# ABX Air Retirement Plan

ABX Air Retirement Plan is a Pension Fund based in Wilmington, United States.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Pension Fund
- **Headquarters:** Wilmington, United States
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** Wilmington, OH, United States
- **Founded:** 2003
- **Assets under management:** $557M (Altss estimate)
- **Website:** abxair.com
- **LinkedIn:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/abx-air-inc.

## Regulatory record

- **Reports private funds:** No

## About

Founded in 2003 with ABX Air, Inc. as its sponsor, the plan provides retirement benefits through a structure combining a 401(k) savings vehicle with a traditional defined-benefit pension program. It sits inside Air Transport Services Group, Inc. (ATSG), the NASDAQ-listed lessor and air-cargo operator where Joe Hete serves as Executive Chairman. The plan's primary obligation centers on managing pension liabilities for former and current airline employees, a mandate that shapes a conservative liability-driven investment posture. The portfolio allocates capital to strategies that typically fall outside a standard 60/40 public-markets pension model. Confirmed allocations include a global real estate component, a debt securities portfolio, and commitments to alternative investment vehicles spanning buyout, fund-of-funds, special situations, and general venture strategies. The fund's geographic footprint extends beyond its Wilmington, Ohio home to include mixed-use real estate assets globally. ATSB and its subsidiary plan face a structural pivot: in November 2024, Stonepeak entered an agreement to acquire ATSG in an all-cash take-private transaction valued at roughly $3.1 billion. Mike Berger, ATSG’s CEO, leads operations as the sponsor enters a transition from public-company governance to private stewardship under a direct infrastructure investor. ATSG also sponsors an annual Fall Charity Drive as its primary philanthropic vehicle, separate from the retirement fund. As a single-sponsor corporate pension inside a listed company that is being acquired by a direct infrastructure fund, the plan sits at an intersection of fiduciary continuity and sponsor-credit risk rarely seen in the mid-market. The plan's future posture — whether it merges into a multi-employer structure, continues as a Stonepeak-supervised liability, or gets annuitized — remains unwritten but is the key structural decision its beneficiaries and regulators will track through the deal's close.

## Sectors

- Real Estate
- Private Credit
- Hedge Funds
- Secondaries & Special Situations

## People

- Joe Hete — Executive Chairman, Air Transport Services Group, Inc.
- Mike Berger — CEO, Air Transport Services Group, Inc.

## Questions

### Who is the plan sponsor and what is the relationship to ABX Air?

Air Transport Services Group, Inc. (ATSG) — a NASDAQ-listed aircraft lessor and cargo airline operator — sponsors the plan. ABX Air, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of ATSG and the direct employer whose workforce the plan covers.

### What alternative asset classes does the plan invest in?

The fund commits capital to buyout, special situations, venture, and fund-of-funds vehicles, alongside direct allocations to a global mixed-use real estate portfolio and a debt securities portfolio.

### Does the plan operate only as a defined-benefit pension?

No. The ABX Air, Inc. Retirement Income Plan encompasses both a defined-benefit pension component that manages retiree liabilities and a 401(k) savings plan that accepts company and employee payroll contributions.

### Where is the fund's geographic focus?

Investment operations are managed from the plan's headquarters in Wilmington, Ohio. Its real estate portfolio has a global mandate, holding interests in mixed-use properties across multiple continents.

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- [Wheaton College](https://altss.com/profile/wheaton-college)
- [The Gates Family Foundation](https://altss.com/profile/the-gates-family-foundation)

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Last updated: 2026-06-03T20:00:00.000Z

Canonical page: https://altss.com/profile/abx-air-retirement-plan

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