Advertise on podcast: The SWIB Podcast: Wisconsin Retirement System Insights

Perhaps you have heard the terms “alpha” and “beta” when it comes to investing. Beta is the return you get just from being invested in a particular market or index. Alpha is the extra return you earn for making smart investment decisions. Think about it in bike racing terms, beta is how fast the whole pack is moving. Alpha is when a particular rider takes a calculated risk to finish a little bit ahead of the field. That is the basic logic behind SWIB’s Beta One portfolio. Beta One isn’t simply about getting market beta. It’s about combining that market exposure with active management and the opportunity to generate additional returns for the Wisconsin Retirement System. In this episode of The SWIB Podcast, Head of Funds Alpha Derek Drummond and Senior Analyst Ryan Johnston explain how the SWIB Beta One portfolio is designed to find additional returns and fit into the overall investment strategy for the pension system.

Each quarter, hear from SWIB staff about the economy, the markets, and how the Wisconsin Retirement System trust funds are impacted. Learn 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 welcome Jeff Lucas, a senior portfolio manager on SWIB’s Fixed Income Strategies team, to talk about the issues that impacted the markets through the first quarter of the year and what we might expect as we make our way further into 2026.

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 exchange for that trade-off. Within this space, two key areas stand out: private equity, which involves investing in the ownership of private companies, and private credit, which focuses on lending to those companies. Private credit now plays a critical role in financing businesses of all sizes, offering flexible, customized solutions that often aren’t available in public markets. But with that growth has come increased scrutiny. Recent headlines have raised concerns about credit quality, liquidity, and how these investments might perform if economic conditions weaken. So, what’s really happening beneath the surface—and how should long-term investors think about the risks and opportunities? For the Wisconsin Retirement System, private credit is one part of a broader, diversified Core Fund. In this episode, we’ll break down how private credit works, why companies choose it, and how SWIB approaches investing in this space with a long-term perspective. In this episode of The SWIB Podcast, senior portfolio managers Beth Holzberger and Lin Maung will help unpack the evolution of private credit, address some of the concerns making headlines, and explain how these investments contribute to the strength of the WRS Core Fund.

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 welcome back SWIB’s Head Economic and Asset & Risk Allocation Chief Investment Officer Todd Mattina to talk about the issues that impacted the markets through the first quarter of the year and what we might expect as we make our way further into 2026.

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 back SWIB Executive Director and Chief Investment Officer Edwin Denson. We’ll look back at how global financial markets performed in 2025, a year shaped by easing inflation pressures, shifting interest-rate expectations, and continued uncertainty across economies and geopolitics. Looking ahead to 2026, we’ll discuss the themes SWIB is watching closely — from the trajectory of economic growth and monetary policy to how public and private markets may respond to evolving conditions. We’ll also talk about where opportunities may emerge, how risks are being assessed, and how SWIB positions portfolios to remain resilient in a range of possible outcomes. Edwin will share perspective on how SWIB approaches uncertainty, balances near-term market dynamics with long-term responsibilities, and continues to invest with a focus on meeting the retirement promises made to Wisconsin’s public employees and retirees.

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. In this episode of The SWIB Podcast, hear from Cefe Quesada, SWIB’s chief technology officer, and Salah Khalaf, senior portfolio manager, about how SWIB staff is using AI to augment their ability to process information, identify risks, and make decisions, all with an eye to good governance, ethics, and transparency ̶ helping the WRS remain fully funded and well-positioned to deliver on its promise to over 692,000 participants This is part two in our two-part series about A.I., so don’t forget to check out episode 35 for a grounding in what these tools are, how they work, and what it means for society.

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 welcome back SWIB’s Head Economic and Asset & Risk Allocation Chief Investment Officer Todd Mattina to talk about the issues that impacted the markets through the fourth quarter of the year and what we might expect as we make our way through the final weeks of 2025.

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 grappling with governance, ethics, and transparency in these powerful new tools. In this first of two new episodes of The SWIB Podcast, Cefe Quesada, SWIB’s chief technology officer, and Salah Khalaf, senior portfolio manager, discuss what’s working, what’s next, and how public pension funds can embrace AI while keeping transparency and performance front and center and helping the WRS remain fully funded and well-positioned to deliver on its promise to over 692,000 participants.

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 talk with SWIB’s Head of Multi-Asset Strategies, Nick Stanton, about the stock market's continued performance despite economic headwinds and what investors might expect in the months ahead.

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 talk with SWIB’s Head of Funds Alpha Derek Drummond about the issues that have impacted the markets through the first half of the year and what we might expect in the second half of the year.

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 implemented for the Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS). SWIB's real estate portfolio helps diversify the Core Trust Fund and has generated an impressive track record of investment performance which has greatly benefited the WRS, helping keep it fully funded and well-positioned to deliver on its promise to over 692,000 participants. In this episode of The SWIB Podcast, we look at how SWIB's real estate portfolio plays an important part in SWIB's asset allocation. We talk to Jason Rothenberg, SWIB’s head of real estate, about some of the challenges facing SWIB’s real estate portfolio, what trends are impacting how institutional investors view the real estate market, and what steps SWIB’s real estate team has taken to overcome the market volatility.

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 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.

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.

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.