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.
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33. Finding Strong Investment Opportunities at Home
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 here in Wisconsin? Through its two dedicated portfolios that focus on Wisconsin, SWIB’s private debt program and Wisconsin venture capital portfolio have invested in opportunities that both provide positive investment returns for the WRS and enhance economic growth in the state.
In this episode of The SWIB Podcast, we welcome back SWIB Portfolio Manager Chris Prestigiacomo. Chris talks about the investments SWIB’s private debt and venture capital portfolios hold in Wisconsin companies, the positive impact the two portfolios have had on the WRS trust funds as well as the state's economy, and what the current private debt and venture capital ecosystems look like in Wisconsin.
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32. A Look Back at 2024 and Ahead to 2025 with SWIB Executive Director/Chief Investment Officer Edwin Denson
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 Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS)?
In this episode of The SWIB Podcast, we welcome back SWIB Executive Director and Chief Investment Officer Edwin Denson. Edwin provides insight on some of the events and trends that impacted the financial markets in 2024, the performance of the WRS trust funds, and what we might expect in the year ahead.
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31. Small Cap Stocks Play Big Role in WRS Investment Strategy
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 growth may be in the rear-view mirror for these companies, they typically offer investors stability. But, when building out a successful diversified portfolio, investors cannot overlook small capitalization or small cap companies. These are companies that have a greater chance for growth and, in some cases, have the potential to become the next large cap stocks of the future.
What does SWIB’s small cap portfolio look like? How does it fit into SWIB’s investment strategy for the Wisconsin Retirement System, or WRS? Joy Mukherjee, lead portfolio manager of SWIB’s small cap equity strategy, explains the difference between large cap and small cap investments, describes some of the common misconceptions of small cap investments, and talks about how SWIB’s portfolio has capitalized on opportunities that have had a positive impact on the WRS trust funds.
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30. Why Bet on One Horse When You Can Back the Whole Stable, with Chase Nicholson
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 portfolio, and how that portfolio fits into the long-term investment strategy for the WRS.
About 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.
Listen to The SWIB Podcast: Wisconsin Retirement System Insights, HBR On Leadership and many other podcasts from around the world with the radio.net app
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