# Sound Retirement Trust

Sound Retirement Trust is a Pension Fund based in Seattle, United States.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Pension Fund
- **Headquarters:** Seattle, United States
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** Seattle, WA, United States
- **Founded:** 1965
- **Assets under management:** Undisclosed
- **Website:** soundretirement.info
- **LinkedIn:** linkedin.com/company/sound-retirement

## Regulatory record

- **Reports private funds:** No

## About

Sound Retirement Trust is a multi-employer defined benefit union pension fund based in Bothell, Washington. Established in 1965, it serves the biotech and life science sectors.

## Sectors

- Real Estate
- Infrastructure
- Private Credit
- Venture Capital
- Secondaries & Special Situations

## People

- Faye Guenther — Union Trustee, President of UFCW Local 3000
- Scott Klitzke Powers — Employer Trustee

## Questions

### Who runs investment decisions at Sound Retirement Trust?

Investment decisions are made by the board of trustees, which includes both union-appointed and employer-appointed trustees. Faye Guenther, President of UFCW Local 3000, serves as a union trustee. Employer trustees represent Albertsons and Kroger. The board structure is standard for Taft-Hartley plans: both sides must agree on asset allocation, manager selection, and benefit policy.

### How is Sound Retirement Trust related to UFCW Local 3000, Albertsons, and Kroger?

The trust is the pension fund for members of UFCW Local 3000 who work at Albertsons and Kroger stores in Washington state. The union and the employers jointly sponsor the plan under a Taft-Hartley collective bargaining framework. Contributions come from the employers; the union represents the participants in fund governance.

### Does Sound Retirement Trust participate in fund commitments or direct deals?

The trust primarily commits to commingled funds — Invesco Core Real Estate Fund, TA Realty IX, Ares US Real Estate Opportunity Fund III, and multiple venture capital funds. Direct co-investment activity is not publicly confirmed. The infrastructure and private markets sleeves are also fund-based.

### What was the Prudential pension risk transfer, and why did Sound Retirement Trust execute it?

In 2017, the trust purchased a group annuity contract from Prudential, transferring a block of retiree liabilities to the insurer. The move reduced the plan's funded-status volatility and removed longevity risk for those participants. Benefit payments for that cohort are now Prudential's obligation, not the trust's — a structural de-risking common among US corporate plans but less frequent among Taft-Hartley funds.

## Related profiles

- [Sound Investments](https://altss.com/profile/sound-investments)
- [Sound View Wealth Advisors (SVWA)](https://altss.com/profile/sound-view-wealth-advisors-svwa)

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Last updated: 2026-06-03T20:00:00.000Z

Canonical page: https://altss.com/profile/sound-retirement-trust

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