Investment Analyst Intern, Funds Alpha
Investment Analyst Intern, Funds Alpha
Private Markets Division
“As one of the nation's largest institutional investors, SWIB offers an opportunity to gain insight into investment management, explore new career avenues, and acquire lifelong skills.”
Victoria Tucker, SWIB Recruiting Director
OUR AGENCY
Make a Difference
SWIB is a trusted and skilled global investment organization managing the assets of the Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) and other separately managed funds. With about $128 billion in total assets under management, SWIB has been recognized by the investment industry for its teamwork and innovation that helps make it a premier asset manager. Sophisticated investment management strategies, forward-looking technologies, and strong internal asset management make SWIB a leading investment organization.
For public employees in Wisconsin, SWIB is a unique and valuable partner. Investing for the financial security of about 652,000 individuals – and for the 1,500 Wisconsin employers who contribute on behalf of their employees – SWIB’s strong management of the WRS has helped fuel one of only a few fully funded public pension funds in the country. SWIB’s long-term investment returns meet the challenges of a constantly evolving investment landscape while helping grow and protect the assets of the WRS, the 9th largest public pension fund in the U.S. and 25th largest public or private pension fund in the world.
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 reasonable returns and maintaining the trust of the beneficiaries and stakeholders of the funds we oversee.
Real World Experience
This is your opportunity to gain professional experience working for one of the nation’s top public pension fund investment organizations. We are looking for a dynamic, energetic intern who is eager to be a part of our dedicated team. SWIB’s intern program offers an opportunity for you to put your skills to use while at the same time to learn new skills in a professional environment. Our internship program is designed to provide meaningful work through hands-on, authentic, professional experiences.
About the Team
The Funds Alpha division consists of five investment professionals that actively manage approximately $6 billion of hedge fund AUM and $20 billion of beta one equity and fixed income AUM. The Funds Alpha team is responsible for selecting external firms to partner with and complement internal capabilities. The hedge fund portfolio is managed under an absolute return mandate leading to a wide variety of underlying sub-strategies including fundamental equity market neutral, systematic equity and macro, volatility arbitrage, event driven, reinsurance, and discretionary macro. The beta one portfolios are managed relative to global equity and fixed income benchmarks. Active strategies in beta one include a combination of fundamental and systematic investment processes.
Funds Alpha’s investment 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 existing and prospective strategies in Madison and across the globe to evaluate 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.
SWIB is seeking a student intern to join its Funds Alpha Team, who is responsible for the selection, allocation, and oversight of SWIB’s active external public market managers. These include hedge fund strategies and long only strategies across equities and fixed income as well as multi-asset strategies. This opportunity lends the opportunity for the intern to gain exposure to a host of investment styles across all asset classes. The intern will be assigned to a lead analyst, but is expected to leverage the broader team. The intern will work up to 40 hours per week during the summer with the possibility for 10-15 hours per week during the school year, if the selected candidate is local.
Essential activities:
- Assist analysts with the due diligence process on hedge fund and traditional allocations through quantitative and qualitative methods resulting in an investment recommendation.
- Become well versed with Funds Alpha’s various investment systems to further build out the sophistication of the analytics and consistency of the overall process.
- With oversight from team, assist with asset allocation and benchmarking studies.
- Review and report on portfolio and compliance issues for managers.
- Special projects, as assigned.
The Ideal candidate:
- Ability to work in Madison, WI for an approximate 12-week period, beginning late May/early June 2021.
- Undergraduate or graduate student with Finance, Economics, Business or Statistics major:
- Proficiency or familiarity with Factset, Pertrac, Python / R (preferred, but not required).
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, especially Excel.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
Join HIGHER PERFORMERS
Home to Top Talent
SWIB’s professionals shape sophisticated investment management strategies, by driving progressive technologies, and by delivering strong internal asset management results. SWIB’s internal team invests over 50% percent of its assets under management in house. As a result, Institutional Investor recognizes SWIB as “home to top talent in American public investing.”
“The organization has earned a reputation for investment excellence in part by running much of its portfolio successfully in-house versus outsourcing to Wall Street” – Institutional Investor.