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Employers & Operating Engineers Local 520 Pension Fund
Southern Illinois Taft-Hartley pension plan serving 1,600 IUOE Local 520 members with direct U.S. real estate holdings and passive equity index exposure.
Employers & Operating Engineers Local 520 Pension Fund
The Employers & Operating Engineers Local 520 Pension Fund provides defined-benefit security to members of IUOE Local 520, a labor organization representing heavy-equipment operators in construction, quarries, and municipal services. Trustees Mark Johnson and Chad Goldschmidt, both union principals, govern the plan alongside Plan Administrator Julie Visintine. Contributing employers include pipeline-construction firm Precision Pipeline LLC, a subsidiary of MasTec, Inc., and firms represented by the Southern Illinois Builders Association. The fund deploys capital across a two-part structure: a direct U.S. real estate investment fund targeting mixed-use assets and passive public-equity exposure via Northern Trust Collective Russell 1000 Growth Index Fund and Northern Trust Collective Emerging Markets ex China Investable Fund. This split pairs self-managed property holdings with low-cost beta in developed and emerging markets — a common Taft-Hartley construction, balancing yield-generating tangible assets with liquid equity participation. Geographic exposure spans domestic markets through the property sleeve and global developed and emerging markets through the index vehicles. The plan covers over 1,600 active and retired members across 16 Southern Illinois counties. No disclosed AUM or total deployment figures are publicly available. Contributing employers operate in heavy civil construction, pipeline infrastructure, and related trades, providing the contribution base that funds the actuarial liability stream. The fund's structural identity sits at the intersection of union governance, multi-employer bargaining, and direct asset ownership. Unlike many pension plans that outsource all investment management, Local 520 retains direct ownership of a real estate portfolio, giving trustees a hands-on role in property-level decisions — a posture shared by a subset of Taft-Hartley plans that view real assets as both an inflation hedge and a member-adjacent investment.
General information
Firm type
Pension Fund
Year founded
—
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Granite City
Corporate office
Granite City, IL, United States
Principals
Mark Johnson
Business Manager of IUOE Local 520 and Trustee
Chad Goldschmidt
President of IUOE Local 520 and Trustee
Julie Visintine
Plan Administrator
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
How is the Employers & Operating Engineers Local 520 Pension Fund structured?
It is a multi-employer Taft-Hartley defined-benefit pension plan governed by a board of trustees drawn from both the union — International Union of Operating Engineers Local 520 — and contributing employers such as Precision Pipeline LLC. Julie Visintine serves as Plan Administrator, handling day-to-day operations and compliance.
What does the fund invest in?
Public disclosures show a two-part strategy: a direct U.S. real estate investment fund focused on mixed-use properties and passive public-equity exposure through Northern Trust Collective Russell 1000 Growth Index Fund and Northern Trust Collective Emerging Markets ex China Investable Fund. No allocations to private equity, venture capital, or hedge funds are publicly evident.
Who contributes to the pension plan?
Contributing employers are construction and heavy-civil firms bound by collective bargaining agreements with IUOE Local 520. Known contributors include Precision Pipeline LLC, a subsidiary of MasTec, Inc., and member firms of the Southern Illinois Builders Association, whose CEO Donna Richter sits on related boards.
How large is the fund in terms of assets or membership?
The fund serves over 1,600 active and retired members across 16 Southern Illinois counties. It does not publicly disclose assets under management or total deployment, so any AUM figure would be an estimate.
Does the fund invest in emerging markets?
Yes — one of the three known allocations is the Northern Trust Collective Emerging Markets ex China Investable Fund, providing broad emerging-market equity exposure while explicitly excluding Chinese securities.
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