Making a Difference
The State of Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB), founded in 1951, is a premier global investment organization responsible for managing the more than $156 billion of assets of the fully funded Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS), the State Investment Fund and other state funds. Through SWIB’s effective and innovative investment management, WRS remains one of the only fully funded US public pensions. We are the 9th largest public pension fund in the U.S. and the 25th largest public or private pension fund in the world. SWIB is recognized by the investment industry for our teamwork and innovation. SWIB pursues sophisticated global investment strategies across the asset and risk allocation spectrum. Providers across the investment ecosystem seek to partner with SWIB.
Serving more than 691,000 beneficiaries of the WRS, SWIB is a mission-driven organization focused on providing a strong financial future to those who committed their careers to public service. For public employees and the 1,500 Wisconsin employers who contribute on their behalf, we are a trusted partner. Our team innovates continuously to meet the challenges of an evolving investment landscape while growing and protecting the assets of the WRS.
SWIB provides a strong, steady economic pillar for the state of Wisconsin by growing the trust funds under its management, managing risk, and optimizing costs of the long term. We are a mission-driven organization and the participants we serve are our mission. By bringing a disciplined, prudent, and innovative approach to market opportunities, SWIB has been successful in generating required returns and maintaining the trust of the beneficiaries and stakeholders of the funds we oversee.
Home To Top Talent
Our high-performing staff is key to what makes us a premier investment manager. SWIB is committed to investing in talented professionals to implement our robust, sophisticated investment strategies and to keep the organization at the forefront of the investment industry. We encourage innovation and offer professional development opportunities to help staff sharpen and expand their skills. Approximately 61 percent of SWIB’s investment professionals are Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charterholders.
Job Description:
About the Team and Process
The Small Cap Team currently consists of 6 investment professionals each of whom follow a variety of sectors/industries. The team collaboratively constructs a diversified portfolio benchmarked against the MSCI USA Small Cap Index under the guidance of a Lead Portfolio Manager. The team’s investment process is focused on bottom-up stock selection targeting alpha generation over an intermediate to long-term time horizon. Security selection balances fundamental analysis of the business model’s opportunities with its attendant risks. The result is a portfolio consisting of reasonably valued equities of higher quality companies that tend to exhibit growth on both the top and bottom lines.
Position Overview
Investment team members interact with outside analysts and experts, meet with management teams, attend conferences, create financial models and occasionally do site visits as part of the analytical process. The SWIB Small Cap Team seeks to add a seventh member. The ideal candidate will be a motivated self-starter with 15 or more years of equity analysis experience and solid understanding of portfolio management.
Essential activities:
-
Practice security selection consistent with the team’s investment process to generate alpha vs. a benchmark
-
Perform fundamental business model assessment and valuation analysis of individual securities as part of the stock selection process
-
Contribute to the effective management of the risk parameters of the portfolio to meet SWIB’s tracking error and risk profile expectations
-
Evaluate performance attribution reports and risk reports
-
Provide written and oral updates on recommendations, industries, and other relevant developments and information
The ideal candidate:
-
15 years of experience in public equities research
-
Prior experience covering multiple sectors
-
Prior supervisory experience would be a plus
-
Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s degree and enrollment in the CFA curriculum preferred
-
Knowledge of multiple valuation techniques including DCF modeling
-
Ability to work within a clearly articulated investment process
-
Familiarity with multi-factor risk models (Barra, etc.) is preferred
-
FactSet and/or Bloomberg experience preferred
-
Excellent verbal and written communication skills
-
Possess the ability to be adaptive and thrive in a fast-paced, changing environment.
SWIB Offers:
-
Competitive total cash compensation, based on AON (formerly McLagan) industry benchmarks
-
Comprehensive benefits package
-
Educational and training opportunities
-
Tuition reimbursement
-
Challenging work in a professional environment
-
Hybrid work environment
The position requires U.S. work authorization.
Pursuant to our Hybrid Remote Work Policy, all staff have the flexibility to work remotely, but are required to have a weekly presence in our offices, the frequency of which is dependent on their distance from office. Staff are not required to reside locally; however, we offer relocation reimbursement to the Dane County area per our policy.
All SWIB employees are subject to SWIB’s Ethics Policy and Personal Trade Approvals Policy. These policies include restrictions on outside business activities and employment and have limits on personal trading. You may request copies of these policies from SWIB’s talent acquisition team and any questions can be answered by SWIB’s compliance team.
