The SWIB Podcast: Wisconsin Retirement System Insights

The SWIB Podcast: Wisconsin Retirement System Insights

News and insights about the complex, prudent, and disciplined investment strategies the State of Wisconsin Investment Board has put in place to help grow and protect the assets of the Wisconsin Retirement System. Navigating today’s financial markets takes innovative thinking to design and implement investment strategies that control risk while generating reasonable returns. In a time when public pension funds across the country are struggling with issues related to underfunding, SWIB has helped fuel one of the only fully funded pension systems in the U.S. Join us as we talk about the importance of managing assets in a more challenging environment and optimizing cost over the long term on behalf of the more than 642,000 current and former state and local government employees and their families who rely on the WRS for some of their retirement security. SWIB is recognized as a premier investment organization because of its strong management of the trust funds of the WRS and several other smaller trust funds. SWIB has been successful in generating respectable returns to help ensure the WRS is able to meet its obligations today and in the future.

Episodes

25. A Look into the Housing Market and SWIB’s MBS Portfolio

November 29, 2023 • 30 mins
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 SWIB Podcast, Leo Kropywiansky, se...
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24. The State Investment Fund: Providing a Strong, Steady Economic Pillar for Wisconsin

September 21, 2023 • 17 mins
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 $3.5 billion in the Local Government ...
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23. An In-Depth Look at the Economy Midway Through 2023, with Todd Mattina

June 23, 2023 • 38 mins
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 lies ahead for the second half of ...
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22. How SWIB’s Venture Capital & Private Debt Portfolios Stay Well Positioned in Challenging Markets, with Chris Prestigiacomo

June 2, 2023 • 24 mins
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 portfolios. Like other portfolio m...
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21. Finding the Best Ideas for Long-Term Success, with Susan Schmidt

March 22, 2023 • 22 mins
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 into a recession. SWIB worked to nav...
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20. Navigating Volatile Financial Markets: A Look Back at 2022 and Ahead to 2023 with SWIB ED/CIO Edwin Denson

January 26, 2023 • 24 mins
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 remained committed to its long-term...
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19. How SWIB’s Strong Corporate Governance Program Benefits the WRS, with Sara Chandler and Tom Robinson

December 14, 2022 • 14 mins
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 is doing things the right way. Bro...
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18. Peering into the Future to Keep the WRS Positioned for Success, with GRS Actuaries Jim Anderson and Brian Murphy

October 5, 2022 • 26 mins
The Wisconsin Retirement System is one of the few fully funded public pensions in the country, thanks in part to SWIB’s strong investment management. Because of the unique shared risk design of the WRS, investment returns directly impact annuity adjustments for retirees and contribution rates for employees and employers. The challenge is finding the right balance between taking enough risk to make sure the WRS is providing the bene...
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17. Mid-Year Market Update: Finding Stability in Volatility, with Edwin Denson & Leo Kropywiansky

August 31, 2022 • 35 mins
Volatility is a word that has become all too common in the last couple years when talking about the financial markets. Over the past two years, the pandemic has been a big economic story driving both monetary and fiscal policy. While the pandemic continues to create hurdles, new concerns are grabbing headlines. From supply chain issues to the great resignation, to the highest inflation rate in four decades, investors have to naviga...
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16. An Inside Look at SWIB's Real Estate Portfolio with Anne-Marie Fink & Jason Rothenberg

July 20, 2022 • 23 mins
Office buildings, warehouses, and apartment complexes dot the landscape from coast-to-coast. They are common landmarks that we usually pass by every day without a second thought. We know these brick and mortar spaces are important to a thriving economy, but what might surprise you is how important they are to SWIB’s investment strategy. SWIB’s real estate portfolio helps diversify the Core Trust Fund and has generated an impressive...
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15. How Technology is Transforming the Portfolio Management Process at SWIB, with Nick Stanton and Derek Drummond

April 27, 2022 • 22 mins
We live in a world full of technology; faster computers, smart phones, and cars that can drive and park themselves are all part of the world that is becoming more reliant on technology. Like every other industry, the financial sector has been touched by these changing times. The relationship between data, technology and human talent is key to the successful incorporation of these trends in active portfolio management. Investment ma...
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14. Pensionomics: How the WRS Provides a Strong Economic Pillar for Wisconsin, with NIRS Executive Director Dan Doonan

