SWIB’s long-term goal is to provide prudent and cost-effective management of the funds it holds in trust. A recently published report on public sector retirement systems by the Pew Charitable Trusts found that Wisconsin has demonstrated that fiscal discipline and sound policy together can help states keep pension promises by maintaining full funding and stable costs. SWIB diversifies its assets among many types of public and private investments and actively manages its assets to grow and protect the WRS trust funds while keeping costs stable.

 

SWIB’s Board of Trustees has committed to internal, active management. Having a strong internal management program not only helps keep costs stable but also provides a significant financial benefit to the WRS. According to CEM Benchmarking, an independent provider of objective cost benchmarking for public pension plans, SWIB does more internal management of assets than other U.S. pension plans. SWIB’s cost for internal active management is considerably lower than the cost of external active management.

 

In addition to cost savings, SWIB’s active management has generated billions of dollars in added value. Over the last 20 years, SWIB’s management of the diversified investment strategy generated over $18 billion for the Core Fund above what would have been earned in a low-cost passive portfolio consisting of 60% global equities and 40% domestic bonds. Further, SWIB’s investment management has added value to the WRS trust funds of more than $3 billion above benchmark returns over the five years ending December 31, 2023. 

 

SWIB continues to work to attract, hire, and retain highly qualified staff needed to manage the trust funds in a cost-effective manner.