Mary Mustard
Ms. Mustard joined Meketa in 2010. She serves as a consultant for various public and private defined benefit, endowment and foundation, nonprofit, and investment funds. She also serves as a member of Meketa’s Endowment & Foundation Practice Group.
She graduated from Bentley University with a B.S. degree in finance in economics and an MBA with honors. Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Mustard worked as a research analyst for Danforth Associates. She holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and is a member of the CFA Society Boston and the CFA Institute.
CIO: What is one principle from your career that has proven especially relevant in today’s environment, and how have you applied it recently?
Mustard: The core principle that I come back to is that while our role is to provide investment advice, it’s really about the people and building strong relationships with clients.
Advising boards, CIOs and committees require not just sound analysis, but the ability to influence, educate and build consensus. The best advice only creates value if clients have the confidence to act on it. That confidence is built over repeated interactions—delivering on commitments, communicating clearly and demonstrating alignment with client objectives.
The reality is: The outcomes of our decisions play out over years, not quarters. This requires enduring client trust. Volatility and market cycles will test decisions, and even well-founded strategies will underperform at times. Strong relationships grounded in credibility, transparency and consistency enable clients to stay disciplined, rather than react to short-term noise.
CIO: Which asset classes, sectors, or strategies are most attractive today (e.g., credit, infrastructure, secondaries, real assets), and what is driving your conviction?
Mustard: I really like infrastructure. Many institutional investors have limited exposure to the asset class or may have room for thoughtful expansion, depending on their objectives and liquidity needs. Beyond its lower correlation with other traditional asset classes, it aligns well with the long-term investment horizons of our clients.
Infrastructure can be an increasingly attractive asset class due to its resilience, long-term stability and ability to generate consistent returns. In a volatile economic environment, infrastructure assets—such as transportation networks, energy systems and digital connectivity—are essential services that remain in demand regardless of market cycles. This inherent stability makes them less susceptible to economic downturns than other asset classes.
With core infrastructure (which for many plans is easier to implement), investments often provide predictable cash flows through long-term contracts, regulated revenue streams or inflation-linked pricing models. These characteristics make them particularly appealing to investors seeking steady income and protection against inflation.
The global push for sustainability and modernization further enhances the appeal of infrastructure. Governments and private entities are increasing investments in renewable energy, smart cities and digital infrastructure to meet climate goals and adapt to technological advancements. This creates significant opportunities for growth and innovation within the sector.
CIO: What do you expect to be the primary driver of volatility in the next 12 months, and how should institutional investors position their portfolios because of it?
Mustard: Over the next 12 months, volatility may continue to reflect the tension between macro uncertainty and underlying growth resilience.
On one hand, macro forces, particularly geopolitical risk and inflation, may contribute to market shocks. Ongoing conflicts, trade frictions and supply chain disruptions can drive sudden moves in energy prices and inflation expectations. These shocks feed directly into central bank policy uncertainty, where even small shifts in rate expectations can trigger outsized moves across bonds, equities and currencies.
On the other hand, the underlying economy continues to benefit structural growth drivers, most notably AI-driven investment and productivity gains. Strong corporate balance sheets and continued capital expenditure in technology are reinforcing earnings resilience and supporting risk assets over a longer horizon.
Periods of optimism driven by earnings and innovation are likely to be interrupted by macro-driven drawdowns, leading to frequent shifts in sentiment and performance.
For institutional investors, they should stay the course. When conducting an asset allocation review, we spend a lot of time considering the different outcomes in various market environments before a board makes a decision. The asset allocation is designed to benefit from the upside while being well diversified for the downside. Stick with the plan and rebalance!