Services Tags: Investment Consulting

Will Higher Rates Cramp the Markets?

Anyone who has run a marathon knows the last six miles are brutal — no matter how well the first 20 miles went, it’s really about how each runner can handle the cramps and pain of the remaining course. The outcome tends to be rather binary — it’s either the worst running experience of someone’s life (mine) or when the strongest push through and finish strong (one of our research colleagues in this year’s Chicago marathon).

This year’s market feels similar. Through September 30, most stock indices are headed for their fourth consecutive year of double-digit returns, but the massive run-up of rates in the third quarter reminds us how quickly markets can change. Nothing will be final until we cross the finish line on December 31.

3Q 2026 Market Insights Webinar

LIVE WEBINAR — OCTOBER 22

Please join Marquette’s research team for our 3Q 2026 Market Insights Webinar analyzing the third quarter across the economy and various asset classes as well as themes we’ll be monitoring through the rest of the year. We’ll be recording this webinar and posting the video to our YouTube channel afterward.

LOGISTICS

  • Register directly with Microsoft Teams using the invitation sent October 8. Once you register, Microsoft will send an email confirming your registration that also contains the meeting link to join, plus a reminder one hour before the webinar starts.
  • Attend on Thursday, October 22, at 1:00pm CT. All attendees will be held in the webinar lobby until the presentation begins at 1:00.
  • Q&A will be open during the webinar using Microsoft Teams’ Q&A feature. Feel free to send any in advance to our team, too.

Our quarterly Market Insights series examines the primary asset classes we cover for clients including the U.S. economy, fixed income, U.S. and non-U.S. equities, hedge funds, real assets, and private markets, with commentary by our research analysts and directors.

If you did not receive the invitation or have any questions, please send our team an email. 

Continuation Vehicles: Worth the Wait?

Over the past decade, continuation vehicles (“CV”) have become one of the fastest-growing trends in private equity. Private equity funds typically have a fixed lifespan, often around ten years. During that period, the fund buys companies, works to improve them, and ultimately sells them to generate returns for investors. However, not every company reaches its full potential within that timeframe. In fact, there has been much ado about “Zombie” portfolio companies as aging assets face limited and increasingly challenging exit opportunities.

A CV allows a private equity manager, or general partner (“GP”) to continue owning a company beyond the life of the original fund. The GP transfers the company into a newly created investment vehicle and raises new capital from investors to purchase interests from those who opt for liquidity. Existing investors can choose to sell and receive cash or remain invested in the company through the new structure.

Once considered a niche solution, CVs have become a mainstream feature of the private equity market. Supporters argue that they allow GPs to maximize value by giving strong companies more time to grow. Critics counter that they introduce conflicts of interest and make it harder to assess whether investors are receiving fair value. As use of these structures continues to expand, investors should understand both the benefits and the risks before embracing them as a permanent solution to today’s liquidity challenges.

William Torre Speaking at IFEBP 2026 Conference 10/26–27

William Torre, Jr., CFA, CAIA will be speaking at the 72nd Annual International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Billy will be co-presenting an educational session entitled “Investments: A Fiduciary Primer” on October 26 and 27. The session will provide an overview of fiduciary duties under ERISA and trust law, the roles of trustees and investment professionals, core investment principles and asset classes, and investment performance reporting, discuss key questions to ask advisors, and address how fiduciaries can strengthen oversight through policy and governance.

The IFEBP Annual Conference is the largest gathering of multiemployer and public employee benefit plan representatives, with attendees from across the country. IFEBP is an educational organization dedicated to providing the diverse employee benefits community with objective, solution-oriented education, research, and information to ensure the health and financial security of plan beneficiaries worldwide. For more information, please visit the conference website.

Alternative Investments in 401(k) Plans Views Featured in Benefits Magazine

An article co-authored by Investment Consultant and Partner Kweku Obed, CFA, CAIA, Associate Director of Defined Contribution Matt Nowak, AIF®, and Paul Catenacci, a partner of Novara Law Group, was featured in the September/October 2026 edition of Benefits Magazine. The article, Alternative Investments – Coming to a 401(k) Plan Near You?, examines the proposed Department of Labor (DOL) rule that would allow retirement plans with participant-directed accounts to offer alternative investments and explains the practical considerations plan fiduciaries should weigh before adding alternative assets to a participant-directed plan.

Benefits Magazine, the bimonthly publication of the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans, covers benefit issues affecting multiemployer, single employer and public employee plan representatives.

Read > Alternative Investments – Coming to a 401(k) Plan Near You?

 

Reproduced with permission from Benefits Magazine, Volume 63, No. 5, September/October 2026, pages 18-24, published by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans (www.ifebp.org), Brookfield, Wis. All rights reserved. Statements or opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views or position of the International Foundation, its officers, directors, or staff. No further transmission or electronic distribution of this material is permitted.

2026 Halftime Market Insights

This video is a recording of a live webinar held July 23 by Marquette’s research team analyzing the first half of 2026 across the economy and various asset classes as well as themes we’ll be monitoring in the coming months.

