Wisconsin Code § 16.295

Fund of funds investment program
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(1) DEFINITION. In this section, “investment manager” means the person
the committee selects under sub. (3) (a) 1.
(2) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM. The department shall establish and administer a program for the investment of moneys in
venture capital funds that invest in businesses located in this state.
(3) SELECTION OF INVESTMENT MANAGER; CONTRACT APPROVAL. (a) 1. The secretary shall form a committee to select
the investment manager. The committee shall consist of 3 representatives of the investment board and 2 representatives, appointed by the secretary, of the capital finance office in the department. The committee shall select a person as investment
manager who has expertise in the venture capital or private equity
asset class.
2. When the department gives the notice under par. (b) 1., the
department shall submit its proposed contract with the investment manager to the legislative audit bureau for review. The legislative audit bureau shall review the proposed contract and,
within 14 days after it receives the proposed contract for review,
submit to the joint committee on finance and the department a
letter of review that evaluates the terms of the contract and offers
an opinion concerning the extent to which the contract conforms
with this section and implements subs. (4) to (7).
(b) 1. The secretary shall notify in writing the joint committee on finance of the investment manager selected under par. (a)
1. The notice shall include the department’s proposed contract
with the investment manager.
2. If, within 14 working days after the date the joint committee on finance receives the legislative audit bureau’s letter of review under par. (a) 2., the cochairpersons of the joint committee
on finance do not notify the secretary that the committee has
scheduled a meeting to determine whether the department’s proposed contract with the investment manager is contrary to this
section or fails to implement an applicable provision of subs. (4)
to (7), the department and investment manager may execute that
contract. If, within 14 working days after the date of that notice,
the cochairpersons of the committee notify the secretary that the
committee has scheduled that meeting, the department and investment manager may execute the contract unless the committee
determines at that meeting that the contract, in whole or in part, is
contrary to this section or fails to implement an applicable provision of subs. (4) to (7).
(4) CONTRACT WITH INVESTMENT MANAGER; DISCLOSURE
REQUIREMENT. (a) Subject to sub. (3), the department shall contract with the investment manager. The contract shall establish
the investment manager’s compensation, including any management fee. Any management fee may not exceed, on an annual basis, 1 percent of the total moneys designated under sub. (5) (b) 1.
and 4., raised under sub. (5) (b) 3., and reinvested under sub. (6)
(c).

(b) The investment manager shall disclose to the department
any interest that it or an owner, stockholder, partner, officer, director, member, employee, or agent of the investment manager
has in a venture capital fund that receives moneys under sub. (5)
(b) or a business in which a venture capital fund invests those
moneys.
(5) INVESTMENTS IN VENTURE CAPITAL FUNDS. (a) Subject
to sub. (4) (a), the department shall pay $25,000,000 from the appropriation under s. 20.505 (1) (fm) to the investment manager in
fiscal year 2013-14.
(am) In fiscal year 2023-24, the department shall pay to the
investment manager $25,000,000.
(b) The investment manager shall invest the following moneys
in at least 4 venture capital funds:
1. The moneys under par. (a).
2. At least $300,000 of the investment manager’s own
moneys.
3. At least $5,000,000 that the investment manager raises
from sources other than the department.
4. The moneys under par. (am).
(c) 1. Of the moneys designated under par. (b), the investment
manager may not invest more than $10,000,000 in a single venture capital fund.
2. Of the moneys designated under par. (b) 1., 2., and 3., the
investment manager shall commit at least one-half of those moneys to investments in venture capital funds within 12 months after
the date the investment manager executes the contract under sub.
(4) (a) , and the investment manager shall commit all of those
moneys to investments in venture capital funds within 24 months
after that date.
3. Of the moneys designated under par. (b) 4., the investment
manager shall commit all of those moneys to at least 4 investments in venture capital funds headquartered in this state within
24 months after the date the investment manager receives the
moneys.
