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Schulte Roth & Zabel Pension Plan
The Schulte Roth & Zabel Pension Plan launched in 2000 as the defined-benefit retirement vehicle for the New York-based law firm, which itself was founded...
Schulte Roth & Zabel Pension Plan
The Schulte Roth & Zabel Pension Plan launched in 2000 as the defined-benefit retirement vehicle for the New York-based law firm, which itself was founded in 1969. The plan exists solely to provide retirement benefits to eligible participants at Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP, a firm known for its deep specialization in investment management, M&A, and financial-services law. Unlike broader public or multi-employer plans, this pension fund is an internal entity, its governance and investment decisions closely advised by the firm's own Employment & Employee Benefits Group partners. The plan maintains a dedicated Alternative Investment Portfolio based in New York, signaling an allocation to private markets beyond traditional fixed income and public equities. While the specific asset-class mix, stage coverage, and fund structures are not publicly detailed, the plan is tracked as an institutional investor in alternative assets (per Preqin). Its small scale — an estimated $35 million in assets (Altss estimate) — suggests a program that likely emphasizes commingled fund commitments and possibly select direct co-investments, operating well below the thresholds that require public disclosure of individual manager relationships or portfolio-company holdings. The investment posture is stewarded by a tight circle of Schulte Roth & Zabel partners. Ronald E. Richman and David M. Cohen, both of the Employment & Employee Benefits Group, are the named advisors closest to the plan, with Ian L. Levin, Jennifer A. Neilsson, and Andrew B. Lowy providing additional legal and compliance oversight on retirement-plan investments and ERISA matters. The plan has no disclosed satellite offices, dedicated internal investment staff, or adjacent philanthropic or operating-company structures — it remains an embedded function of the law firm's benefits practice. The plan's architecture is structurally distinct in one narrow but real way: it is a captive pension fund sitting inside one of the most influential law firms in the alternative-asset industry. Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP advises some of the world's largest private funds on formation, regulatory, and transactional matters. The pension plan, therefore, operates with an unusual proximity to fund managers and a deep in-house understanding of limited-partnership agreements, side letters, and fund terms — an informational advantage that few retirement plans of its size can replicate.
General information
Firm type
Pension Fund
Year founded
2000
AUM
$35M (Altss estimate)
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
New York
Corporate office
New York, NY, United States
Principals
Ronald E. Richman
Partner and Co-Head of the Employment & Employee Benefits Group
David M. Cohen
Partner, Employment & Employee Benefits Group
Ian L. Levin
Partner
Jennifer A. Neilsson
Partner
Andrew B. Lowy
Associate
Frequently asked questions
Who oversees investment decisions for the Schulte Roth & Zabel Pension Plan?
The plan is advised by partners in Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP's Employment & Employee Benefits Group, primarily Ronald E. Richman, who co-heads the practice, and David M. Cohen. Their oversight covers the legal and fiduciary dimensions of the plan's investments, including the alternative investment portfolio. There is no publicly named chief investment officer or dedicated internal investment staff — governance appears tightly integrated with the firm's benefits-law practice.
What kind of alternative investments does the plan hold?
The plan maintains a designated Alternative Investment Portfolio, but its specific holdings — whether hedge funds, private equity, private credit, or real assets — are not publicly disclosed. Its very small asset base (estimated at $35 million) limits the range of direct investing it can do, so the portfolio likely consists of commingled fund commitments rather than direct deals or co-investments.
Is the Schulte Roth & Zabel Pension Plan open to co-investment or external LP relationships?
No. The plan is a fully captive, single-sponsor defined-benefit vehicle that exists only to provide retirement benefits to eligible Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP employees. It does not take outside capital, nor does it operate as a multi-employer or pooled plan that external investors can access.
How is the pension plan related to Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP's client work?
The plan is an internal entity without a direct business relationship to the law firm's clients. However, Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP is a premier law firm for private equity, hedge fund, and credit fund formation, which means the partners advising the pension plan have deep proximity to fund managers and intimate knowledge of fund documents and industry terms. That context may inform the plan's manager selection, though investment decisions are made solely for the benefit of plan participants.
What is the plan's known posture on direct versus fund investments?
The plan has not publicly detailed its investment-policy statement or asset-allocation targets. Given its estimated $35 million in assets, direct private-market investments would be difficult to execute at scale, so the Alternative Investment Portfolio likely emphasizes pooled fund vehicles. Any direct co-investments, if they occur, have not been disclosed.
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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