Sheet Metal Workers Local Union 265

Investment oversight is vested in the Board of Trustees, which includes both union representatives and contributing employer representatives — standard for a Taft-Hartley multi-employer plan. Matt Gugala, President of SMART Local 265, serves as a Trustee and is the central named fiduciary in public records. Day-to-day investment management is delegated to external managers across public equities, fixed income, and alternatives; the fund does not publicly name a dedicated internal CIO or in-house investment staff.

It is a traditional Taft-Hartley multi-employer defined-benefit pension plan governed jointly by union and employer trustees — structurally closer to a small institutional pension fund than a family office. There is no single-family wealth origin; assets are collectively bargained contributions from SMACNA-affiliated sheet-metal contractors. The fund has no individual or family beneficiary with the discretion characteristic of a single-family office.

Real-asset exposure combines direct ownership of industrial properties in the Chicago suburbs — properties often constructed or maintained by union labor — with commingled fund commitments. The Alexandra Way Industrial Property in Carol Stream is the only publicly identifiable direct holding. The geographic tilt toward Northeastern Illinois mirrors the union's jurisdictional footprint and collective-bargaining relationships, particularly with SMACNA Greater Chicago contractors.

The plan accesses alternative assets primarily through fund-of-funds structures and commingled vehicles, spanning buyout, growth, venture capital, distressed debt, mezzanine, and secondaries. Direct co-investments are not a disclosed feature of the program. The real estate sleeve is the exception, with direct ownership of industrial property alongside any REIT or fund-held positions.

The private-markets allocation covers buyout, growth equity, venture capital (general), distressed debt, mezzanine, and secondaries — a multi-strategy lineup typical of smaller pension funds seeking diversified exposure through fund-of-funds relationships. There is no stated concentration by stage or sub-strategy, and the fund does not publicly disclose specific GP relationships or commitment sizes.

Local 265 is a chartered local of SMART International, the parent union formed by the 2015 merger of the Sheet Metal Workers' International Association and the United Transportation Union. The pension fund is legally separate from both the local and the international union, but its board includes union officers, and the plan exists to serve SMART Local 265 members and their beneficiaries. The SMART International organization is a business partner, not a direct fiduciary.

Yes — the Sheet Metal Workers Local 265 Educational Fund and the SMART Local 265 Scholarship Fund operate as adjacent nonprofit vehicles that support apprenticeship training and member-family scholarships. These are distinct from the pension trust and are funded through separate contributions and allocations. The fund also participates in the HIRE360 partnership, which focuses on diversity and inclusion in Chicago's construction workforce.