(d) The investment manager shall contract with each venture
capital fund that receives moneys under par. (b). Each contract
shall require the venture capital fund to do all of the following:
1. Make new investments in an amount equal to the moneys
it receives under par. (b) in one or more businesses that are headquartered in this state and employ at least 50 percent of their fulltime employees, including any subsidiary or other affiliated entity, in this state, and invest at least one-half of those moneys in
one or more businesses that employ fewer than 150 full-time employees, including any subsidiary or other affiliated entity, when
the venture capital fund first invests moneys in the business under
this section. The venture capital fund’s contract with a business
in which the venture capital fund makes an investment under this
subdivision shall require that, if within 3 years after the venture
capital fund makes its initial investment, the business relocates its
headquarters outside of this state or fails to employ at least 50
percent of its full-time employees, including any subsidiary or
other affiliated entity, in this state, the business shall promptly
pay to the venture capital fund an amount equal to the total
amount of moneys designated under par. (b) 1. and 4. that the
venture capital fund invested in the business. The venture capital
fund shall reinvest those moneys in one or more businesses that
are eligible to receive an investment under this subdivision, subject to the requirements of this section.
2. Commit at least one-half of any moneys it receives under
par. (b) to investments in businesses within 24 months after the
date it receives those moneys and commit all of those moneys to
investments in businesses within 48 months after that date.
3. Invest all of the moneys it receives under par. (b) in businesses in the agriculture, information technology, engineered
products, advanced manufacturing, medical devices, or medical
imaging industry and attempt to ensure that all of those moneys
are invested in businesses that are diverse with respect to geographic location within this state.
4. Ensure that any moneys it receives under par. (b) and invests in a business is accompanied with an investment in that
business of moneys the venture capital fund has raised from
sources other than the investment manager. The venture capital
fund shall ensure that, on average, when measured across all individual businesses receiving moneys under this paragraph, the
venture capital fund at least matches any moneys it receives under
par. (b) with investments in such businesses the venture capital
fund has raised from sources other than the investment manager.
5. Provide to the investment manager the information necessary for the investment manager to complete the annual report under sub. (7) (a) and the quarterly report under sub. (7) (c).
6. Disclose to the investment manager and the department
any interest that the venture capital fund or an owner, stockholder, partner, officer, director, member, employee, or agent of
the venture capital fund holds in a business in which the venture
capital fund invests or intends to invest moneys received under
par. (b).
(e) The investment manager’s profit-sharing agreement with
each venture capital fund that receives moneys under par. (b)
shall be on terms that are substantially equivalent to the terms applicable for other funding sources of the venture capital fund.
(6) SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS FOR INVESTMENTS OF MONEYS
CONTRIBUTED BY THE STATE. (a) The investment manager shall
hold in an escrow account at a bank with its headquarters in this
state its gross proceeds from all investments of the moneys designated under sub. (5) (b) 1. and 4. until the investment manager allocates the proceeds as provided in par. (c).
(c) Within 24 months after receiving any proceeds from the
investment of the moneys designated under sub. (5) (b) 1. and 4.,
the investment manager shall commit 90 percent of the gross proceeds to investments in venture capital funds headquartered in
this state.
(d) 1. The investment manager shall ensure that the gross proceeds resulting from investments made with moneys designated
under sub. (5) (b) 1. and 4. are reinvested so that when averaged
across all venture capital fund recipients, for every $1 of moneys
reinvested as set forth in par. (c), venture capital fund recipients
must receive $2 from sources other than the investment manager.
Any individual business that receives an investment made by the
investment manager under par. (c) is required to receive additional investments made by sources other than the investment
manager.
2. The investment manager shall contract with each venture
capital fund that receives moneys under par. (c). Each contract
shall require the venture capital fund to:
a. Make new investments in an amount equal to the moneys it
receives under par. (c) in one or more businesses that are headquartered in this state and employ at least 50 percent of their fulltime employees, including any subsidiary or other affiliated entity, in this state, and invest at least one-half of those moneys in
one or more businesses that employ fewer than 150 full-time employees, including any subsidiary or other affiliated entity, when
the venture capital fund makes its initial investment of moneys in
the business under this section. The venture capital fund’s contract with a business in which the venture capital fund makes an
investment under this subsection shall require that, if within 3
years after the venture capital fund makes its initial investment,
the business relocates its headquarters outside of this state or fails
to employ at least 50 percent of its full-time employees, including

any subsidiary or other affiliated entity, in this state, the business
shall promptly pay to the venture capital fund an amount equal to
the total amount of moneys designated under par. (c) that the venture capital fund invested in the business. The venture capital
fund shall reinvest those moneys in one or more businesses that
are eligible to receive an investment under this subdivision, subject to the requirements of this section.
