Plumbers' & Pipefitters' Local Union 562 Pension Fund

Plumbers' & Pipefitters' Local Union 562 Pension Fund

The Plumbers' & Pipefitters' Local Union 562 Pension Fund was established in 1959 as a defined-benefit plan covering eligible members of United Association Local 562 in eastern Missouri. Business Manager John J. O'Mara serves as a trustee, alongside President Richard M. Kellett and Vice President Michael O'Connell III, who also sits on the board of Missouri Technology Corporation. The fund operates out of Earth City, Missouri, drawing its participant base from plumbers, pipefitters and HVAC technicians who work under collective bargaining agreements negotiated between UA Local 562 and the Mechanical Contractors Association of Eastern Missouri. The fund allocates across traditional and alternative asset classes, with a notable concentration in institutional real estate. Confirmed positions include a stake in the Morgan Stanley Prime Property Fund and direct ownership of commercial properties such as the Local 562 Training Center and Union Hall in Earth City. The alternative-asset sleeve extends into venture capital, targeting early-stage through growth-stage opportunities. Co-investor relationships are likely structured through specialized investment consultants, though individual fund names remain undisclosed in public filings. Geographic focus skews domestic, with property holdings concentrated in the St. Louis metropolitan area. Team size and total deployment figures are not publicly reported. The fund's governance is anchored in its Taft-Hartley multiemployer structure, with trustees drawn equally from union leadership and contributing employers. Adjacent vehicles include the Plumbers & Pipefitters Local 562 Charitable Fund and a scholarship fund that supports member families. In 2024, the fund continued its active property management of the Corporate Trail Drive complex, which houses both the union hall and a health center for participants. The fund's structural differentiator is its embedded relationship with the contracting community. Unlike public pension systems that operate at arm's length from employers, a multiemployer plan like Local 562 sits at the center of ongoing labor-management negotiations. Contribution rates, benefit accruals and funding ratios are all shaped by the same collective bargaining cycle that sets wages on job sites across eastern Missouri — linking investment performance directly to the health of the local unionized construction market.