Hedge Fund Strategies Intern

State of Wisconsin Investment Board•Madison, WI

1d•Onsite

About The Position

The State of Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB) is a premier global investment organization managing over $178 billion in assets for the Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) and other state funds. SWIB is recognized for its teamwork and innovation, pursuing sophisticated global investment strategies. SWIB is a mission-driven organization focused on providing a strong financial future to those who committed their careers to public service, serving over 703,000 beneficiaries. The Funds Alpha division, consisting of eight investment professionals, actively manages approximately $9 billion of hedge fund assets and $28 billion of beta one equity and fixed income assets. This team is responsible for selecting external investment managers to generate differentiated and high-quality returns. The hedge fund portfolio operates under an absolute return mandate, encompassing diverse strategies such as systematic and fundamental equity market-neutral, global macro, credit, event-driven, specialty finance, and co-investment. Beta one portfolios are managed relative to global equity and fixed income benchmarks, utilizing a combination of fundamental and systematic investment processes. The manager selection process involves extensive qualitative and quantitative diligence to assess expected returns and sources across beta, style, and alpha. Investment professionals engage with existing and prospective managers globally to evaluate return quality and portfolio fit, with thorough analysis of manager exposures and track records through multiple systems. SWIB is seeking a student intern to join its Funds Alpha Team. This internship offers exposure to various investment styles across major liquid asset classes, with a focus on manager due diligence and portfolio construction. The program emphasizes involvement, including weekly manager meetings where the intern is encouraged to participate and contribute to the evaluation process. The internship requires the ability to work in-person in Madison, WI, for an approximate 10-week period beginning late May/early June 2027, with up to 40 hours per week.

Requirements

Ability to work in Madison, WI for an approximate 10-week period beginning late May/early June 2027.
Undergraduate or graduate student with a Finance, Economics, or similar business major.
Proficiency or familiarity with FactSet or eVestment.
Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, especially Excel.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Nice To Haves

Previous experience conducting asset allocation analysis or manager due diligence.

Responsibilities

Assist analysts with the due diligence process on hedge fund and beta one managers through quantitative and qualitative methods, resulting in an investment recommendation.
Develop skills in Performance Evaluation – Identifying historical investment skill through the team’s quantitative framework.
Develop skills in Trading Analysis – Through manager transparency, evaluate the investment manager's ability to manage a balanced portfolio of securities.
Develop skills in 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.
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.
Complete ad hoc projects, including tailored manager, universe, and market-related analyses.
Support the head of strategy with portfolio and firm-level projects.
Complete a capstone project involving research, data collection, model creation, interpreting results, and communicating findings to SWIB’s senior management.