For immediate release:
January 22, 2025  

Contact: Katherine Morris
kmorris@sra.state.md.us

BALTIMORE, MD — Andrew Palmer, Chief Investment Officer for the Maryland State Retirement and Pension System (SRPS), announced his retirement today at the System’s Board of Trustees meeting. He will continue to serve as CIO while the Board and the Maryland State Retirement Agency conduct a global search for his successor. Palmer has served as CIO in Maryland since July 2015. Palmer is tentatively slated to step down on June 30, 2025, and is working closely with the Executive Director and Board of Trustees to ensure a smooth transition.

“It has been an honor to help lead this organization through a transformative decade,” Palmer said. “Collectively, the Board, General Assembly and investment team have positioned the System’s investment program to generate strong returns with moderate risk through a disciplined investment practice and a focus on managing costs.”

During his tenure overseeing the SRPS investment portfolio, Palmer rebuilt the investment team, lowering costs and enhancing returns by internally managing 20% of the assets in public markets and by initiating a co-investment program across all private markets. Under Palmer’s leadership, the team consistently outperformed the fund’s policy benchmarks, reducing return volatility and enabling higher compound growth. The SRPS investment portfolio was valued at $46 billion when Palmer started and has since grown to $69 billion, with $2.4 billion of the increases coming from excess performance.  

“It has been a privilege to work alongside Andy in advancing our mission to give the more than 420,000 Marylanders we serve the best chance for retirement success,” said SRPS Executive Director, Martin Noven. “Andy has developed an excellent investment team that will continue to prioritize our members’ best interests and deliver hard-earned retirement benefits to Marylanders.”

Palmer has received numerous industry awards that recognize not only his financial achievements but also his long-term commitment to a sustainable organization, portfolio, and industry. Notably, he has earned recognition throughout his career as an industry leader and champion of driving investment success through harnessing the power of strong teams and leveraging the benefits of diversity. This past year, Palmer was named to the Diversity, Equity and Inclusive Capitalism (DEIC) Power100 List. Similarly, in recognition of his thoughtful incorporation of climate risk into the investment process, he was awarded the Markets Group Strategy Award in 2024.

“Andy has served the people of Maryland with exceptional financial stewardship,” said State Treasurer Dereck E. Davis, who chairs Maryland’s SRPS Board of Trustees. “His legacy is defined by his unwavering commitment to diversity and his dedication to cultivating a talented, highly skilled workforce. Through his leadership, he has built a well-funded portfolio and paved the way for a more inclusive and prosperous future.”

Andrew Palmer is regularly listed among the top 100 global CIOs and has been named a Top CIO by multiple publications. He serves as Investor Board Co-Chair for AIF Global and is a part of the Board of Managers for HCRx Holdings, the Managed Funds Association (MFA) Board of Directors, and the University of Maryland’s Economics Leadership Council. Palmer has been active in the Institutional Limited Partners Association (ILPA), the Council of Institutional Investors (CII) and the CFA Institute, and was President of the Washington Association of Money Managers.

The Maryland State Retirement and Pension System is charged with the fiduciary responsibility for 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.

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