has been the system’s CIO since 2015, announced his retirement in January. Under Palmer’s tenure, the system achieved consistent outperformance, expanded internal asset management capabilities, and implemented strategic reforms across public and private markets, according to SRPS. He won a peer-nominated Strategy Award from Markets Group in 2024.
Burd has been instrumental in advancing these efforts and will provide continuity and stability as well as strategic flexibility during the leadership transition, stated a SRPS press release. This is his second stint as an interim – having filled the gap when A. Melissa Moye left in 2014 to take a position as a senior policy adviser with the U.S. Treasury Department’s office of state and local finance, and Palmer was recruited from his deputy CIO seat at Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System.
State Treasurer Dereck E. Davis, Chair of the SRPS Board of Trustees, said he is “fully confident in his ability to guide Maryland’s investment program during this interim period.”
The Maryland system has returned, net of fees, 6.93%, 2.28% and 7.08%, for its 1, 3 and 5 year returns, respectively, beating its benchmarks for all three time periods, and its 1 year policy benchmark by 59 bps. It carries fiduciary responsibility for nearly 168,000 state retirees and beneficiaries, as well as the future benefits for more than 245,000 active and former members.
“Bob brings a deep understanding of our portfolio and a steady, principled approach to leadership,” said Executive Director Martin Noven. “He has earned the trust of the Board and I’m confident in his ability to lead the division with focus and integrity during this transitional period.”
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