The SWIB Podcast: Wisconsin Retirement System Insights

Private markets have become an increasingly important part of how large institutional investors build diversified portfolios—but they’re also an area that can feel complex and, at times, misunderstood. At their core, private markets include investments that aren’t traded on public exchanges — meaning they’re less liquid and have historically offered investors additional return potential in exchang...

Each quarter, hear from SWIB staff about the economy, the markets, and how the Wisconsin Retirement System trust funds are impacted. Hear how SWIB is working to help the Wisconsin Retirement System remain among the nation’s most resilient pension funds – growing and protecting participants’ benefits and giving them peace of mind to focus on work, life, and the future. In this market update, we wel...

For long-term institutional investors like SWIB, 2025 reinforced the importance of maintaining a diversified portfolio, managing risk carefully, and staying disciplined through market cycles. Rather than reacting to short-term headlines, the focus remained on fundamentals, valuation, and the long-term objectives of the Wisconsin Retirement System. In this episode of The SWIB Podcast, we welcome ba...

For decades, SWIB has used the best tools available to generate solid returns and provide stable retirement income for the participants of the Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS). While the tools may have changed over the decades, the mission certainly has not. But now, with the advent of artificial intelligence and large language models, the information landscape is changing faster than ever before...

Each quarter, hear from SWIB staff about the economy, the markets, and how the Wisconsin Retirement System trust funds are impacted. Hear how SWIB is working to help the Wisconsin Retirement System remain among the nation’s most resilient pension funds – growing and protecting participants’ benefits and giving them peace of mind to focus on work, life, and the future. In this market update, we wel...

Public pension systems have always balanced two big priorities: delivering secure retirements to members and safeguarding assets for the long term. Now, artificial intelligence, or AI, is entering the picture. Some funds are already experimenting with generative AI to sift through mountains of unstructured data in seconds. Others are deploying chatbots to handle routine questions, and many are gra...

Each quarter, hear from SWIB staff about the economy, the markets, and how the Wisconsin Retirement System trust funds are impacted. Hear how SWIB is working to help the Wisconsin Retirement System remain among the nation’s most resilient pension funds – growing and protecting participants’ benefits and giving them peace of mind to focus on work, life, and the future. In this market update, we tal...

Each quarter, hear from SWIB staff about the economy, the markets, and how the Wisconsin Retirement System trust funds are impacted. Hear how SWIB is working to help the Wisconsin Retirement System remain among the nation’s most resilient pension funds – growing and protecting participants’ benefits and giving them peace of mind to focus on work, life, and the future. In this market update, we tal...

Over the last several years, commercial real estate has seen its share of challenges. From a global pandemic to rising interest rates and changes in trade policies, investors in commercial real estate have had to deal with sometimes extreme market volatility. Despite these challenges, commercial real estate remains an important part of a thriving U.S. economy and the investment strategy SWIB has i...

Each quarter, hear from SWIB staff about the economy, the markets, and how the Wisconsin Retirement System trust funds are impacted. Hear how SWIB is working to help the Wisconsin Retirement System remain among the nation’s most resilient pension funds – growing and protecting participants’ benefits and giving them peace of mind to focus on work, life, and the future.

As part of its sophisticated and diverse investment strategy, the State of Wisconsin Investment Board makes investments in companies and funds across the country and around the world as part of a disciplined, prudent and innovative approach to market opportunities that ultimately benefit the Wisconsin Retirement System. But did you know that part of that strategy includes making investments right...

The financial markets in 2024 were shaped by geopolitical conflicts, a presidential election, the Federal Reserve initiating an interest rate cutting cycle, a continued bull stock market, and a U.S. economy that remained relatively strong. Many of the themes that dominated the past year are likely to continue shaping the financial markets in the year ahead. What does it all mean for SWIB and the W...

