# Upstate New York Bakery Drivers and Industry Pension Fund Upstate New York Bakery Drivers and Industry Pension Fund is a Pension Fund based in Syracuse, United States. ## Overview - **Organization type:** Pension Fund - **Headquarters:** Syracuse, United States - **Region:** North America - **Address:** Syracuse, NY, United States - **Founded:** 1957 - **Assets under management:** <$100M (Altss estimate) - **Website:** upstatenybakerydriversfund.org ## Regulatory record - **Reports private funds:** No ## About The Upstate New York Bakery Drivers and Industry Pension Fund was established in 1957 as a multi-employer Taft-Hartley defined-benefit plan. It serves participants affiliated primarily with Teamsters Local 294 and several other Upstate New York locals, including 65, 316, 522, 529, 669, 687, and 791. Kenneth Stilwell serves as the plan's Executive Administrator, overseeing operations from the fund's Syracuse headquarters. The board of trustees is split evenly between union representatives — such as Paul Markwitz and John Bulgaro — and employer trustees, including Rodney Malarchik and Cynthia Friends. The fund's investment strategy mixes direct real estate holdings with fund-of-funds private equity exposure. Known real estate commitments include positions in the Heitman Global Real Estate Securities Collective Investment Trust, a global commercial real estate vehicle, and the ASB Allegiance Real Estate Fund, a core US commercial property fund. The plan's historical posture was heavily influenced by contributing employers under collective bargaining agreements — Hostess Brands and Kellogg Company have been among the most significant. Both companies underwent major operational restructuring over the past two decades, with Hostess's 2012 bankruptcy and subsequent reorganization reshaping the contribution base for plans like this one. Altss estimates the fund's total assets at under $100 million, making it a sub-scale plan by national standards. The fund's footprint is concentrated in Upstate New York, with no disclosed satellite offices. Like many small Taft-Hartley plans, it participates in industry associations such as the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans and maintains ties to the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. What distinguishes this fund structurally is its status as a maturing, single-region multi-employer plan in an industry that has undergone severe employer consolidation. With a declining active-to-retiree ratio common among bakery and trucking pension plans, its investment posture is necessarily conservative — weighted toward income-producing real estate and institutional commingled funds. The fund does not operate as a sovereign allocator making direct venture commitments; it is a steady, liability-matching pool whose governance rests on the shared trusteeship of local unions and the employers who write the checks. ## Sectors - Real Estate - Private Equity ## People - Kenneth Stilwell — Executive Administrator and Plan Administrator - Paul Markwitz — Union Trustee - John Bulgaro — Union Trustee - Thomas Quackenbush — Union Trustee - Rodney Malarchik — Employer Trustee - Cynthia Friends — Employer Trustee - David Cesari — Employer Trustee ## Questions ### Who administers the fund's day-to-day operations? Kenneth Stilwell serves as Executive Administrator and Plan Administrator, managing the fund's operations from its Syracuse headquarters. The board of trustees is jointly governed by union and employer representatives, including Paul Markwitz and John Bulgaro on the union side, and Rodney Malarchuk and Cynthia Friends representing contributing employers. ### How is the fund structured — is it a single-employer or multi-employer plan? It is a multi-employer Taft-Hartley defined-benefit plan. Multiple bakery and distribution companies contribute under collective bargaining agreements negotiated with Teamsters locals across Upstate New York. This structure means no single employer bears the full funding obligation, but it also means contribution levels depend on the health of multiple small and mid-sized employers. ### What is the fund's known posture on real estate investments? Real estate is a core allocation. Known commitments include the Heitman Global Real Estate Securities Collective Investment Trust, which provides global commercial real estate exposure, and the ASB Allegiance Real Estate Fund, a US-focused core property vehicle. These positions suggest a preference for institutional commingled real estate funds rather than direct property acquisitions. ### Was the fund affected by the Madoff scandal? Yes. The fund held exposure through Madoff feeder fund investments. It subsequently pursued claims in the Madoff bankruptcy proceedings — the same recovery process undertaken by dozens of other pension funds and institutional investors that had indirect exposure to the Ponzi scheme. ### Which employers historically drive contributions to the fund? Major contributing employers have included Hostess Brands and Kellogg Company, both of which had significant bakery and distribution operations with unionized workforces. Hostess's 2012 bankruptcy was a material event for the fund, as it reshaped the contribution base and raised questions about long-term funding levels. ### What Teamsters locals are affiliated with the fund? The fund serves participants from multiple Upstate New York Teamsters locals, including Local 294 — which represents bakery drivers directly — as well as Locals 65, 316, 522, 529, 669, 687, and 791. Each local covers specific geographic territories and employer contracts across the region. ### Does the fund manage assets internally or rely on external managers? The fund relies on external institutional managers and commingled investment vehicles. Its known commitments — the Heitman and ASB real estate funds, plus a fund-of-funds private equity allocation — indicate no substantial internal asset management capability. This is typical for sub-$100 million pension plans. ## Related profiles - [UNO Foundation](https://altss.com/profile/uno-foundation) - [Colombo Previdencia](https://altss.com/profile/colombo-previdencia) --- Last updated: 2026-08-11T02:43:31.692Z Canonical page: https://altss.com/profile/upstate-new-york-bakery-drivers-and-industry-pension-fund Maintained by Altss — https://altss.com — methodology: https://altss.com/methodology