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Employers' - Warehousemen's Pension Trust Fund
The Employers' - Warehousemen's Pension Trust Fund is a multiemployer defined-benefit plan established to serve members of the International Longshore and...
Employers' - Warehousemen's Pension Trust Fund
The Employers' - Warehousemen's Pension Trust Fund is a multiemployer defined-benefit plan established to serve members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 26, based in Los Angeles. The plan's board includes union representatives and employer trustees, with ILWU Local 26 President Luisa Gratz serving as chairperson. By 2018, the fund fell into "critical and declining" status under the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act (MPRA), a designation reserved for plans projected to become insolvent within 15 to 20 years, triggering a statutory requirement to cut benefits and submit a rehabilitation plan to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. The trust's investment strategy spans venture capital, buyouts, co-investments, and secondaries, deployed through both direct and fund-of-funds structures. Stage coverage stretches from seed rounds through late-stage expansion, signaling participation in external GP-led vehicles rather than a dedicated in-house direct investment team. The fund has maintained a small direct real estate footprint, holding the Warehouse Men's Union Building, a commercial property at 5625 S. Figueroa Street in Los Angeles. Its ILWU affiliation historically exposed the portfolio to labor-union impact mandates and real-asset allocations, though the 2018 rehabilitation plan likely reined in illiquid commitments to prioritize benefit payments. The plan operates from a union hall-adjacent governance structure, with no disclosed separate investment office or dedicated CIO. Secretary Moises Figueroa and Trustees Hector Aguilar and Gene Hulsey oversee plan administration alongside Gratz. There is no adjacent foundation, co-investment club, or operating company structured alongside the trust, distinguishing it from the endowed university systems and family-office hybrid models that increasingly dominate institutional LP allocations. Its structural differentiator is its regulatory posture: the plan is one of roughly 130 multiemployer pensions in "critical and declining" status nationwide, operating under federal oversight rather than independent investment committee discretion. This compresses its time horizon and limits its ability to make new long-duration commitments, making it a forced seller or reluctant hold in secondaries markets rather than an active allocator competing for new-manager capacity.
General information
Firm type
Pension Fund
Year founded
1959
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Los Angeles
Corporate office
Los Angeles, CA, United States
Principals
Luisa Gratz
Chairperson of the Board of Trustees
Moises Figueroa
Secretary of the Board of Trustees
Hector Aguilar
Trustee
Gene Hulsey
Trustee
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
What is the current funded status of the Employers' - Warehousemen's Pension Trust Fund?
The plan was certified as in critical and declining status as of 2018, the most severe classification under the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act of 2014. This requires trustees to adopt a rehabilitation plan designed to restore the plan to full funding, and may include benefit reductions approved by the Treasury Department. Updated status beyond 2018 is not publicly verified.
Who governs investment decisions at the fund?
A joint board of trustees comprising union representatives — including ILWU Local 26 officers Luisa Gratz and Hector Aguilar — and employer-side trustees collectively govern the plan, including investment policy. No internal CIO or external OCIO is publicly named.
What union does this pension fund serve?
The fund primarily serves members of International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 26, which represents dockworkers at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. It is a Taft-Hartley multiemployer plan, meaning multiple employers within the collective bargaining unit contribute.
Does the fund participate in fund commitments or only direct deals?
The fund's strategy list includes fund-of-funds, direct secondaries, co-investment, and direct venture and buyout — indicating it invests both through external managers and directly. However, specific fund commitments or direct investments are not publicly disclosed.
What triggered the critical and declining designation?
Critical and declining status under MPRA means a plan is projected to become insolvent within 15 to 20 years. For multiemployer plans concentrated in industries like longshoring, the combination of declining contribution bases and market underperformance has pushed many into this tier. The specific drivers for Employers' - Warehousemen's have not been published.
Has the plan applied for benefit reductions under MPRA?
No public Treasury Department approval for benefit suspensions has been confirmed for this specific plan. Many plans in critical and declining status pursue MPRA applications, but not all.
What real assets does the plan hold?
The plan holds the Warehouse Men's Union Building at 5625 South Figueroa Street in Los Angeles as a directly owned commercial property, per public records.
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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