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Massachusetts Service Employees Pension Fund
The Massachusetts Service Employees Pension Fund operates as a multi-employer defined-benefit plan jointly administered by labor and management.
Massachusetts Service Employees Pension Fund
The Massachusetts Service Employees Pension Fund operates as a multi-employer defined-benefit plan jointly administered by labor and management. Union trustees are appointed by SEIU Local 32BJ, a property-services local that represents cleaners, security officers, and doormen across the Northeast. Employer trustees come from the Maintenance Contractors of New England Employers' Association, creating a board split evenly between labor and business. Roxana Rivera, Assistant to the President of 32BJ SEIU, and Raul Garcia serve as the union's direct representatives on the board, while James Canavan of C&W Services and Vince Wong of Janitronics hold the employer seats. The fund pursues a strategy that balances income-producing tangibles with external manager relationships. Real estate holdings feature prominently: its portfolio lists the AFL-CIO Building Investment Trust, a union-centric commingled vehicle focused on mixed-use development, alongside a direct stake in Dublin Corporate Center, a California office asset. Beyond property, the plan holds positions across more than one hundred investment entities — partnership and joint-venture interests alongside common and collective trusts — suggesting a diversified menu spanning private credit, hedge fund allocations, and traditional public-markets exposure managed through institutional fund structures rather than a dedicated in-house team. Administrative and investment governance flows through the board of trustees, supported by professional networks common among Taft-Hartley plans. The fund is affiliated with the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans, a Brookfield, Wisconsin-based association that provides trustee education and industry benchmarking specifically for multi-employer pension and health funds. Team size, total assets, and specific consultant or OCIO relationships remain undisclosed in public documents. The plan's structural differentiator is its explicit dual-governance mandate, characteristic of jointly trusteed Taft-Hartley funds. Every allocation decision requires consensus between union-appointed fiduciaries and employer-nominated fiduciaries. That architecture makes investment pacing inherently conservative and heavily reliant on external manager due diligence. For allocators marketing to the fund, access runs through the trustee board and any retained investment consultant rather than a dedicated internal investment office — a governance shape that filters out most manager cold outreach.
General information
Firm type
Pension Fund
Year founded
1973
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Boston
Corporate office
Boston, MA, United States
Principals
Roxana Rivera
Union Trustee
Raul Garcia
Union Trustee
James Canavan
Employer Trustee
Vince Wong
Employer Trustee
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who governs investment decisions at the Massachusetts Service Employees Pension Fund?
A joint board of trustees makes all investment decisions. SEIU Local 32BJ appoints two union trustees, and the Maintenance Contractors of New England Employers' Association appoints two employer trustees. Named union trustees include Roxana Rivera and Raul Garcia; named employer trustees include James Canavan and Vince Wong. The board typically retains an investment consultant to support asset-allocation and manager-selection analysis.
What is the fund's posture on direct real estate versus commingled vehicles?
The fund holds both. It directly owns Dublin Corporate Center, a commercial property in Dublin, California. It also commits to the AFL-CIO Building Investment Trust, a commingled real estate vehicle favoring union-built mixed-use projects. This hybrid approach allows the fund to maintain some direct asset control while accessing diversified exposure through labor-friendly pooled vehicles.
Does the fund invest in venture capital or private equity?
Strategy tags indicate venture capital and partnerships are part of the portfolio, though the vehicle type — direct, fund-of-funds, or co-investment — is not specified in available disclosures. The plan lists over one hundred investment entities, a structure typical of Taft-Hartley funds using external managers for private-markets exposure rather than building direct deal teams. Specific GP relationships and commitment sizes have not been made public.
How does a Taft-Hartley governance model affect manager access and investment pacing?
Taft-Hartley plans require joint labor-management board approval for investment policy changes and manager hires. This consensus-driven model slows decisions compared to single-fiduciary plans but provides strong governance checks. Manager access is almost always gated by the fund's retained investment consultant; unsolicited outreach to individual trustees is generally ineffective and discouraged by the board's professional protocols.
Which professional networks or associations does the fund belong to?
The fund is affiliated with the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans (IFEBP), a nonprofit based in Brookfield, Wisconsin. IFEBP provides trustee education, compliance resources, and peer benchmarking specifically designed for multi-employer pension and health plans. Membership signals a commitment to fiduciary training standards common among large Taft-Hartley funds.
Where does the participant base come from?
Participants are current and former members of SEIU Local 32BJ employed by maintenance and cleaning contractors in New England. The union represents property-services workers including janitors, security officers, and doormen across Massachusetts and neighboring states. Employer contributions fund the plan under collective bargaining agreements negotiated between Local 32BJ and the Maintenance Contractors of New England Employers' Association.
Is any liquidity stress or funded-status data publicly available?
No. As a non-federal plan, the fund files Form 5500 annually with the Department of Labor, which includes actuarial and asset information. However, the fund does not publish funded ratios, contribution shortfalls, or liquidity metrics on a public-facing website. Researchers typically obtain Form 5500 data through DOL public datasets or commercial aggregators.
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