UA Local 98

UA Local 98

The Plumbers Local No 98 Defined Benefit Pension Fund was established in 1993 and operates from Troy, Michigan. The plan covers union plumbers, pipefitters, and HVAC technicians whose careers are tied to Detroit-area commercial and industrial construction. Benefits are administered by third-party administrator BeneSys Inc., while fiduciaries — including Business Manager Gary Glaser, Financial Secretary-Treasurer Dan Nixon, and President Ryan Lyle — oversee investment and governance decisions. UA Local 98 is a chartered local of the United Association, the international plumbing and pipefitting union. This pension fund allocates across a deliberately broad mandate that includes private equity buyout funds, early-stage and late-stage venture capital, fund-of-funds, natural resources, and real estate. The strategy relies heavily on primary fund commitments and co-investment vehicles rather than direct operating-company control, a posture common among Taft-Hartley plans that prioritize diversification and liquidity management over concentrated bets. Known geographic exposure tilts toward North American industrial real assets and infrastructure projects that align with the membership's trade — energy transition capex, water infrastructure, and advanced manufacturing facilities in the Midwest. The fund's $254M (Altss estimate) pool sits in the small-to-mid tier of American multi-employer pension funds, alongside peers in the building trades. UA Local 98 also maintains adjacent union assets including a Detroit union hall on Porter Street, a Troy training center on Tower Drive, and a separate Pipefitting Industry Training Center. The Local 98 Scholarship Fund provides a parallel philanthropic vehicle for member families. These real estate and educational investments reinforce the institution's balance-sheet presence beyond the pension portfolio. UA Local 98's structural differentiator is its multi-employer Taft-Hartley architecture. Unlike corporate or public pensions, the plan's contribution base is collectively bargained — meaning contribution rates are negotiated in union contracts rather than set by a single sponsor. This creates a steady, contractually obligated inflow of capital independent of market sentiment or a single company's earnings, a source of stability that institutional allocators recognize as distinct from endowment or sovereign wealth models.