A company is only as good as the people who make it run. Below are links to biographies of our senior management team.
Bruce R. Bent
Founder & Chairman
Bruce Bent II
Vice Chairman & President
Arthur Bent
Vice Chairman & Chief Operating Officer
Mary Belmonte
Senior Vice President & Director
Catherine Crowley
Senior Vice President, General Counsel & Director
Patrick J. Farrell
Chief Financial Officer, Controller & Director
Eric S. Lansky
Managing Director
Patrick R. Ledford
Chief Investment Officer & Director
Richard Magro
Senior Vice President, Information Technology
Bruce R. Bent, Founder & Chairman
Before the creation of the money market fund in 1970, investors in mutual funds were limited to either stocks or bonds. As for demand savings, the selections were few, lockup periods were long and rates did not reflect market conditions. Even Treasury bills required a minimum of $100,000 and a lockup of 90 days. After Bruce Bent's invention, individuals and institutions could invest as little as $1,000 and earn better returns than bank savings accounts while still maintaining instant liquidity. In the ensuing 38 years, the move from bank products to money market funds, a $3 trillion industry, has earned investors more than $200 billion in additional income.
Never to sit still, Mr. Bent and The Reserve
SM have continuously taken initiatives to change and improve the financial services industry. Innovations include publishing for investors a report card on shareholder service and investment return (1976); being the first in the industry to offer combined statements to brokerage clients (1984); and offering The Reserve Yield Plus Fund
SM, the world's first enhanced cash mutual fund for both retail and institutional investors that seeks a stable $1.00 NAV (2005).
Not restricting itself to mutual funds, in 1997 the firm launched the Reserve Insured Deposits®, the financial industry's first FDIC-insured money market account, through which The Reserve has placed over $19 billion in deposits with regional and community banks across the U.S. And in 2000, the company unveiled its FDIC-insured cash sweep account designed to help banks retain customer deposits while affording competitive interest.
Before founding The Reserve in 1970, Mr. Bent was a General Partner in the investment banking firm of Brown & Bent, which was established in 1968. He began his career at L.F. Rothschild & Co. as factotum for the managing partner, and then moved to TIAA-CREF, the world's largest pension fund, where he worked with marketable bonds and private placements and was responsible for cash management. In 1967 he moved to the corporate finance department of Stone & Webster Securities.
Mr. Bent is active in political and charitable endeavors. He co-founded Change New York and the Club for Growth, both of which support government reform initiatives. Mr. Bent ran for County Executive in Nassau County, New York, on a similar platform.
Mr. Bent serves as Trustee Emeritus for St. John's University after 20 years of active service as a member of the Executive and Investment Committees and Chair of the Facilities Committee. Mr. Bent was inducted into the Hall of Fame of both Money and Financial Planning magazines. He is also featured in the Museum of American Financial History, an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, for his creation of the money market fund.
He has been a guest lecturer at prominent institutions, including St. John's University, New York University School of Business, The Wharton School, and Harvard University School for Presidents. Mr. Bent received a bachelor's degree in economics from St. John's University and took his MBA course work in corporate finance at New York University's Graduate School of Business.
Bruce Bent II, Vice Chairman & President
Bruce Bent II is Vice Chairman and President of The Reserve and also of Reserve Management Company, Inc., the registered investment adviser to The Reserve. He had been Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing before becoming President in April 2000.
In 1997, Mr. Bent developed Reserve Insured Deposits, the industry's first FDIC-insured money market account and the next leg of the cash management industry, now a niche as large as $400 billion. He also created the Reserve Cash Sweep
SM, the only FDIC-insured sweep account designed to help banks retain customer deposits while paying competitive interest.
As President of The Reserve, Mr. Bent is responsible for all of the firm's national and international sales and marketing initiatives and oversees the firm's Legal, Marketing, Portfolio and Sales departments. Mr. Bent has diversified the firm's product lines and positioned The Reserve to penetrate new markets. He is a member of the firm's Investment Policy Committee, which in large measure determines The Reserve's investment policies and its execution strategies. Under his leadership, assets under management have increased tenfold.
