BALTIMORE, MD — Executive Director Martin Noven announced this week that Thomas Kim has been selected to serve the Maryland State Retirement Agency (SRA) as joint Deputy Chief Investment Officer (CIO) for the Maryland State Retirement and Pension System (SRPS). Kim will report to the agency’s Chief Investment Officer Andrew Palmer, and work alongside Deputy CIO Robert Burd, providing strategic direction and counsel across the entire investment portfolio.

The Maryland state agency conducted an extensive search before selecting the new Deputy CIO. Kim’s first day in his new position will be August 28, 2024.

“We are looking forward to working closely with Tom,” said Chief Investment Officer Andrew Palmer. “With nearly three decades of combined investment experience in public and private sectors, I am confident that his expertise will continue to strengthen and secure the financial future of Marylanders.”

Prior to joining Maryland’s SRPS, Kim served as Deputy Chief Investment Officer for the Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System (TCRS), where he helped oversee the management of $106 billion across various asset classes for the State of Tennessee Treasury. This included the Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System’s $68 billion portfolio, the State of Tennessee’s $35 billion Local Government Investment Pool (LGIP), and other endowments and trusts amounting to $3 billion. Most notably, Kim achieved excess returns in the total fixed income portfolio while serving as Director of Fixed Income at TCRS, posting 135 basis points (bps), 18 bps, 33 bps, and 43 bps over 1, 3, 5 and 10-year periods respectively.

“I am excited to bring Tom back to his home state of Maryland,” said Executive Director Noven. “At SRA, both our investment and operational approach is a team sport mentality, and the right mix of skills and strengths is critical to our success. Tom will play an integral role in carrying out our Board of Trustees’ strategic priorities and future-focused objectives.”

The move is a homecoming for Kim, who earned a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from Towson University and went on to earn a Master of Business Administration from the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland, College Park. He is both a CFA Chartered Financial Analyst and CAIA Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst.

“Our Board of Trustees is very pleased with the many talented investment professionals considered and the selection of Thomas Kim,” said State Treasurer Dereck E. Davis, who chairs Maryland’s SRPS Board of Trustees. “He comes to Maryland with an exceptional depth of experience and proven track record, and we are confident he will serve our members well.”

The Maryland State Retirement Agency (SRA) is charged with the fiduciary responsibility for the Maryland State Retirement and Pension System — properly administering the retirement and pension allowances of nearly 168,000 retirees and beneficiaries, as well as the future benefits for more than 245,000 active and former members. These groups include state government employees, teachers, law enforcement personnel, legislators, judges and local government employees and fire fighters whose employers have elected to participate in the system.