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Lake County advisors urge locking in yields amid market uncertainty
Summary
At an April meeting, an outside investment adviser told the Lake County Investment Advisory Committee that tariff-driven uncertainty and mixed inflation signals make portions of the county's portfolio worth locking into multi-month yields; committee members approved the minutes and heard that the operating portfolio's weighted average yield is 3.65%.
Miss Stanek, presenting on behalf of the investment adviser METER, told the Lake County Investment Advisory Committee that recent tariff announcements have increased market uncertainty and that her firm has been monitoring the effects closely.
"We now serve 429 public entities, throughout the nation," Stanek said, adding that METER reported roughly $59,000,000,000 in assets under management for public clients in the firm's recent SEC regulatory filing. She said the firm issued a white paper and held a webinar to discuss tariff-related risks and the Federal Reserve's path.
Stanek said market pricing has moved ahead of the Fed: while the Federal Reserve has signaled it will be data-dependent and cautiously consider rate cuts, market participants currently anticipate multiple cuts in 2025. She cited recent inflation measures and consumer-expectation surveys to show that short-term inflation expectations remain elevated even as some headline measures have declined.
On the county's portfolio, Stanek described a structure of cash held in overnight accounts and a securities component for operating funds. She said the operating portion currently has a weighted-average yield of 3.65% and that a meaningful share of holdings matures within one year by design, preserving liquidity for county operations while leaving room to lock in attractive yields on longer maturities as opportunities arise.
Treasurer Mike Zurn thanked Stanek for weekly collaboration with county staff on timing maturities and reinvestment decisions. "We've really maximized the dollars and investments," Zurn said, acknowledging the regular coordination to match fund maturities with county cash needs.
The committee voted to approve and waive the reading of the Jan. 9, 2025 minutes by unanimous voice vote earlier in the meeting. After Stanek's presentation and an exchange of thanks, a motion to adjourn was made and seconded and the committee closed the session.
The discussion provided the committee with market context and an operational update; no formal changes to the county's investment policy or reallocation were proposed or adopted at the meeting.
