Key Takeaways
- • James Meketa, founder, managing principal and chairman of Meketa Investment Group, identifies three "tides of history" investors should factor into future asset allocations: an aging baby boomer generation, China's emergence as an economic superpower, and the effects of climate change.
- • Meketa made the remarks at a Wednesday pension meeting of the Orange County Employees Retirement System, where he told overseers that identifying the prevailing historical trend "will inform your asset allocation decisions."
- • The core message is a framework for long-horizon allocation rather than a specific trade or fund recommendation.
Summary
James Meketa, founder, managing principal and chairman of investment adviser Meketa Investment Group, outlined three structural trends that he says investors should weigh when setting future asset allocations. According to The Wall Street Journal, Meketa named an aging baby boomer generation, the emergence of China as an economic superpower, and the effects of climate change as the "tides of history" that should shape portfolio construction.
Speaking at the pension meeting of the Orange County Employees Retirement System on a Wednesday, Meketa urged investors first to identify the broader historical forces at work. "The first thing you do is, you step back and identify what type of history you are awash in. And then try to surf along with the tide," he told the board, adding that this process "will inform your asset allocation decisions."
The framing is directed at institutional allocators, particularly public pension plans with multi-decade liabilities, for whom demographic shifts such as retirement drawdowns by baby boomers and the growth of China's economy may bear directly on return expectations and asset mix. The primary source does not provide specific allocation targets, return figures or fund recommendations.
Speaking at the pension meeting of the Orange County Employees Retirement System on a Wednesday, Meketa urged investors first to identify the broader historical forces at work. "The first thing you do is, you step back and identify what type of history you are awash in. And then try to surf along with the tide," he told the board, adding that this process "will inform your asset allocation decisions."
The framing is directed at institutional allocators, particularly public pension plans with multi-decade liabilities, for whom demographic shifts such as retirement drawdowns by baby boomers and the growth of China's economy may bear directly on return expectations and asset mix. The primary source does not provide specific allocation targets, return figures or fund recommendations.
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