Wisconsin Laws
SWIB was created under section 15.76 of the Wisconsin Statutes, which designates the requirements for the nine-member Board of Trustees that govern SWIB.
The purpose and standards of responsibilities for the Board as manager of the State’s trust funds are provided in chapter 25 of the statutes and both chapter IB1 and chapter IB2 of the Wisconsin Administrative Code governing the Investment Board. Additional investment authority of the Investment Board referenced by Section 25.17(3)(a) of the Wisconsin Statutes is provided in section 620.22 of the Wisconsin Statutes and section INS 6.20 of the Wisconsin Administrative Code.
Key Governing Documents & Policies
Investment guidelines provide the general guidelines for the Wisconsin Retirement System portfolio and investment guidelines for the State Investment Fund and other trust funds.
Divestment, as a tool to address social or political issues, falls outside the scope of SWIB’s legal mandate and operational framework.
SWIB works with its own consultants to evaluate and manage alternative investment funds. SWIB believes its consultants have comprehensive coverage of the universe of opportunities available to SWIB and, together, SWIB, its legal counsel, and its consultants work to perform all necessary due diligence before SWIB makes any new investments. SWIB recognizes that many private markets fund managers use placement agents to identify sources of capital, which could be located anywhere in the world. If SWIB is contacted by a placement agent or a lobbyist regarding a potential investment or if a placement agent is otherwise involved in a fund investment, SWIB has a number of institutional controls in place to ensure full disclosure of any potential conflict of interest. This is to ensure that no SWIB board member or staff person benefits personally from any SWIB investment. All of SWIB’s investments are made within the context of SWIB’s fiduciary responsibility to the funds it manages.