Ryan Garner, editor of The Institutional Real Estate Letter — North America, spoke with Chuck Carpenter, managing director, private markets, at the State of Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB), to discuss how real estate investment strategies have changed since the downturn, the advantages of private equity over real estate and what the future holds for investment activity.

How has Wisconsin changed its investment strategy in the past year to deal with some of the changes in the market?

We’ve emphasized an income component much more. We’re looking to do more core real estate, with a much greater emphasis on the income return.

How has your portfolio changed in the past 18 months, specifically in regard to real estate investments?

If you were to look at the details of all our holdings, we, like most other investors, have seen the leverage levels of our portfolio apparently increasing over the past 18 months, which reflects the fact tha