The SWIB Podcast: Wisconsin Retirement System Insights

Hosted by SWIB Staff

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May 2026

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About the show

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.

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44 recent

May 27, 202628 min

38. Private Credit Plays an Important Role in the WRS; But It's A Misunderstood Asset Class

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.

April 10, 202611 min

SWIB Market Update - Q1 2026 (Apr. 10, 2026)

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.

February 11, 202626 min

37. Locked In for the Long Term: The 2026 Outlook with SWIB Executive Director/Chief Investment Officer Edwin Denson (Feb. 11, 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.

December 29, 202527 min

36. Part II - How is A.I. Being Used at SWIB to Benefit WRS Participants? (Dec. 29, 2025)

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.

December 18, 202515 min

SWIB Market Update - Q4 2025 (Dec. 18, 2025)

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.

December 3, 202526 min

35. Part I - What is A.I., and What Does It Mean for the WRS and Its Participants? (Dec. 3, 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.

October 8, 202510 min

SWIB Market Update - Q3 2025 (Oct. 8, 2025)

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.

July 17, 202511 min

SWIB Market Update - Q2 2025 (July 17, 2025)

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.

June 25, 202525 min

34. Constructing a Real Estate Portfolio to Weather Market Volatility (June 25, 2025)

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.

April 2, 20259 min