 

Our quarterly Market Insights series examines the primary asset classes we cover for clients including the U.S. economy, fixed income, U.S. and non-U.S. equities, hedge funds, real assets, and private markets, with commentary by our research analysts and directors.

Featuring:
Greg Leonberger, FSA, EA, MAAA, FCA, Partner, Director of Research
Frank Valle, CFA, CAIA, Associate Director of Fixed Income
James Torgerson, Senior Research Analyst
Fred Huang, Research Analyst
David Hernandez, CFA, Director of Traditional Manager Search
Evan Frazier, CFA, CAIA, Senior Research Analyst
Dennis Yu, Research Analyst
Amy Miller, Associate Director of Private Equity
Hayley McCollum, Senior Research Analyst

Sign up for research alerts to be invited to future webinars and notified when we publish new videos.

Under the Radar for the Second Half

The usual midyear version of these letters has touched on year-to-date performance as well as the most influential macroeconomic and market-specific variables to monitor over the last six months of the year. This time, however, I enlisted the help of some colleagues — Frank Valle, Evan Frazier, Fred Huang, and Weston Whalen — to identify more subtle yet materially influential factors to watch across the economy and capital markets. Make no mistake: the headline topics of Fed policy, interest rates, geopolitics, earnings, and overall diversification remain paramount to long-term investment success, but the following metrics will likely determine if the positive performance of 2026 continues for the second half of the year.

Marquette Speaking at Institutional Investor 2026 Roundtable for Consultants & Institutional Investors 10/7

On Wednesday, October 7, Evan Frazier, CFA, CAIA and James Torgerson will be speaking at Institutional Investor’s 2026 Roundtable for Consultants & Institutional Investors in Chicago.

Evan will be joining a panel entitled “Investing Across the AI Value Chain: How Much AI Exposure Is Enough…Or Too Much?” described as follows: From semiconductor manufacturers and hyperscalers to energy providers, infrastructure developers, data centers, and software platforms, AI is creating winners across multiple sectors while leaving others behind. Has investing effectively bifurcated into AI and non-AI exposures? This session explores how investors should think about AI exposure across the entire value chain, where the most attractive opportunities may lie, concentration risk, and whether current market leadership can be sustained. Panelists will discuss emerging sources of value creation beyond the most visible beneficiaries, the durability of AI-driven earnings growth, and whether today’s extraordinary levels of investment and valuation represent a long-term structural shift or the conditions for the next technology bubble.

James will be joining a panel entitled “Private Credit: Practical Approaches to Navigating a Maturing Market,” described as follows: Now one of the most important sources of institutional portfolio exposure, private credit has also become more complex, more competitive, and more nuanced. As fundraising slows, distributions remain uneven, and areas of stress emerge, investors are reassessing both the opportunities and the risks embedded within today’s private credit landscape. Focused on the practical decisions institutional investors face, this session will explore the questions investors are actively debating: Are recent cracks in the market idiosyncratic or indicative of broader systemic risks? To what degree are concerns surrounding software and technology lending justified? What is the investment case for private credit over public fixed income? Where are the most compelling opportunities across direct lending, asset-backed finance, secondaries, and potential distressed cycles?

The Roundtable for Consultants & Institutional Investors will offer insights from leading industry experts and a forum for valuable exchanges with peers. For more information, please visit the event webpage.

Matt Nowak Speaking at 2026 12th Annual GAPPT Trustee School 9/29

On Tuesday, September 29, Matt Nowak, AIF® will be speaking at the Georgia Association of Public Pension Trustees (GAPPT) Twelfth Annual Trustee School in Athens, Georgia.

Matt will be presenting an educational session for attendees entitled “Plan Governance and Fiduciary Responsibilities.”  The GAPPT is a nonprofit organization formed to provide education and professional development opportunities to trustees and administrators of Georgia’s public pension plans. Subject areas span fiduciary responsibility and liability, board governance, investment acumen, and plan administration. For more information, please visit the GAPPT website.

Commodities: An Overview of the Asset Class

Commodities represent a unique asset class within global financial markets. Like equities and bonds, commodity prices are influenced by the macroeconomic environment, geopolitical events, and technological developments. However, because commodities are tangible assets, their prices are also directly affected by physical supply-and-demand dynamics, weather patterns, and other factors unique to underlying resource markets. Recent structural trends, including rising demand for metals within the technology and renewable energy sectors, have created secular tailwinds for certain commodities that potentially complement the asset class’s traditionally cyclical characteristics. Additionally, evolving energy market dynamics may provide further structural support. Years of underinvestment in conventional energy production coupled with recent geopolitical conflicts and damage to critical infrastructure in the Middle East have increased concerns about the long-term resilience of global energy supply chains, potentially supporting elevated energy prices relative to historical norms. Simultaneously, global inflationary pressures and conflicts across the world have renewed interest in commodity allocations as a hedge against macroeconomic uncertainty and geopolitical strife. This paper examines the viability of commodities in institutional portfolios by exploring the dynamics of commodity cycles and demand drivers, analyzing the historical performance of the asset class, and outlining risk management considerations. By reviewing both opportunities and challenges, the paper aims to provide a balanced and educational assessment for institutional investors seeking to understand the role of commodities in modern portfolios.