Union pension plans are a long-standing source of capital for US real estate. We mapped the people who raise it.
Taft-Hartley plans are the multiemployer pension and benefit plans run jointly by unions and employers. They have backed US real estate for decades, and a small group of managers has been built to serve them.
The people who raise this capital are harder to see. Few carry Taft-Hartley in their job title, and at large managers union plans often sit inside a general institutional sales team.
We searched firm websites, LinkedIn career histories, hiring announcements, Form ADV filings and union plan conference speaker lists. We confirmed 81 Taft-Hartley focused fundraisers at 38 US firms. Anyone we could not confirm was left out, so all figures are a floor.
Two kinds of firm
The 38 firms fall into two groups. Ten are built around union plans: managers founded by or for union benefit plans, or whose clients are mainly multiemployer plans. The other 28 are larger managers with a named Taft-Hartley team inside a broader institutional business.
The union plan firms range from $1bn to $14bn in firm-wide AUM, with a median of $9bn and $77bn combined. They employ 33 of the 81 raisers, an average of 3.3 per firm. The larger managers have a median AUM of $435bn and an average of 1.7 Taft-Hartley raisers each.
| Firm | Taft-Hartley raisers | Firm-wide AUM |
|---|---|---|
| AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust | 7 | $7.3bn |
| Intercontinental Real Estate | 6 | $11.5bn |
| American Realty Advisors | 5 | $10.6bn |
| McMorgan & Company | 5 | $10.9bn |
| National Real Estate Advisors | 3 | $9.0bn |
| Ullico Investment Advisors | 2 | $13.9bn |
| Washington Capital | 2 | $7.4bn |
| ASB Real Estate Investments | 1 | $5.7bn |
| AFL-CIO Building Investment Trust | 1 | Not disclosed |
| Cirrus Real Estate Partners | 1 | $1.0bn |
Among the larger managers, Hamilton Lane has the biggest team with seven raisers, followed by BlackRock, Boston Partners, Manning & Napier and Schroders with three each. Four disclose their Taft-Hartley assets, which range from $2.6bn to $38.8bn, or under 1% to 9% of firm AUM.
Real estate leads
Real estate accounts for 33 of the 81 raisers, more than any other strategy. All 33 work at firms built around union plans. Multi-asset, private equity, equity, credit and infrastructure managers reach union plans through a team at a larger manager.
Our market map focuses on real estate, so its share is likely to be overstated.
Small teams, few juniors
The market is senior. 53 of the 81 raisers hold Director or SVP titles or above. Only seven sit at associate or analyst level, and three of them work at the same firm.
Teams are small. 20 of the 38 firms have a single Taft-Hartley raiser, and only five have five or more.
Who has joined
30 of the current raisers joined their firm from another employer in the last five years. Hiring dipped to two in 2025 and has reached seven so far in 2026.
More than half (17) came from another asset manager. Three each came from union plan firms, banks and trust companies, and consultants and plan advisers. The remaining four came from real estate operators, a union and outside finance.
Long tenures at union plan firms
Raisers at union plan firms have been in their seat for a median of 8.9 years, against 4.6 years at larger managers. Half have been in place for ten years or more, against 32% at larger managers.
What the data shows
- Union plan relationships rarely change hands. Half of the raisers at union plan firms have held their seat for ten years or more, so openings at these firms are infrequent.
- The pool is small and senior. With seven juniors across 81 raisers and 20 firms relying on one person, few people are coming through. Most recent hires came from another asset manager.
If it is useful, I am happy to share the full list of firms.
Read the full report
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