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National Automatic Sprinkler Industry Pension Fund
The National Automatic Sprinkler Industry Pension Fund was established in 1970 through collective bargaining between the National Fire Sprinkler Association...
National Automatic Sprinkler Industry Pension Fund
The National Automatic Sprinkler Industry Pension Fund was established in 1970 through collective bargaining between the National Fire Sprinkler Association (NFSA) and the United Association (UA). The fund is jointly governed — half of its Board of Trustees is appointed by the NFSA, and half by UA Local 669, the primary sprinkler fitter union. Executive Director Angela Curseen and Managing Director Tyler Jayroe oversee the day-to-day operations from the fund’s Landover, Maryland headquarters. The fund builds assets primarily through direct real estate programs and venture capital commitments, a strategy that diverges from many Taft-Hartley peers heavily weighted toward public equities. Verified vehicles include ARK Real Estate Acquisition Vehicles — a global commercial property program — and the State Street Tuckerman Retrofit Investment Program, a mixed-use initiative that deploys capital into building upgrades. The Chicago High-Rise Fire Safety Loan Guarantee Program targets commercial properties in Chicago, tying investment returns directly to the fund’s safety mission. On the venture side, the fund participates in Angel Oak Real Estate Investment Fund III and has invested in a WeWork-linked real estate vehicle under the ARK banner. The fund provides pension and health benefits to approximately 20,000 active and retired sprinkler fitters and their families. Robert J. Cooper Jr., representing Road Sprinkler Fitters Local Union 669, chairs the Board of Trustees, while Joshua Savitz of the NFSA serves as Secretary. The fund maintains membership in the National Coordinating Committee for Multiemployer Plans (NCCMP) and the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans (IFEBP), standard networks for major Taft-Hartley trustees and administrators. In May 2025, the fund continued to actively promote its MDLIVE telehealth partnership, integrating 100% covered virtual doctor visits into its health insurance offering. The fund’s structural differentiator is an investment portfolio calibrated to mirror the industry it serves: real-estate retrofit programs and fire-safety loan guarantees naturally align with the core skillset of its sprinkler fitter membership. This creates a closed loop where pension capital underwrites building-safety projects that generate returns while reinforcing the demand for union labor — a flywheel unlikely to be replicated by a generic pension fund.
General information
Firm type
Pension Fund
Year founded
1970
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Landover
Corporate office
Landover, MD, United States
Principals
Angela Curseen
Executive Director
Tyler Jayroe
Managing Director
Robert J. Cooper Jr.
Chairman of the Board of Trustees
Joshua Savitz
Secretary of the Board of Trustees
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at the National Automatic Sprinkler Industry Pension Fund?
Day-to-day operations are led by Executive Director Angela Curseen and Managing Director Tyler Jayroe in Landover, Maryland. The Board of Trustees — split evenly between employer representatives from the National Fire Sprinkler Association and union representatives from UA Local 669 — sets overall investment policy. Robert J. Cooper Jr. of Local 669 chairs the Board, and Joshua Savitz of the NFSA serves as Secretary.
How does the fund source its unique real estate investment pipeline?
Much of the real estate exposure flows through vehicles tied to the built environment the union already serves. The State Street Tuckerman Retrofit Investment Program and the Chicago High-Rise Fire Safety Loan Guarantee Program both direct capital into building upgrades where sprinkler fitters are likely to perform the labor. ARK Real Estate Acquisition Vehicles provide broader commercial property exposure, including a WeWork-linked asset that underscores the fund's willingness to blend mission-aligned and opportunistic deals.
Is the fund structured as a single employer plan or a multiemployer Taft-Hartley plan?
It is a classic multiemployer Taft-Hartley pension fund, established in 1970 through collective bargaining between the National Fire Sprinkler Association and the United Association. Contributions come from multiple unionized sprinkler contractors. The fund is jointly trusteed, with equal management board representation from the employer association and the union local, a governance model mandated by federal labor law.
Does the fund make venture capital commitments, and if so, in what sectors?
Yes. The fund lists Venture Capital (General) as a strategy. Verified commitments include Angel Oak Real Estate Investment Fund III, indicating a focus on real-asset venture. The broader portfolio also contains ARK vehicles and the WeWork-related real estate position, suggesting venture commitments often intersect with property technology and space utilization plays adjacent to the construction trade.
What is the fund's known posture on co-investments alongside external GPs?
The fund has not publicly disclosed a formal co-investment program. Its deployment model favors direct programs — such as the Tuckerman retrofit and Chicago fire-safety loan programs — and limited-partner stakes in named funds like Angel Oak Real Estate Investment Fund III. Co-investment alongside GPs is not confirmed in public records.
How does the welfare fund relate to the pension fund, and are the assets commingled?
Both sit under the umbrella of the National Automatic Sprinkler Industry Trust Funds, sharing administration and the Landover headquarters. The pension fund covers retirement benefits; the welfare fund handles health insurance, including the MDLIVE telehealth program. While they share branding and likely staff, pension and welfare assets are legally walled off under Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) rules, preventing any commingling of retirement capital with health-plan reserves.
Which sectors does the fund explicitly avoid?
No explicit sector exclusions are published. The fund does not market itself as an impact investor, though the retrofit and fire-safety loan programs carry a built-in alignment with sprinkler fitter employment. In practice, the portfolio materially underweights public equities and fixed income relative to a typical Taft-Hartley plan, concentrating instead on mission-congruent real estate and venture.
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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