SWIB Announces 2025 WRS Preliminary Returns

The State of Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB) today released preliminary calendar year 2025 investment results for the fully funded Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS), which ended the year with total assets of approximately $155 billion.

The Core Fund, the larger of the two WRS trust funds with more than $141 billion in assets, ended the year with a preliminary one-year net return of 14.4% and a preliminary five-year net return of 7.1%. The Core Fund’s 10-year and 20-year returns, net of external manager fees, continue to exceed its target return of 6.8% with SWIB outperforming the Core Fund benchmark for all these periods.

With four out of the past five years delivering solid absolute investment performance, the WRS is again positioned for a positive annuity adjustment for retirees in 2026, while contribution rates for employers and employees are expected to remain stable. SWIB’s disciplined approach has supported positive annuity adjustments in ten of the last eleven years.

"In 2025, markets were influenced by shifting interest-rate expectations, ongoing geopolitical tensions, and changing global economic conditions,” said SWIB Executive Director and Chief Investment Officer Edwin Denson. “Our disciplined, long-term investment approach helped us navigate these challenges. By staying nimble and data-driven, our team managed risk, seized opportunities, and supported the long-term strength of the WRS.”

SWIB invests across a broad range of public and private markets and actively manages risk to protect and grow the WRS trust funds. Over the past 20 years, SWIB’s active management and diversified strategies have generated more than $12 billion in additional value for the Core Fund compared to a simple passive mix of 60% global equities and 40% domestic bonds. In the five years ending December 31, 2025, SWIB’s investment decisions produced more than $3 billion above benchmark returns.

The Variable Fund, an optional stock-only fund with more than $12 billion in assets, ended the year with a preliminary one-year net return of 22.0% and preliminary five-year net return of 11.8%. The Variable Fund’s 10-year and 20-year returns, net of external manager fees, were 12.7% and 9.3%, respectively.

The Wisconsin Department of Employee Trust Funds will release projected annuity adjustment ranges for both the Core and Variable Funds in the coming weeks, with final adjustments to be announced in March 2026. Updated contribution rates influencing public employers and employees for 2026 will be determined in June.

About SWIB

The State of Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB), created in 1951, is an independent state agency responsible for managing the assets of the Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS), the State Investment Fund (SIF), and other state trust funds.  As of December 31, 2025, SWIB managed more than $178 billion of total assets, approximately 87% representing WRS assets. SWIB’s management of the WRS trust funds aims to provide a fully funded public pension for over 703,000 current and former employees of state agencies, the university system, school districts and most local governments. The WRS consistently ranks among the 10 largest public pension funds in the U.S. SWIB, a steady economic pillar for the state of Wisconsin, focuses on growing the trust funds, managing risk, and optimizing costs over the long term.