Services Tags: Investment Consulting

Marquette Speaking at Institutional Investor 2025 Roundtable for Consultants & Institutional Investors 10/8

On Wednesday, October 8, Nat Kellogg, CFA, Frank Valle, CFA, CAIA, and Evan Frazier, CFA, CAIA will be speaking at Institutional Investor’s 2025 Roundtable for Consultants & Institutional Investors in Chicago.

Nat will be joining a panel entitled, “Consultant CEO/CIO Perspective: Keep Calm & Carry On – Steering Through Volatility,” discussing the following questions:

  • It’s been an interesting year…. What are your biggest takeaways, surprises, and/or lessons learned?
  • Are your approaches to risk and asset allocation changing in this environment? How are you advising your clients for the near and longer term? How to form long-term return expectations amid such heightened uncertainty and volatility? How to prioritize investments/assets to invest in?
  • Beyond diversification, how do you mitigate volatility in portfolios? What does a resilient portfolio look like today?
  • What investment opportunities are you most/least excited about? Are there opportunities emerging from the shifting market dynamics that you are paying particular attention to?
  • How are you viewing the ‘democratization’ of private markets? Will this unlock more opportunities for institutional investors or limit them?
  • Have your manager selection processes changed, or do you anticipate them changing? If so, why and how?
  • At this event last year we discussed the evolving role of investment consultants and the growing scope of asset owner needs: how has this conversation moved forward over this past 12 months?
  • How are you viewing continued consolidation within the investment consulting and the asset management industries? What are the implications for allocators?
  • Are you approaching 2026 with optimism or pessimism? What is one piece of professional advice that you would give the allocators in the audience?

Frank will be co-leading a session entitled, “Think Tank: Balancing Liquidity and Diversification in Fixed Income Portfolios.”

Evan will be joining a panel entitled, “Strategically Leveraging Hedge Funds Today – The Allocator Perspective,” described as follows: As allocators reassess the role of hedge funds in their portfolios we dig into the “how’s and the why’s” — are they being used to offset privates in the portfolio, as a fixed income substitute or for something else? Are they primarily being used for diversification and downside protection or to capture alpha in a higher-volatility environment? Portable alpha and quant strategies are back in vogue — what are the ingredients from a macroeconomic perspective for differing strategies? In this session we hear how allocators are leveraging hedge funds, what they are looking for from their inclusion and how they are capitalizing on their strategies.

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.

2025 Halftime Market Insights

This video is a recording of a live webinar held July 17 by Marquette’s research team analyzing the first half of the year across the economy and various asset classes as well as themes we’ll be monitoring through the rest of 2025.

 

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
Catherine Hillier, Senior 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
Chad Sheaffer, CFA, CAIA Senior Research Analyst

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

If you have any questions, please send our team an email.

Matt Nowak Speaking at 2025 11th Annual GAPPT Trustee School 9/16

On September 16, Matt Nowak, AIF® will be speaking at the Georgia Association of Public Pension Trustees (GAPPT) Eleventh Annual Trustee School in Macon, Georgia.

Matt will be presenting an educational session for attendees entitled, “What Does it Take to Retire on a DC Plan ONLY.”  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.

Policy Uncertainty Blurs the Outlook

As we enter the second half of the year, Liberation Day-induced market volatility seems like a distant memory with the S&P hitting another all-time high on July 10th and non-U.S. stocks significantly outpacing their U.S. counterparts through June 30th. Meanwhile, the One Big Beautiful Bill was signed into law by President Trump on July 4th with varying expectations on its impact to growth but a consensus view that it will push the deficit higher.

In this edition:

  • Tariff and policy uncertainty
  • Risk factors and market indicators
  • Equity market drivers
  • Currency and regional trends
  • What to watch in the second half

Chris Grimm and Dave Smith Speaking at With Intelligence 2025 Fall Retreat 9/16

On Tuesday, September 16, Chris Grimm, CFA, CAIA and Dave Smith, CFA will be speaking at With Intelligence’s Fall Retreat in Chicago.

