Reported by The Defiant, pensioners in Wisconsin are now exposed to Bitcoin, after the state’s pension fund allocated roughly 0.1% of its $156 billion portfolio to spot Bitcoin ETFs.
The State of Wisconsin Investment Board invested roughly $160 million in Blackrock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust and Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust, according to a Form 13-F filing to the SEC.
Having a fund of its size and solvency allocate even a small percentage of its assets under management to Bitcoin signals the asset is maturing and seen as a legitimate investment.
Wisconsin’s State Pension Fund is one of the most financially sound funds in the U.S. According to the State of Pensions 2023 report conducted by pension analyst firm Equable, Wisconsin ranks 5 in funded ratio, at 100.2%. The figure leaves Wisconsin comfortably ahead of the nation-wide average at 78%, signaling significant solvency among similar funds of its kind.
It’s considered a “great success” by the Wisconsin Retired Educators Association, ranking 25 largest in the world, and ninth in the country.
“This is just an entry point and I think they’re [the fund] testing the public’s reaction,” said Marquette University Associate Professor of Emeritus Finance David Krause in a May 31 PBS interview. “It’s a trial run that’s not really going to impact the portfolio substantially, but rather add diversification until it reaches a 1 or even 2% allocation.”