About Paul Meeks
Paul Meeks CFA, CAIA
I makes no bones about being too busy. Maybe it is the wrong era in which to be a Renaissance Man but so be it.
Early Years
I grew up in Hong Kong and Singapore. My dad worked abroad for Dow Chemical for a good portion of his career, so I lived in those outposts for 13 years and we traveled frequently around the world.
Education
I attended Northfield Mount Hermon (NMH) from 1977-1981. NMH is a prep school in Northfield, MA. My parents’ choice wasn’t between me going to a public or a private high school, it was between me being educated in the US or abroad because the options in Singapore were poor at that time. I started at NMH and stayed through graduation even though my father had returned to the States with Dow.
From NMH I went to Williams College (Williamstown, MA) where I graduated in 1985. I studied history and political science. Not much math. At least not yet. Although I had always been keen on investing, that wasn’t my career path at the time. I played football and lacrosse in college. I was co-captain of the lacrosse team in 1985. I got in quite a bit of trouble there. Knucklehead years.
Five years after graduating from Williams, and after three years of working in a relationships role at an institutional equity investor, Trinity Investment Management, I decided that to climb the ranks in the business I had to backfill finance and financial accounting courses. I also was interested in transitioning to analyzing companies and their stocks and managing money and away from just talking about it. Therefore, I decided to earn an MBA. I enrolled at the Kellogg School in 1990 and graduated with a MM (MBA) in 1992. There I played rugby, co-managed the investment club, and was active in Toastmasters.
How It All Started
Starting My Investment Career
After graduating from Kellogg, I got my first equity analyst job with Strong Funds (Menomonee Falls, WI). At least for my “day job,” I have been an equity analyst or portfolio manager ever since and that was over 30 years ago.
My Tech Angle
Early in my stint at Strong Funds, a portfolio manager asked me to evaluate Intel (INTC). I was not a tech guy. I had no background in tech or particular affinity for it. Frankly, I think the only reason why I was selected for the assignment that day was that I was the only analyst in the bullpen at lunch. Nonetheless, I studied the semiconductor company and was bullish on it. I shared that in my report for the portfolio manager. I bought the stock. It went up. Then I and other portfolio managers kept giving me other tech companies to work on. Luck of the Irish. Those recommended stocks did well too. I became the in-house tech “guru.” Although I feel that I’ve an “edge” investing in tech today because I’ve been at it almost exclusively for over 30 years and I have done it for marquee investors, at that time I did not confuse luck for talent or a bull market in tech stocks.
I am a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA). I earned the former in 1996 and the latter in 2021 (yes, I am a lifelong learner). I serve on the board of the CFA Society SC. I am also licensed to sell insurance in SC (and with permission in other states.)
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