What are the responsibilities and job description for the Small Cap Equities Intern position at State of Wisconsin Investment Board?
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
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.
The public equities division consists of 25 professionals that actively manage approximately $13 billion for SWIB. The division manages two portfolios – a large-cap global portfolio and a small cap domestic portfolio. The small cap portfolio is run as a single product, while the global portfolio is run as a collection of sector “sleeves” with small teams (1-3 people) creating active portfolios for each of the 11 GICS sectors.
The portfolios are driven by stock selection processes that are grounded in a fundamental assessment of the underlying business model’s risks and opportunities overlaid with an appropriate valuation framework. Investment professionals interact with outside analysts and experts, meet with management teams, and attend conferences as part of our analytical process. Our portfolio construction blends these insights with an understanding of risk and alpha factor sensitivities to create portfolios that produce alpha in a consistent, risk-efficient manner over time.
Essential Activities
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
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.
The public equities division consists of 25 professionals that actively manage approximately $13 billion for SWIB. The division manages two portfolios – a large-cap global portfolio and a small cap domestic portfolio. The small cap portfolio is run as a single product, while the global portfolio is run as a collection of sector “sleeves” with small teams (1-3 people) creating active portfolios for each of the 11 GICS sectors.
The portfolios are driven by stock selection processes that are grounded in a fundamental assessment of the underlying business model’s risks and opportunities overlaid with an appropriate valuation framework. Investment professionals interact with outside analysts and experts, meet with management teams, and attend conferences as part of our analytical process. Our portfolio construction blends these insights with an understanding of risk and alpha factor sensitivities to create portfolios that produce alpha in a consistent, risk-efficient manner over time.
Essential Activities
- Understand and employ an investment process to generate alpha vs. a benchmark. The process includes stock selection methodology, a factor exposure aware portfolio construction approach and risk management techniques.
- Directly perform fundamental business model assessment and valuation analysis of individual securities as part of a stock selection process.
- Employ relative valuation and quantitative methods to assess attractiveness of investments. Based on this analysis, investment teams can go long or short stocks and employ options strategies as appropriate.
- Monitor quarterly earnings releases of companies to evaluate existing investment views.
- Interact with sell-side analysts and company management teams to form and revise investment opinions.
- Generate and pitch new investment ideas for specified sector.
- Special projects as assigned.
- Ability to work in Madison, WI for an approximate 10-week period beginning late May/early June 2026.
- Currently pursuing a graduate degree in Business, especially Accounting, Finance or Applied Equity Analysis. Specific experience in the industry you’ll be analyzing is not necessary.
- Top academic performer who is comfortable in an unstructured environment which fosters creativity, maturity and initiative.
- Interest in Health Care, Software or Financial Sectors.
- Strong understanding of cash flow modeling.
- Passion for investing and a competitive drive, with a baseline knowledge of investments and quantitative analysis.
- Ability to analyze a variety of information to quickly draw relevant conclusions and to summarize and communicate results in a time-sensitive manner.
- Excellent communications skills.
- Ability to work in an team-oriented culture, with the ability to objectively influence others.
- Demonstrated quantitative and statistical ability.
- Experience with FactSet and/or Bloomberg.
- Progress towards Chartered Financial Analyst certification.
