# Ball Horticultural Company Profit Sharing Retirement Plan

Ball Horticultural Company Profit Sharing Retirement Plan is a Pension Fund based in West Chicago, United States.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Pension Fund
- **Headquarters:** West Chicago, United States
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** West Chicago, IL, United States
- **Founded:** 1905
- **Assets under management:** $172M (Altss estimate)
- **Website:** ballhort.com
- **LinkedIn:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/ball-horticultural-company

## Regulatory record

- **Reports private funds:** No

## About

The plan was established in 1995 to cover all domestic employees of Ball Horticultural Company, a fourth-generation family business that introduces and distributes ornamental and vegetable seed varieties globally. Anna Caroline Ball, granddaughter of founder George J. Ball, leads both the commercial enterprise and the G. Carl Ball Family Foundation, while President Al Davidson and CFO Jacco Kuipers manage day-to-day operations. The retirement structure is separate from the family's personal wealth, though both draw from the same horticultural roots in West Chicago. The plan's assets are estimated at $172M (Altss estimate) and reflect a private-sector defined contribution design. Ball Horticultural's professional network includes Anna Ball's membership in The Chicago Network and her trustee role at The Morton Arboretum. The company participates in CIOPORA, the international breeders' association, and maintains two philanthropic arms: the American Floral Endowment's Ball Horticultural Company Fund and the G. Carl Ball Family Foundation. No adjacent investment vehicles, co-investment clubs, or direct-deal programs have been identified for the retirement plan itself. The plan's structural differentiator is its embeddedness within a multi-generational family business that has never been publicly traded. This governance model means the retirement vehicle is insulated from quarterly earnings pressure but also lacks the independent fiduciary oversight common among public pension funds. The Ball family's continued operational control — across commercial, research, and philanthropic entities — creates a legacy-driven investment culture rather than one optimized for purely financial returns.

## People

- Anna Caroline Ball — Chairman and CEO of Ball Horticultural Company; Head of G. Carl Ball Family Foundation
- Al Davidson — President of Ball Horticultural Company
- Jacco Kuipers — CFO of Ball Horticultural Company

## Questions

### Is this plan regulated as a pension or a profit-sharing vehicle?

It is a defined contribution profit-sharing plan, which means contributions are discretionary and tied to company performance. Unlike a traditional defined-benefit pension, employees bear investment risk. The plan covers all domestic employees of Ball Horticultural Company, a private entity.

### How does the plan relate to the G. Carl Ball Family Foundation?

The retirement plan and the foundation are legally separate. The plan serves employees; the foundation, led by Anna Ball, handles the family's philanthropic giving. There is no indication of shared assets or overlapping governance.

### What is the plan's known posture toward ESG or sustainable agriculture?

No public ESG policy has been identified for the retirement plan. Ball Horticultural's commercial work involves plant breeding and genetics — including ornamental and vegetable varieties — but the plan itself does not advertise a thematic or impact-investing mandate.

## Related profiles

- [Austin College](https://altss.com/profile/austin-college)
- [The Coleman Foundation](https://altss.com/profile/the-coleman-foundation-inc)

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Last updated: 2026-08-11T02:43:31.692Z

Canonical page: https://altss.com/profile/ball-horticultural-company-profit-sharing-retirement-plan

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