UAW Ford Retirees Medical Benefits Plan

Hershel Harper serves as Chief Investment Officer of the broader UAW Retiree Medical Benefits Trust, which oversees the combined assets of the Ford, GM, and Chrysler retiree healthcare plans. The trust employs an internal investment staff managing allocation across public and private markets. Investment committee governance and board oversight supplement the internal team.

This is a VEBA trust, not a pension. Ford transferred a fixed pool of assets in 2007 to settle its ongoing retiree healthcare liabilities. The plan now operates independently, with no future contributions guaranteed from Ford and no corporate balance sheet backing. If investment returns underperform, benefit levels can be modified — a structural risk absent in traditional defined-benefit pensions.

Legally, each is a separate plan tied to a specific company's settlement. Operationally, all three sit under the UAW Retiree Medical Benefits Trust umbrella, with a unified investment office and likely shared access to fund commitments and asset allocation strategy. This pooled structure creates economies of scale for manager selection and fee negotiation.

Real estate is a meaningful allocation, with known commitments to vehicles like MCR Hospitality Fund II and Kayne Commercial Real Estate Debt. These suggest a dual strategy: equity positions for long-term appreciation in hospitality properties and debt investments for current income, consistent with a fund that must generate steady cash flow for medical claims.

The trust is a member of the National Association of Investment Companies, an industry organization focused on diverse-owned private equity firms. This membership, combined with its active participation in Council of Institutional Investors governance forums, reflects a formal commitment to including diverse managers in its alternative investment program.