Monte Tarbox Selected as Chief Investment Officer for the Office of the New York City Comptroller’s Bureau of Asset Management

New York, NY — Today, New York City Comptroller Mark Levine announced his appointment of Monte Tarbox as Chief Investment Officer for the Office of the New York City Comptroller’s Bureau of Asset Management (BAM). Tarbox has served as interim chief investment officer since the beginning of the year.

Tarbox’s appointment comes at a crucial time for the Systems, one of the nation’s largest institutional investors valued at $316.34 billion, as mounting geopolitical pressures increase the importance of a prudent investment strategy that can weather constant market volatility.

In the role of Chief Investment Officer, Tarbox will ensure the Bureau executes Comptroller Levine’s responsibilities as investment advisor and custodian to the five New York City public pension systems. He will also drive Comptroller Levine’s strategic approach to maximizing risk-adjusted market returns that guarantee retirement security while advancing strategies that promote sustainable long-term investment portfolio growth and deliver for New Yorkers across the five boroughs.

He will bring a deep understanding of the unique responsibilities of institutional investing to the role, and work in close collaboration with the Systems’ trustees and independent investment consultants.

“I am thrilled to announce the appointment of Monte Tarbox as our chief investment officer. Monte’s judgement and second-to-none experience in investment management has already proven to be the leadership we need as we face economic headwinds,” said New York City Comptroller Mark Levine. “Monte’s appointment will continue to provide our trustees and pension members with the necessary reassurance that safeguarding their assets is our most important focus.”

For more than three decades, Tarbox has served in myriad investment management roles, including extensive experience working with several pension and retirement plans across the country. Prior to his current role, he was president of the AFL-CIO Investment Trust Corporation until January 2024. He also served as the Executive Director, Investments, for the National Electrical Benefit Fund (NEBF) for ten years, as CIO of the Machinists National Pension Fund in Washington and held senior roles with global institutional investor IFM Investors and investment consulting firms in Chicago, Washington, and Melbourne, Australia.

“They often say that a pension is a promise and it is my honor to continue delivering on that promise with the talented staff of the Bureau of Asset Management and in partnership with our trustees,” said Chief Investment Officer Monte Tarbox. “I am grateful to the trust that Comptroller Levine has placed in me at this crucial moment and look forward to this next chapter for the City’s pension systems.”

In 2024, President Joseph R. Biden appointed Tarbox to the Advisory Committee of the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation in Washington, DC. He also serves as a member of Maryland State Retirement and Pension System’s investment committee and was a trustee on the Board of Investments for the Montgomery County Public Schools Retirement System in Rockville, MD for 18 years.

He also spent two years as the Executive Director of the AFL-CIO Center for Working Capital where he developed a trustee training and education program and created a trustee curriculum on fiduciary duty and investment responsibilities.

Tarbox received a Bachelor of Arts from Carleton College and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Chicago with a specialization in finance.

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