Key Takeaways
- • Steven J. Musmanno, MBA, AIFA, is Co-Managing Principal and Chief Investment Officer of APS Pension & Financial Services, a Melville firm that has designed, administered and invested retirement plans for closely held businesses for more than four decades.
- • Musmanno sets asset allocation policy for APS Investment Management's (APSIM) risk-based portfolios, leads portfolio management and oversees day-to-day trading, and chairs the APSIM Fiduciary Investment Committee as its Chief Fiduciary.
- • APSIM provides ERISA plan governance and independent advisory services to defined benefit, 401(k) and 403(b) plans, including investment policy statements, lineup management and independent fiduciary assessments.
- • The article outlines four questions plan sponsors should ask about their plan's investments, centered on written policies, fiduciary roles, review documentation and fee reasonableness.
Summary
Steven J. Musmanno leads investment strategy at APS Pension & Financial Services, a Melville, New York firm that has designed, administered and invested retirement plans for closely held businesses for more than four decades, according to the firm's published profile in the Yonkers Times. He is also Chief Investment Officer of APS Investment Management (APSIM), the firm's institutional fiduciary arm, and a co-founder of APS Wealth Management, LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser, where he serves as Managing Member and Chief Compliance Officer.
In his CIO role, Musmanno sets asset allocation policy for APSIM's risk-based investment portfolios, leads portfolio management and oversees day-to-day trading. He chairs the APSIM Fiduciary Investment Committee, through which investment decisions for the firm's institutional clients pass, and consults on pension and qualified plan design alongside the firm's actuarial and third-party administration team. APSIM provides ERISA plan governance and independent advisory services to defined benefit, 401(k) and 403(b) plans, and for private companies and nonprofits it helps write investment policy statements, manage investment lineups, build risk-based model portfolios and conduct independent fiduciary assessments.
The article emphasizes that employers sponsoring 401(k), 403(b) or pension plans are ERISA fiduciaries obligated to act prudently and solely in participants' interests, as explained in the U.S. Department of Labor's fiduciary responsibilities guidance. It proposes four questions for plan sponsors: whether a written investment policy statement exists; who selects and monitors funds and in what capacity; how often the lineup is reviewed and whether that review is documented in minutes; and whether service provider fees are reasonable relative to services received. The firm notes that clear answers do not guarantee investment results but demonstrate a documented decision-making process.
Musmanno began his career at Merrill Lynch in New York City, providing equity portfolio strategy to high-net-worth clients and helping syndicate direct placement programs, and later became Vice President of Institutional Research Marketing, heading marketing and sales for the Emerging Markets Equity Research group. He holds an MBA in finance from NYU Stern School of Business, an undergraduate degree from SUNY Oswego, and the Accredited Investment Fiduciary Analyst (AIFA) designation. He is an investment adviser representative of APS Wealth Management, LLC; the article notes that SEC registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training and that the content is informational rather than investment advice.
In his CIO role, Musmanno sets asset allocation policy for APSIM's risk-based investment portfolios, leads portfolio management and oversees day-to-day trading. He chairs the APSIM Fiduciary Investment Committee, through which investment decisions for the firm's institutional clients pass, and consults on pension and qualified plan design alongside the firm's actuarial and third-party administration team. APSIM provides ERISA plan governance and independent advisory services to defined benefit, 401(k) and 403(b) plans, and for private companies and nonprofits it helps write investment policy statements, manage investment lineups, build risk-based model portfolios and conduct independent fiduciary assessments.
The article emphasizes that employers sponsoring 401(k), 403(b) or pension plans are ERISA fiduciaries obligated to act prudently and solely in participants' interests, as explained in the U.S. Department of Labor's fiduciary responsibilities guidance. It proposes four questions for plan sponsors: whether a written investment policy statement exists; who selects and monitors funds and in what capacity; how often the lineup is reviewed and whether that review is documented in minutes; and whether service provider fees are reasonable relative to services received. The firm notes that clear answers do not guarantee investment results but demonstrate a documented decision-making process.
Musmanno began his career at Merrill Lynch in New York City, providing equity portfolio strategy to high-net-worth clients and helping syndicate direct placement programs, and later became Vice President of Institutional Research Marketing, heading marketing and sales for the Emerging Markets Equity Research group. He holds an MBA in finance from NYU Stern School of Business, an undergraduate degree from SUNY Oswego, and the Accredited Investment Fiduciary Analyst (AIFA) designation. He is an investment adviser representative of APS Wealth Management, LLC; the article notes that SEC registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training and that the content is informational rather than investment advice.
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