Hedge Fund Strategies Intern

Location: Madison Wisconsin

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 $178 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. The WRS consistently ranks among the 10 largest public pension funds in the U.S. 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 703,000 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 1,607 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 Funds Alpha division consists of eight investment professionals who actively manage approximately $9 billion of hedge fund AUM and $28 billion of beta one equity and fixed income AUM.  The Funds Alpha team is responsible for selecting external investment managers to generate differentiated and high-quality returns.  The hedge fund portfolio is managed under an absolute return mandate, resulting in a diverse range of underlying sub-strategies, including systematic and fundamental equity market-neutral, global macro, credit, event-driven, specialty finance, and co-investment.  The beta one portfolios are managed relative to global equity and fixed income benchmarks.  Active strategies in beta one includes a combination of fundamental and systematic investment processes.

Funds Alpha’s manager selection process includes significant qualitative and quantitative diligence focused on setting expectations for forward return level and source across beta, style, and alpha.  Investment professionals meet with managers of existing and prospective strategies in Madison and across the globe to evaluate the quality of return and fit within the portfolio.  Manager exposures, track record, and other transparency are thoroughly analyzed through multiple systems to provide evidence and support throughout the process.

Position Overview

SWIB is seeking a student intern to join its Funds Alpha Team, which will be assigned to a lead analyst but is expected to leverage the broader team. The internship is an excellent opportunity to be exposed to different investment styles across all major liquid asset classes while learning manager due diligence and portfolio construction. The internship program emphasizes involvement and engagement, with weekly manager meetings where the intern is encouraged to participate and aid in the evaluation process. The intern will work up to 40 hours per week during the summer and requires the ability to work in-person in Madison, WI, for an approximate 10-week period beginning late May/early June 2027.

Essential activities

Assist analysts with the due diligence process on hedge fund and beta one managers through quantitative and qualitative methods, resulting in an investment recommendation. This includes developing skills in:

Performance Evaluation – Identifying historical investment skill through the team’s quantitative framework

Trading Analysis – Through manager transparency, evaluate the investment manager's ability to manage a balanced portfolio of securities

Process and Risk Evaluation – Learn how to interview and meet with external managers to evaluate their firm, philosophy, process, portfolio construction, and risk management

Present Findings – Design and communicate due diligence findings in team meetings with analysts and portfolio managers

Terms and Legal – Gain exposure to legal, data, and operational negotiations to align managers with SWIB’s goals

Become well-versed with Funds Alpha’s various investment systems to build out further the sophistication of the analytics and consistency of the overall process.

The role typically completes several ad hoc projects, including tailored manager, universe, and market-related analyses. Additionally, the intern will help support the head of strategy with portfolio and firm-level projects.

The internship concludes with a capstone project, which is in an area of interest to the intern. The project involves research, data collection, model creation, interpreting results, and communicating findings to SWIB’s senior management.

The Ideal Candidate

Ability to work in Madison, WI for an approximate 10-week period beginning lare May/early June 2027.

Undergraduate or graduate