There are only two asset classes: ownership and debt

NO ONE used the phrase ‘‘asset allocation’’ when I joined the investment management industry 55 years ago.

Structuring portfolios was a simple matter, generally following the classic “60/40” split between stocks and bonds.

Today, investors are presented with so many choices that the subject of asset allocation is very prominent, with investment companies and their institutional investor clients dedicating whole departments to determining how to weight various asset classes in a portfolio.