March 9, 2022 • 22 mins
The Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) was created 40 years ago to help protect public employees and their beneficiaries against the financial hardships of old age and disability, to attract and retain a qualified public workforce, establish modest benefits, and achieve administrative savings. There is no doubt that the WRS has done that and more over the last four decades. But, the WRS, as one of the only fully funded public pensio...
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13. Looking Back at 2021 and Forward to 2022 with SWIB ED/CIO Edwin Denson

January 28, 2022 • 18 mins
The beginning of a new year is a time to reflect on the year gone by and look forward to what lies ahead. In 2021, the financial markets saw ongoing volatility caused by COVID-19 while the Federal Reserve continued with the policies it put in place to combat the economic effect of the pandemic. Interest rates, inflation, and supply chain backlogs were all topics that grabbed headlines throughout the year. But in the end, SWIB remai...
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12. Exploring the Innovative Strategies that SWIB is Deploying to Generate Returns for the WRS

December 20, 2021 • 23 mins
Innovation has always been critical to the State of Wisconsin Investment Board’s (SWIB’s) success. As assets under management continue to grow, and the investment industry and the world continue to change, SWIB is positioning itself for the future, finding innovative ways to invest the public pension funds and help secure the financial futures of the people who rely on the Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS). Last year, SWIB continue...
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11. 70 Years of Service: A Look Back at the History of the State of Wisconsin Investment Board

October 28, 2021 • 21 mins
This year, the State of Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB) is celebrating 70 years of service to the state of Wisconsin. A lot has changed over the past 70 years. And, while our world has and continues to change, one thing that has remained a constant is SWIB’s commitment to helping provide retirement security for hundreds of thousands of current and former state and local government employees and their families, who rely on the Wis...
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10. SWIB's New Executive Director and CIO Edwin Denson Charts a Steady Course for the WRS

August 25, 2021 • 32 mins
Excellence, innovation, integrity, collaboration, and people. Those are the core values at the heart of SWIB’s mission to the members of the Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS). Edwin Denson, SWIB’s new executive director and chief investment officer, is using those core values to build on SWIB’s already strong foundation as one of the country’s premier investment managers. Edwin joined SWIB in 2018 as the managing director of asset ...
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9. Strong Governance Keeps SWIB Positioned for Success, with Board of Trustees Chair David Stein

June 14, 2021 • 31 mins
As an institution, SWIB has had to adapt and overcome significant challenges over the last year — among them, frenetic markets, the workplace disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the passing of SWIB's former executive director and chief investment officer David Villa. But through it all, SWIB has continued to serve members of the Wisconsin Retirement System at a high level, due in large part to the unique governance structure t...
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8. Running the Long Race with Derek Drummond, SWIB's Funds Alpha Portfolio Manager

April 8, 2021 • 30 mins
Competing under challenging circumstances is nothing new for Derek Drummond. As a triathlete who competes in several events throughout the year, including Madison’s Iron Man competition, Derek challenges himself through tough endurance races with hopes of establishing a personal best time.  Derek’s competitive spirit carries over into his work. As SWIB’s funds alpha manager, Derek is constantly pushing himself and his team to find ...
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7. Managing Directors Round Table, with Edwin Denson, Brian Hellmer, and Anne-Marie Fink

March 2, 2021 • 31 mins
In 2020, the State of Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB) remained committed to its long-term investment strategy, resulting in strong returns for the Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS), even in a challenging year. The Core Fund, the larger of the two WRS trust funds with more than $120 billion in assets, ended the year with a net return of just above 15%. The Core Fund's 5- and 10-year returns both exceeded the pension system's actua...
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6. Evolving in Challenging Markets, with Brian Hellmer

January 7, 2021 • 35 mins
Sophisticated investment strategies, forward-looking technologies, and strong internal asset management help make the State of Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB) a leading investment organization. As a premier money manager, SWIB brings a disciplined, prudent, and innovative approach to market opportunities. But to remain a leader in the public pension industry, SWIB must continue to evolve. In this episode of The SWIB Podcast, we t...
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