Mr. Bent is a member of the Young Presidents' Organization, a peer network connecting nearly 10,000 young global business leaders worldwide, and former finance chair of its Gotham chapter in Manhattan. He also serves on the President's Advisory Council of Scenic Hudson, an environmental organization and land trust that protects, preserves and restores the Hudson River and its riverfront as a public and natural resource. In addition, Mr. Bent is featured in the recently published book Leadership Secrets of the World's Most Successful CEOs. He has been quoted in major financial publications, including the Financial Times and Wall Street Journal.
Arthur Bent, Vice Chairman & Chief Operating Officer
Arthur Bent is responsible for the firm's Accounting, Human Resources and Information Technology departments. He oversees the infrastructure supporting all client accounts, which include the firm's institutional, bank, broker/dealer and retail distribution channels, totaling over 5 million.
Mr. Bent is also Vice Chairman of Reserve Management Company, Inc., the registered investment adviser to The Reserve. As the firm has expanded into new markets, he has overseen the strategy and implementation of a service platform that has accommodated the firm's exponential growth in assets under management.
In 1997, Mr. Bent played a pivotal role in developing the operational and technological capabilities of Reserve Insured Deposits, the industry's first FDIC-insured money market account with unlimited transactions. He serves on the Investment Policy Committee, which sets the firm's investment policies and directs the execution of its strategies.
Mary Belmonte, Senior Vice President & Director
Mary Belmonte works closely with the firm's sales force to facilitate strategies and enhance client relationships. Ms. Belmonte seeks to identify new opportunities for The Reserve to leverage its resources and expertise to help clients grow their businesses. In this role, she plays a key part in implementing the strategic vision and direction of the firm.
In addition, Ms. Belmonte participates as an active member on industry committees as The Reserve's executive representative, assessing industry developments so that the firm maintains a competitive edge in the marketplace. She is currently a member of the Securities Industry Association's (SIA) Cash Management Roundtable and the SIA Investment Committee.
Ms. Belmonte recently celebrated her 28th year with the company.
Catherine Crowley, Senior Vice President, General Counsel & Director
Catherine Crowley has practiced law for more than twenty years, advising clients primarily in the financial institutions sector.
Before joining the company in September 2007, Ms. Crowley was Senior Vice President and Associate General Counsel at
JPMorgan Chase for over 15 years. In that capacity, she supervised a global staff of attorneys responsible for advising
the bank on its domestic and international financing, investment banking, restructuring and venture capital activities.
Previously, she served as a general corporate at Spengler Carlson Gubar Brodsky & Frischling in New York and at Blank,
Rome, Comisky & McCauley in Philadelphia.
Ms. Crowley is a member of the Board of Directors of Children for Children, a not-for-profit corporation
that encourages service-based learning for young people. Her past affiliations include seven years as a member of
Governor Pataki's Small Business Advisory Board and six years as a member of the Board of Directors of the Lawyers
Alliance for New York. She received her J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center and her B.A. from the University
of Pennsylvania. She is admitted to practice in New York and Pennsylvania.
Patrick J. Farrell, Chief Financial Officer, Controller & Director
Patrick Farrell oversees The Reserve's Corporate Accounting and Fund Accounting units, and he reports to the firm's Vice Chairman and President.
Corporate Accounting keeps the financial books and records of The Reserve's non-fund entities, which includes accounting for management and 12B-1 fees, disbursements, internal and external reports, and the filing of tax returns and compliance reports.
Fund Accounting provides accounting and administrative services for all of the firm's family of funds. These services entail the production of the funds' daily net asset values per share and daily dividends paid, the production of semi-annual and annual financial reports for the funds' shareholders, risk management and dealing with external auditors and examiners (NASD and SEC).
Prior to The Reserve, Mr. Farrell spent nine years at New York Life Investment Management, most recently as Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer for four mutual fund families, with assets over $27 billion, responsible for the daily NAV calculation and administration services.
Prior to New York Life Investment Management, Mr. Farrell spent eight years at Alliance Funds Services in the role of Vice President and Controller of Mutual Funds.
Mr. Farrell received a bachelor of science in business administration (accounting) from Manhattan College, and he is a Certified Public Accountant.
Eric S. Lansky, Managing Director
Eric Lansky oversees all aspects of sales and marketing within the company, which includes brokerage, bank and institutional sales initiatives. He establishes sales objectives and facilitates the implementation and management of strategic sales campaigns, while ensuring responsive client service and support.
