SMART Local Union No. 36 Pension Plan

SMART Local Union No. 36 Pension Plan

SMART Local Union No. 36 operates as a labor union representing sheet metal, air, rail, and transportation workers primarily in the Greater St. Louis area. While the union itself is a membership organization, the entity tracked here is its affiliated retirement plan — a defined contribution 401(k) vehicle that holds participant-directed retirement assets in individual accounts. The plan is jointly administered by a Board of Trustees split evenly between union-appointed representatives and employer-appointed representatives from the Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors Association of St. Louis (SMACNA), a governance design mandated under the Taft-Hartley Act for collectively bargained benefit funds. The plan's investment architecture follows a typical defined contribution model: participants select from a curated lineup of mutual funds spanning domestic and international equities, fixed income, and stable value, along with target-date retirement funds that serve as the qualified default investment alternative. The plan does not make direct allocations to private equity, venture capital, or real estate as a general partner — its posture is that of a participant-directed retirement savings platform, not a discretionary institutional allocator. Employer contributions flow into the plan based on hourly contribution rates negotiated in the local's collective bargaining agreements with signatory SMACNA contractors. There is no evidence of a separate defined benefit pension fund or a health and welfare VEBA trust asset pool that falls under institutional allocation parameters. The plan holds estimated assets of approximately $238 million (Altss estimate), making it a small-to-midsize retirement plan by institutional standards but a meaningful capital pool within the regional union-benefit ecosystem. The union itself operates from its combined union hall and benefits office at 2319 Chouteau Avenue in St. Louis. The local is affiliated with the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART), a labor organization representing over 200,000 members across North America. The local also maintains a separate Vacation Fund and supports community partners including the United Way of Greater St. Louis and the American Parkinson Disease Association's Greater St. Louis Chapter. Structurally, this plan is not allocator-facing in the traditional sense — it does not hire external managers, make fund commitments, or co-invest. Its capital is entirely participant-directed within a bundled 401(k) platform. For an institutional allocator or GP, the plan is relevant only as a potential source of individual participant flows into publicly available fund vehicles, not as a discretionary institutional limited partner. The joint trusteeship model — equal board seats for labor and management — is the defining governance feature, ensuring neither party unilaterally controls the investment menu or plan administration.