BETHESDA, Md. - Lockheed Martin expects to merge the pension assets of Northrop Grumman Corp. with those of Lockheed Martin Corp. after the merger of the two defense giants gains final shareholder and government approval.
When merged, employee benefit assets will total $45 billion, potentially catapulting Lockheed Martin into the ranks of the nation's 10 largest employee benefit funds.
The assets will be overseen by a newly created subsidiary, Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. Anthony G. Van Schaick will be president of the new firm; he had been treasurer and vice president-finance for Lockheed in the early 1990s. He rejoined Lockheed Martin from John Wieland Homes Inc., Atlanta, where he had been senior vice president and chief financial officer.
LMIMC will oversee the investment management of Lockheed Martin's nearly $20 billion in defined benefit assets and $10 billion defined contribution plan assets as well as Northrop Grumman's approximately $10 billion defined benefit and $5 billion defined contribution assets.
Wayne Shaner and George Weintz, both vice president-investments at Lockheed Martin, will work under Mr. Van Schaick, a spokesman said.
Mr. Shaner was assistant treasurer at Martin Marietta and managed its employee benefit funds before the merger with Lockheed. Mr. Weintz previously was investment counsel and was responsible for employee benefit assets at Lockheed.
The spokesman said it is not certain whether Rose Mary Ableson, director-trust administration and investments at Northrop Grumman Corp., Los Angeles, will report to Mr. Van Schaick as well. A Northrop Grumman spokesman declined to comment.
Prior to leaving Lockheed after the merger with Martin Marietta in 1995, Mr. Van Schaick served as chairman of the Lockheed Martin pension fund board and has remained a member of the investment committee.
LMIMC is being structured so it could take on outside pension fund business in the future, Mr. Weintz said.
"We will be set up to do so, but I don't think we will be looking at anything like that for the next five years," said Mr. Weintz. "We have a lot of issues to deal with here."
For example, he said, there is the immediate issue of merging the Northrop Grumman plans and assets.
"What the future holds is uncertain, but we are looking at a lengthy process. We have a lot of issues to sort out," he said.
Mr. Weintz said Lockheed Martin completed, effective Oct. 1, the merging of the Lockheed, Martin Marietta and Loral pension plan assets for investment purposes, nearly two years after the merger of the aerospace defense companies. He declined to provide specifics, but did say about 10 external money managers "have been or are in the process of being terminated."
According to the 1997 Money Market Directory Lockheed Martin had a total of 57 external asset managers. Only Bankers Trust Co., New York; Brinson Partners Inc., Chicago; Capital Guardian Trust Co., Los Angeles; Koll Real Estate Services Co., Newport Beach, Calif.; and TCW Group, Los Angeles, were common to any two of the combined Martin Marietta, Lockheed, Loral plans.
Mr. Weintz declined to comment on the asset mix of the combined plan or the structure of remaining money managers.
Several money managers contacted by Pensions & Investments said they have not been notified of any changes in the Lockheed Martin pension plan and were not contacted regarding the pooling of assets for investment purposes.
"I guess they are working with and notifying those managers involved in any changes," said a spokesman for one of Lockheed Martin's fixed-income managers. "We haven't heard anything yet. I expect that they are looking at performance and duplication and will say that if your performance is good, you will stay, if not you will go. I don't expect it to be anything but a meritocracy."