Chris will be moderating a session entitled, “Is Private Credit’s Alpha Just Access?” described as follows: At this point, it would be a glaring omission if a private credit firm’s pitch deck didn’t cite their “proprietary deal flow” as a competitive advantage. But if everyone has it, does anyone? And if deal sourcing isn’t a competitive advantage, what is driving the private credit universe’s claims of steady, yet robust, returns?

Dave will be moderating a session entitled, “LP Bedfellows Matter, But How Much – and What Can Allocators Do About It?” described as follows: It’s not exactly the prisoners’ dilemma, but it’s close: With many asset classes and managers, who you’re invested alongside does matter. The question is: How much, and can allocators do anything about it besides pray? Join us for a discussion around the makeup of an asset manager’s client base, the implications of being invested alongside certain allocator types in both private and public markets, and the game theory that can arise when there is a rush for the exits.

With Intelligence is a global business information organization focused on the asset management industry. For more information, please visit their website.

Why Are Emerging Markets Investors Removing Their China Exposure?

Emerging markets (EM) equities have gone through cycles of performance throughout time, creating varied investor sentiment towards the asset class. Recently, discussions around excluding China from investment portfolios have become more common, spurring the growth of active EM ex-China strategies. This newsletter explores the current landscape of EM investing, examines the drivers of the EM ex-China trend, and analyzes the performance impact of removing China from an EM allocation.

One Big Beautiful Bill Act: Excise Tax Changes Legislative Update

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump on July 4, 2025. The legislation includes significant updates to the excise tax structure on net investment income of certain educational institutions, with direct implications for private colleges and universities related to their endowments.

This legislative update addresses considerations for investors regarding:

  • Changes to the current excise tax for private colleges and universities
  • Private foundation excise tax
  • Scrutiny of tax-exempt debt issuance
  • Reinstatement of a universal charitable deduction

Greg Leonberger Speaking at Titan Investors 2025 Chicago Due Diligence Retreat 8/26

On Tuesday, August 26, Greg Leonberger, FSA, EA, MAAA, FCA will be speaking at Titan Investors’ 4th Annual Chicago Due Diligence Retreat.

Greg will be moderating a panel entitled, “Outlook on Global Markets,” described as follows: While inflation, growth, valuations, interest rates, and credit spreads are all top of mind, where can investors look for the best risk-adjusted returns? How should RIAs view Public and Private markets for their clients’ portfolios? What factors should be considered during portfolio construction?

Titan Investors is a boutique consulting firm that connects asset allocators and investment managers to share ideas, build relationships, and drive business in a focused environment. For more information, visit their website.

Fiduciary Education: Endowments & Foundations

This video is a recording of a live webinar held June 3 by Marquette consultants Stephanie Osten, Linsey Schoemehl Payne, and Mike Piotrowski, CAIA, discussing fiduciary responsibilities and best practices for endowment and foundation nonprofits.

We begin by outlining the fiduciary role, defining the term fiduciary in the context of nonprofit organizations, recognizing who qualifies as a fiduciary, and identifying the key duties and responsibilities of a fiduciary. From there, we describe the investment committee, including its key duties and best practices for both membership and investment program management. Finally, we conclude with general best practices, from recordkeeping to onboarding to governance.

For more information about Marquette’s approach to working with endowment and foundation clients, fiduciary best practices, or any of our presenters, please reach out using the Contact Us page above. Sign up for research alerts to be notified when we publish new videos here.

What Has Private Equity Done to Small-Cap Stocks?

Private markets have grown exponentially over the last two decades, driven by attractive long-term returns, diversification benefits, and early-stage value creation. As companies stay private longer, much of their initial growth can be realized outside of public markets, which could challenge the small-cap premium and contribute to a shift in the composition of public markets. The following newsletter examines this dynamic and potential impact on small-cap stocks.