The State of Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB) today announced 2024 preliminary returns for the fully funded, $139 billion Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS).

The Core Fund, the larger of the two WRS trust funds with more than $128 billion in assets, ended the year with a preliminary one-year net return of 8.5% and a preliminary five-year net return of 7.2%. 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.

Strong absolute investment returns in four of the past five years are expected to result in a positive annuity adjustment for beneficiaries this spring and stable employer and employee contribution rates in 2025. SWIB’s solid investment management has delivered positive annuity adjustments in nine of the past 10 years.

“Investors faced a range of challenges in 2024,” said Executive Director/Chief Investment Officer Edwin Denson. “Inflation continued to be an important story as the Federal Reserve grappled with when and how quickly to lower interest rates without prompting a reacceleration. Global equity markets saw strong performance, even as geopolitical tensions and election uncertainty dominated headlines. Through it all, our disciplined investment strategy and focus on fundamentals delivered strong absolute returns, ensuring the WRS remains well-positioned to meet its commitments to participants.”

SWIB diversifies its assets among many types of public and private investments and actively manages its assets to grow and protect the WRS trust funds. Over the last 20 years, SWIB’s active management and diversification generated over $15 billion for the Core Fund above what would have been earned in a low-cost passive portfolio consisting of 60% global equities and 40% domestic bonds. Further, SWIB’s investment management has added value to the WRS trust funds of more than $4 billion above benchmark returns over the five years ending December 31, 2024.

The Variable Fund, an optional stock-only fund with more than $11 billion in assets, ended the year with a preliminary one-year net return of 18.7% and preliminary five-year net return of 10.9% The Variable Fund’s 10-year and 20-year returns, net of external manager fees, were 10.4% and 8.7%, respectively.

The Department of Employee Trust Funds will soon provide estimated ranges for annuity adjustments for the Core Fund and the Variable Fund and announce actual adjustments in March. Investment performance also affects contribution rates for public employees and employers, with rates for 2025 to be set 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, 2024, SWIB managed more than $162 billion of total assets, approximately 86% representing WRS assets. SWIB’s management of the WRS trust funds aims to provide a fully funded public pension for over 678,000 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.

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