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IBEW Local 98
IBEW Local 98 serves as both a labor union and the fiduciary for its members' retirement and benefit plans from its base in Philadelphia. Led by Business...
IBEW Local 98
IBEW Local 98 serves as both a labor union and the fiduciary for its members' retirement and benefit plans from its base in Philadelphia. Led by Business Manager and Financial Secretary Mark Lynch Jr., the organization controls the Electrical Workers Joint Apprenticeship and Training Trust Fund, which trains the next generation of electricians. The union's wealth is not derived from a single family, but from the pooled deferred wages and employer contributions negotiated through collective bargaining with the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA). The fund's investment strategy is classified as broadly diversified across multiple asset classes. Its most visible deployment is in directly held real estate used to support union operations and training. The union's portfolio includes its current headquarters at 4960 S. 12th St in the Philadelphia Navy Yard — a property purchased from Pennsylvania State University — a dedicated training facility on Kitty Hawk Avenue, and a benefit office building on Spring Garden Street. The union also runs a political action committee, the IBEW Local 98 PAC Fund, which directs capital toward local political advocacy. The fund's scale and total deployment remain undisclosed to the public. The organization operates as a key node within regional labor infrastructure, maintaining a prominent role in the Philadelphia Building Trades Council and affiliation with the AFL-CIO. Mark Lynch Jr. has also forged institutional community partnerships, including a notable relationship with the Philadelphia Eagles. The union contributed over $75,000 to the Eagles Autism Foundation, signalling a collaborative dynamic between the city's major sports franchise and organized labor. A scholarship fund, the Scholarship Fund of the IBEW Local Union 98, provides direct financial support to members' families. A defining structural feature of IBEW Local 98 is the close integration of its benefit plan governance with its operating real estate and workforce training mandate. Unlike a pure financial allocator, the fund's capital decisions can include the acquisition and development of physical training centers and administrative buildings that directly serve its membership — a direct alignment of the asset base with the union's core function of producing skilled electrical workers. This hybrid model embeds purpose into the portfolio rather than treating it as a separate pool of capital.
General information
Firm type
Pension Fund
Year founded
—
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Philadelphia
Corporate office
Philadelphia, PA, United States
Principals
Mark Lynch Jr.
Business Manager and Financial Secretary
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment and fiduciary decisions at IBEW Local 98?
Mark Lynch Jr. serves as both the Business Manager and the Financial Secretary of IBEW Local 98. In this dual role, he acts as the lead executive for the union's operations and the key fiduciary for its benefit and pension assets. His purview includes oversight of the Joint Apprenticeship and Training Trust Fund, managed in partnership with the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA).
Is IBEW Local 98 structured as a single-family office or a traditional pension fund?
It is a union pension fund, not a family office. The capital represents the deferred compensation and negotiated benefits of working electrical contractors organized under a collective bargaining agreement. The fund's governance is tied to the union's elected leadership, with assets held in trust for current and retired members rather than a single family.
What is the union's strategy for its directly held real estate?
IBEW Local 98 acquires and develops properties that serve an operational purpose for its members. Its headquarters at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, purchased from Pennsylvania State University, sits alongside a dedicated training center for apprentices. This is not a speculative commercial portfolio but a mission-driven real estate footprint that houses union administration and the electrical training pipeline.
How is the IBEW Local 98 PAC Fund related to the pension assets?
The IBEW Local 98 PAC Fund is a separate political action committee funded by voluntary member contributions, entirely walled off from the union's pension and benefit trusts. It uses member donations to support local candidates and labor-friendly policy in Pennsylvania, representing the union's political voice rather than an investment vehicle.
Does IBEW Local 98 disclose its total pension assets or investment performance publicly?
No. Unlike large state-level pension systems, multi-employer union plans of this scale are not required to provide granular public asset breakdowns or real-time portfolio holdings. The fund's total AUM and specific manager lineups remain private to the plan's trustee board and its participants.
What is the relationship between IBEW Local 98 and the Philadelphia Eagles?
Under Business Manager Mark Lynch Jr., IBEW Local 98 has become a public-facing partner of the Philadelphia Eagles' charitable arm, the Eagles Autism Foundation. The union has contributed more than $75,000 to the foundation, cementing a community and philanthropic alliance between organized labor in Philadelphia and the city's NFL franchise.
How does the Joint Apprenticeship and Training Trust (JATC) operate alongside the pension fund?
The JATC is a jointly trusteed fund managed by IBEW Local 98 and NECA, financed by employer contributions that are separate from the pension pool. It owns and operates the union's training facility on Kitty Hawk Avenue, ensuring a steady pipeline of certified electricians. It functions as a parallel benefit structure, investing in physical training infrastructure rather than financial securities.
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