diff --git a/nvflare/app_opt/pt/model_persistence_format_manager.py b/nvflare/app_opt/pt/model_persistence_format_manager.py
index 61f6856732..2f1f6a2fe4 100644
--- a/nvflare/app_opt/pt/model_persistence_format_manager.py
+++ b/nvflare/app_opt/pt/model_persistence_format_manager.py
@@ -53,23 +53,21 @@ def __init__(self, data: dict, default_train_conf=None, allow_numpy_conversion=T
         self.train_conf = None
         self.other_props = {}  # other props from the original data that need to be kept
 
-        if self.PERSISTENCE_KEY_MODEL not in data:
+        # Cache attr accesses for performance
+        pk_model = self.PERSISTENCE_KEY_MODEL
+        pk_meta = self.PERSISTENCE_KEY_META_PROPS
+        pk_conf = self.PERSISTENCE_KEY_TRAIN_CONF
+
+        if pk_model not in data:
             # this is a simple weight dict
             self.var_dict = data
         else:
             # dict of dicts
-            self.var_dict = data[self.PERSISTENCE_KEY_MODEL]
-            self.meta = data.get(self.PERSISTENCE_KEY_META_PROPS, None)
-            self.train_conf = data.get(self.PERSISTENCE_KEY_TRAIN_CONF, None)
-
-            # we need to keep other props, if any, so they can be kept when persisted
-            for k, v in data.items():
-                if k not in [
-                    self.PERSISTENCE_KEY_MODEL,
-                    self.PERSISTENCE_KEY_META_PROPS,
-                    self.PERSISTENCE_KEY_TRAIN_CONF,
-                ]:
-                    self.other_props[k] = v
+            self.var_dict = data[pk_model]
+            self.meta = data.get(pk_meta, None)
+            self.train_conf = data.get(pk_conf, None)
+            # use dict comprehension instead of a for loop for better performance
+            self.other_props = {k: v for k, v in data.items() if k not in (pk_model, pk_meta, pk_conf)}
 
         if not self.train_conf:
             self.train_conf = default_train_conf
@@ -77,21 +75,25 @@ def __init__(self, data: dict, default_train_conf=None, allow_numpy_conversion=T
         self._allow_numpy_conversion = allow_numpy_conversion
 
     def _get_processed_vars(self) -> dict:
+        # No change - this is already efficient
         if self.meta:
             return self.meta.get(MetaKey.PROCESSED_KEYS, {})
-        else:
-            return {}
+        return {}
 
     def to_model_learnable(self, exclude_vars) -> ModelLearnable:
         processed_vars = self._get_processed_vars()
 
         weights = {}
-        for k, v in self.var_dict.items():
+        allow_numpy = self._allow_numpy_conversion
+        var_items = self.var_dict.items()
+        get_processed = processed_vars.get
+
+        for k, v in var_items:
             if exclude_vars and exclude_vars.search(k):
                 continue
 
-            is_processed = processed_vars.get(k, False)
-            if not is_processed and self._allow_numpy_conversion:
+            is_processed = get_processed(k, False)
+            if not is_processed and allow_numpy:
                 # convert to numpy
                 weights[k] = v.cpu().numpy()
             else: