Three state investment leaders managing over $250 billion combined share what’s working, what’s broken, and how they’re adapting to a new investment landscape. From Wyoming’s dramatic pension turnaround to Connecticut’s 70-year funding hole to Wisconsin’s AI experimentation—this is the unfiltered view from inside public plan governance.

Featuring:

  • Shawn Wooden, Partner & Chief Public Pension Strategist, Apollo Global Management (Moderator)
  • Anne-Marie Fink, CFA, CIO Private Markets & Funds Alpha, State of Wisconsin Investment Board ($150B)
  • Erick Russell, 84th State Treasurer, State of Connecticut ($70B)
  • Tom Chapman, Senior Investment Officer, Wyoming State Treasurer Office ($33B)

TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 – Introductions
0:32 – Wisconsin SWIB: $150B, $80B external
1:09 – Connecticut: $70B across 6 plans and 13 trusts
1:24 – Wyoming: “Two escalators in the entire state”
2:09 – “Eight of us manage a third of the state budget”
2:36 – Wyoming’s asset allocation: 50% alternatives
2:50 – Biggest challenges facing public plans
3:06 – “Worst performing to top quartile in 9 years”
3:41 – Connecticut: 70 years without proper funding
4:52 – “Chasing our tail” on pacing plans
4:55 – Wisconsin’s risk-sharing with beneficiaries
5:23 – Pressure to increase benefits after good returns
6:09 – Can public plans keep up with AI?
7:00 – “Banning AI is worse than using it”
7:41 – Strategic Asset Allocation vs Total Portfolio Approach
8:45 – “17 times in front of the legislature”
9:29 – Wisconsin’s hybrid approach
10:52 – TPA gets complicated with specialization
11:54 – Private credit allocation strategies
12:29 – Opportunistic credit vs direct lending
13:53 – Expressing private credit through hedge funds
14:20 – Is private credit systemic risk? (Tri-Color, First Brands)
15:14 – Evergreen vehicles “can’t deal with drawdowns”
15:35 – “Private credit is better than banks”
16:33 – Private equity deployment
16:50 – “Over my dead body I’ll never invest in PE”
17:27 – Advantages of being new to alternatives
18:09 – “Walking rather than running” on private markets
18:25 – Connecticut narrowing manager relationships
19:29 – Manager selection frameworks and AI tools
21:28 – GP alignment and fund consistency
23:34 – Emerging managers programs
24:21 – Why small managers outperform
25:17 – “I don’t need as good a management team”
25:47 – The Apollo dig: “Small managers that are now part of Apollo”
26:17 – “I have to get the governor’s approval to leave the country”

Recorded live at Global Alts Miami 2026