When investing in the stock market, there is a list of companies that will be familiar to even novice investors. Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, and Walmart are just a few of the companies that grab the attention of investors and make headlines. These are large capitalization, or large cap, companies. These companies typically have a market capitalization over $15 billion. Although aggressive...

Multi-strategy funds have become more popular over the years. But what exactly is a multi- strategy fund and how does SWIB’s implementation of a multi-strategy portfolio benefit the overall investment strategy for the Wisconsin Retirement System? In this episode of The SWIB Podcast, SWIB Senior Portfolio Manager Chase Nicholson explains what a multi-strategy portfolio is, why SWIB has the portfoli...

Despite interest rates that remain high and inflation that is still above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target, the U.S. stock market continues a bull run, unemployment remains relatively low, and wage growth has been steady. So, what does all that mean for investors and what will the second half of the year bring as geopolitical issues continue to grab headlines and we head into a November presidentia...

SWIB has implemented a diverse and sophisticated investment strategy for the Wisconsin Retirement System, or WRS. The Core Trust Fund, the larger of the two WRS trust funds, holds investments in public equities, fixed income, real estate, and private markets. That investment strategy also includes a mix of active and passive strategies. In this episode of the SWIB Podcast, learn more about the rol...

Investments in the private markets is one aspect of SWIB’s diversified investment portfolio. But there are many ways to invest in the private markets. One approach that has been gathering momentum in the past decade is co-investment. In a private market context, coinvesting involves buying equity or debt in private companies alongside a private equity or private credit fund. What are the benefits...

Yogi Berra once famously said, “It ain’t over till it’s over.” That was certainly true for financial markets in 2023. Just when it looked like many of the same issues that investors faced in 2022 would hold down returns, 2023 finished strong. Despite the challenges of the past year, the State of Wisconsin Investment Board remained committed to its long-term investment strategy that aims to keep an...

The U.S. economy has shown remarkable resiliency despite many industry experts saying a recession is inevitable. The same cannot be said about the housing market. Home prices continue to climb, interest rates are near record highs, and home inventory is not matching homebuyer demand. It seems like the dream of owning a home is inching further out of reach for many Americans. In this episode of The...

While the investment management of the fully funded Wisconsin Retirement System may be more well known, SWIB also manages several other smaller trust funds including the State Investment Fund or the SIF. The SIF is a pool of cash balances of various state and local governmental units created by state statute. In managing the SIF, SWIB works on behalf of local governments to manage approximately $3...

As we reach the midway point of 2023, investors continue to navigate a unique set of challenges that have caused, at times, volatile financial markets. Investors face concerns from geopolitical crises and supply chain issues, to inflation and rising interest rates and the ongoing possibility of a recession. The State of Wisconsin Investment Board has worked to meet the challenges head on. But what...

Investors have been navigating challenging financial markets for the past several years. From stocks to bonds, asset classes have been impacted by high inflation, rising interest rates and the lingering effects of the pandemic. But were venture capital and private debt investments the exception? Chris Prestigiacomo oversees the state of Wisconsin investment boards, venture capital and private debt...

It's no secret that 2022 was a challenging year for the financial markets. There was nowhere to hide for investors looking to escape the volatility that impacted almost every asset class, including stocks. Following strong performance in 2021, the markets faced rising inflation that soared to 40-year highs, a series of unprecedented interest rate hikes, and fears that the country would be thrown i...

The past year presented a unique set of challenges for investors navigating volatile financial markets. Investors faced concerns from geopolitical crises and supply chain issues, to the great resignation and the Federal Reserve raising interest rates several times in an effort to counter the highest inflation in four decades. Despite the challenges of 2022, the State of Wisconsin Investment Board...

SWIB owns stock in over 6,000 public companies across the globe at any given moment. As a shareholder, SWIB is focused on the long-term economic interests of the companies it invests in. In addition to a company's economic health, solid products, a strong customer base, and a growing market share, SWIB is also concerned about accountability, transparency, and alignment, hallmarks of a company that...