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American Textile Maintenance Company Employees Cash Balance Pension Plan
American Textile Maintenance Company operates a commercial laundry business serving the Los Angeles region. The Shames family, with Gregory Shames representing...
American Textile Maintenance Company Employees Cash Balance Pension Plan
American Textile Maintenance Company operates a commercial laundry business serving the Los Angeles region. The Shames family, with Gregory Shames representing the fourth generation, controls the company and its affiliated assets. The firm's employee cash balance pension plan is a defined benefit structure recognized by the Alabama Department of Revenue — an unusual domicile detail for a plan attached to a California operating business. The pension's deployment strategy is singular: it is overwhelmingly concentrated in hard assets tied to the operating company's own footprint. Holdings include the company headquarters at 1667 W Washington Blvd, two industrial properties in Long Beach, an industrial facility in South Gate, and a commercial property in Santa Barbara. The plan also holds an interest in Central Basin water rights, a scarce and politically charged asset class in Southern California. This is not a fund-of-funds or a diversified institutional portfolio — it is a captive balance sheet wrapped around a family-owned operating business. Bradley Shames serves as President and CEO of the textile company and is a Partner at BMS Investments, suggesting a family office layer alongside the pension. Gregory Shames participates in the Family Office Exchange network. Bruce Moskowitz administers the retirement plans. The Shames Family Foundation provides the philanthropic channel, with Julie Shames active in its leadership. The plan's architecture mirrors the classic closely held business pension: the sponsor is the sole source of contributions, and the assets are interwoven with the family's broader real-estate and operating-company balance sheet. This creates a double identity — retirement vehicle and de facto family real-estate holding company — where fiduciary duty and family control operate in permanent tension.
General information
Firm type
Pension Fund
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Los Angeles
Corporate office
Los Angeles, CA, United States
Principals
Bradley J. Shames
President and CEO, American Textile Maintenance Company
Gregory Shames
Director, American Textile Maintenance Company
Bruce Moskowitz
Plan Administrator
Frequently asked questions
Who is responsible for the pension plan's investment decisions?
The plan is administered by Bruce Moskowitz, while ultimate control over the plan's assets flows through the Shames family, who own and operate the sponsoring company. Bradley Shames, President and CEO of American Textile Maintenance Company, also acts as a Partner at BMS Investments, which likely directs the broader family and pension-related investment strategy.
How are the pension assets invested?
The portfolio is overwhelmingly concentrated in real estate and hard assets tied to the operating company, including industrial laundry facilities across Los Angeles County and a commercial property in Santa Barbara. The plan also holds an interest in Central Basin water rights, a niche and geographically specific asset class unique to Southern California.
What is the relationship between the pension plan and the Shames family?
The pension plan is a benefit structure for employees of a company controlled by the Shames family for four generations. Because the plan's assets include properties that double as the company's operational facilities, the family's control over the operating business and the retirement plan's investment portfolio are structurally inseparable.
Does the plan invest in external funds or only direct holdings?
Publicly identifiable assets are entirely direct holdings — a cluster of industrial properties, a commercial building, and water rights. There is no evidence of commitments to outside private equity, venture capital, or hedge funds, which aligns with a closely held family business treating its pension as an internal asset-liability structure rather than a market-facing institutional investor.
Why is a California-based pension plan recognized by the Alabama Department of Revenue?
The Alabama domicile reference is atypical and likely reflects historical corporate structure, trust registration, or a legacy from the firm's founding. The specific tax or regulatory rationale is not publicly detailed, but the designation confirms the plan's status as a qualifying defined benefit arrangement under state law.
Does the Shames family maintain any philanthropic structures?
Yes. The Shames Family Foundation serves as the family's philanthropic vehicle, with Julie Shames active in its leadership. It operates separately from the commercial laundry business and the pension plan.
Is the plan open to new participants?
Cash balance pension plans are typically frozen or closed to new entrants in closely held businesses of this profile, but the plan's current participant status is not publicly disclosed. As a defined benefit plan, any active participants would accrue benefits based on a formula set by the sponsoring employer.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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