b. Invest all of the moneys it receives under par. (c) in businesses in the agriculture, information technology, engineered
products, advanced manufacturing, medical devices, or medical
imaging industry and attempt to ensure that all those moneys are
invested in businesses that are diverse with respect to geographic
location within this state.
c. Provide to the investment manager the information necessary for the investment manager to complete the annual report under sub. (7) (a) and the quarterly report under sub. (7) (c).
d. Disclose to the investment manager and the department
any interest that the venture capital fund or an owner, stockholder, partner, officer, director, member, employee, or agent of
the venture capital fund holds in a business in which the venture
capital fund invests or intends to invest moneys received under
par. (c).
(7) REPORTS OF THE INVESTMENT MANAGER; PUBLIC DISCLOSURES. (a) Annually, within 120 days after the end of the investment manager’s fiscal year, the investment manager shall submit
a report to the department for that fiscal year that includes all of
the following:
1. An audit of the investment manager’s financial statements
performed by an independent certified public accountant.
2. The investment manager’s internal rate of return from investments under subs. (5) (b) and (6) (c).
3. For each venture capital fund that contracts with the investment manager under sub. (5) (d) or (6) (d) , all of the
following:
a. The name and address of the venture capital fund.
b. The amounts invested in the venture capital fund under
subs. (5) (b) and (6) (c).
c. An accounting of any fee the venture capital fund paid to
itself or any principal or manager of the venture capital fund.
d. The venture capital fund’s average internal rate of return
on its investments of the moneys it received under sub. (5) (b) or
(6) (c).
4. For each business in which a venture capital fund held an
investment of moneys the venture capital fund received under
sub. (5) (b) or (6) (c), all of the following:
a. The name and address of the business.
b. A description of the nature of the business.
c. An identification of the venture capital fund that made the
investment in the business.
d. The amount of each investment in the business and the
amount invested by the venture capital fund from funding sources
other than the investment manager.
e. The internal rate of return realized by the venture capital
fund upon the venture capital fund’s exit from the investment in
the business.
f. A statement of the number of employees the business employed when the venture capital fund first invested moneys in the
business that the venture capital fund received under sub. (5) (b)
or (6) (c), the number of employees the business employed on the
first day of the investment manager’s fiscal year, and the number
of employees the business employed on the last day of the investment manager’s fiscal year.
(b) No later than 10 days after it receives the investment manager’s report under par. (a), the department shall submit the report to the chief clerk of each house of the legislature, for distribution to the legislature under s. 13.172 (2).
(c) Quarterly, the investment manager shall submit a report to
the department for the preceding quarter that includes all of the
following:
1. An identification of each venture capital fund under contract with the investment manager under sub. (5) (d) or (6) (d).
2. An identification of each business in which a venture capital fund held an investment of moneys the venture capital fund
received under sub. (5) (b) or (6) (c) and a statement of the
amount of the investment in each business that separately specifies the amount of moneys designated under sub. (5) (b) 1. or 4.
that were contributed to the investment.
3. A statement of the number of employees the business employed when the venture capital fund first invested moneys in the
business that the venture capital fund received under sub. (5) (b)
or (6) (c) and the number of employees the business employed at
the end of the quarter.
(d) The department shall make the investment manager’s
quarterly report under par. (c) readily accessible to the public on
the department’s Internet site.
(8) PROGRESS REPORTS. In 2015, 2018, and 2024, no later
than March 1, the department shall submit reports to the joint
committee on finance that include all of the following:
(a) A comprehensive assessment of the performance to date of
the investment program under this section.
(b) Any recommendations the department has for improvement of the investment program under this section and the specific actions the department intends to take or proposes to be
taken to implement those recommendations.
(c) Any recommendations the investment board has for improvement of the investment program under this section and the
specific actions the investment board proposes to be taken to implement those recommendations.
(9) EXEMPTION FROM LOW BID AND CONTRACTUAL SERVICES
REQUIREMENTS. Sections 16.705 and 16.75 do not apply to this
section.

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