In addition, Mr. Lansky often speaks at conferences and is quoted in the media. He has also held the position of Director of Marketing at The Reserve.
Prior to joining The Reserve in 1999, Mr. Lansky served as Director of Marketing at Nomura Securities. While at Nomura, he was responsible for the marketing of financial products to institutional markets and through brokerage channels.
In 1993, Mr. Lansky began a five-year relationship with the institutional division of Charles Schwab & Co., Inc., where he was a Regional Marketing Manager. There, he served the needs of the Registered Investment Adviser.
Patrick R. Ledford, Chief Investment Officer & Director
Patrick Ledford leads the firm's Portfolio group, which manages all money market and enhanced cash funds, and he is a member of the firm's Investment Policy Committee, integral to setting the company's investment policies and directing the execution of its strategies.
Mr. Ledford oversees all fixed income investment activity for The Reserve, including portfolio construction, strategy, analysis, risk management, research and trading, as well as economic forecasting. He brings over 25 years of experience managing fixed income assets to the firm.
His most recent position was Director, Liquidity Management Team and Senior Money Market / Enhanced Cash Portfolio Manager at Citigroup, Inc. There he focused on managing money market and enhanced cash portfolios consistent with liquidity requirements and appropriate risk levels.
Mr. Ledford researched and implemented various money market products, including structured products (collateralized debt obligations and credit-linked notes) and extendible note structures. He successfully launched a stable NAV enhanced liquidity fund in 2005 utilizing all short spread sectors, including structured products, asset-backed securities, investment grade credit, and floating/fixed-rate structures. He managed total team assets of $80 billion, including mutual funds and separate institutional portfolios as well as onshore and offshore funds.
Prior to that, Mr. Ledford was Vice President, Senior Fixed Income Portfolio Manager at Citigroup. He was responsible for actively managing institutional core fixed income portfolios and also implemented fixed income sector allocation/rotation strategies, including investment grade credit, structured products, and U.S. Treasury and Agency securities.
Mr. Ledford began his career at The Arizona Bank in Phoenix, Arizona as a Portfolio Manager responsible for initiating and executing money market products and strategies through a $12 billion commercial bank investment portfolio. He also centralized the pricing of $2.1 billion in liability products to support asset/liability management initiatives, initiated the construction of a profitable repurchase agreement desk to facilitate investment portfolio security lending, and was a member of the Asset/Liability Committee.
Mr. Ledford earned a bachelor of science in both economics and finance at Arizona State University.
Richard Magro,Senior Vice President, Information Technology
Richard Magro, with over 20 years' experience in support of mission-critical global banking businesses, oversees all Information Technology for the firm. This includes all in-house transfer agency, shareholder accounting, trading, web and other proprietary and patented technologies. He also oversees the firm's disaster recovery and business continuity readiness from a systems point of view.
Previously, Mr. Magro was Managing Director, Resiliency Risk Management, at JPMorgan Chase, where his responsibilities included serving as global head of disaster recovery, business continuity and crisis management. He successfully led that company's response to multiple crises, including the London bombings, multiple U.S. hurricanes, Mumbai floods and bombings, and the NYC Transit Strike.
Prior to that position, he was Senior Vice President, Chief Technology Officer, Treasury Services. In that capacity, he oversaw all technology for the merged JPM/Bank One Treasury Services business, managing a staff of 1,900 technologists. Prior to the BankOne merger, Mr. Magro created the Treasury Services Technology Organization from 12 independent product aligned technology groups, developing an architecture phasing plan calling for the consolidation of redundant applications and reducing the application inventory by 33% and expenses by $10 million over two years.
Before his tenure at JPMorgan, he was Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director of Global Institutional Services Technology at Deutsche Bank/Bankers Trust New York Corporation, serving as the senior technology manager for six of that firm's businesses. There, he oversaw business and technology centers comprising 450 applications, a staff of 700, and a $200 million budget in New York, London, Frankfurt, and Singapore.
Mr. Magro's other experience includes pivotal leadership positions at Computer Catalysts, Wells Fargo Bank International, and EFT Computer Systems.
He holds an M.S. and a B.S. in computer science from the New York Institute of Technology, Old Westbury, New York.
