About Steven J. Musmanno, MBA, AIFA

In short

Steven J. Musmanno, MBA, AIFA, is a Co-Managing Principal and the Chief Investment Officer of APS Pension & Financial Services in Melville, New York. He began his career at Merrill Lynch in New York, holds an MBA in finance from NYU Stern School of Business, and is an Accredited Investment Fiduciary Analyst.

Biography

Steven J. Musmanno, MBA, AIFA, is a Co-Managing Principal and the Chief Investment Officer of APS Pension & Financial Services, a Melville, New York firm that has worked with closely held businesses on retirement plan design, administration, and investment management for more than four decades. 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 (APSWM), an SEC registered investment adviser, where he serves as a Managing Member and Chief Compliance Officer.

As CIO, Steven oversees the firm’s investment strategy and sets asset allocation policy and direction for APSIM’s risk-based investment portfolios, where he leads portfolio management. He is Chairman and Chief Fiduciary of the APSIM Fiduciary Investment Committee. His daily work includes portfolio trading and the operational management of the institutional fiduciary business, as well as the investment policies and accounts of wealth management clients. He also serves as a pension and qualified plan consultant to the firm’s actuarial consulting and third-party administration (TPA) business.

APSIM provides ERISA plan governance and independent advisory services to qualified retirement plans, including defined benefit, 401(k), and 403(b) plans. The team builds and manages risk-based model portfolios, works with plan sponsors on investment policy statements and investment lineups, and conducts independent fiduciary assessments of 401(k) and 403(b) plans for private companies and nonprofit organizations. Steven sees the company retirement plan as the centerpiece of a business owner’s financial picture: a tool for tax management, wealth creation, and diversifying business equity risk.

Steven began his career at Merrill Lynch in New York City, in the firm’s investment banking and private client area, where he provided equity portfolio strategy to high-net-worth clients and helped syndicate direct placement programs on new equity issues. He rose to Vice President of Institutional Research Marketing, heading marketing and sales for the Emerging Markets Equity Research group.

Steven earned an MBA in finance from NYU Stern School of Business and an undergraduate degree from the State University of New York at Oswego. He holds the Accredited Investment Fiduciary Analyst (AIFA) designation.

Key facts

NameSteven J. Musmanno, MBA, AIFA
LocationMelville, New York
Current rolesCo-Managing Principal and CIO, APS Pension & Financial Services; CIO, APS Investment Management
Co-founderAPS Wealth Management, LLC (Managing Member and Chief Compliance Officer)
Earlier careerMerrill Lynch, New York (Vice President, Institutional Research Marketing)
EducationNYU Stern School of Business (MBA, Finance); SUNY Oswego

Where Steven’s work focuses

Fiduciary governance for retirement plans. Investment policy statements, investment lineup oversight and independent fiduciary assessments for 401(k) and 403(b) plan sponsors. See ERISA fiduciary services.
Investment strategy and portfolio management. Asset allocation policy and risk-based model portfolios. See investment management.
Retirement plan design for business owners. Pension and qualified plan consulting alongside the firm’s actuarial and TPA teams. See defined benefit plans for closely held businesses.

Official profiles

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