Services Tags: Investment Consulting

Alternatives in Defined Contribution Plans

On August 7, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order to expand alternative investment access in defined contribution retirement plans (e.g., 401(k) plans). This order instructs the Department of Labor (DOL) to reexamine its guidance to plan sponsors incorporating alternative investments into these types of retirement plans. According to the order, the six classes of alternative assets included are:

  • Private markets investments, including private equity and private debt
  • Real estate
  • Actively managed vehicles investing in digital assets
  • Commodities
  • Infrastructure
  • Lifetime income strategies, including longevity risk-sharing pools

Marquette Speaking at Titan Investors 2026 Chicago Institutional Exchange 4/8

On Wednesday, April 8, Dave Smith, CFA and Greg Leonberger, FSA, EA, MAAA, FCA will be speaking at the 2026 Chicago Institutional Exchange hosted by Titan Investors.

In the morning, Greg will be moderating a panel entitled “Megatrends in a Transforming World — Investing for Resiliency,” and in the afternoon, Dave will be moderating a panel entitled “The Convergence Between Public and Private Markets.”  The Institutional Exchange will bring together institutional investors, consultants, and asset managers in the region for a mix of workshop roundtables, panels, and networking. 

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.

Treasury Market Creates a Balancing Act

Despite the U.S. economy’s impressive growth in recent decades, the federal government currently faces elevated borrowing costs to fund its persistent budget deficits. While current bid-to-cover ratios remain robust in absolute terms, a declining trend in shorter maturities could represent one early warning sign that the traditional investor base demand is waning.

This newsletter examines the Treasury’s challenge of balancing funding costs with market demand and potential fiscal and monetary policy implications.

Nat Kellogg Speaking at Nasdaq eVestment 1Q26 Institutional Trends Quarterly Webcast 3/17

On Tuesday, March 17, Nat Kellogg, CFA will be joining Nasdaq eVestment’s quarterly Institutional Trends Webcast.

Nat will be providing consultant commentary alongside Russell Elliott, Nasdaq eVestment’s Head of Asset Management, Market Intelligence, and Yanni Angelakos, Nasdaq’s Head of Investment Insights, Capital Access Platforms. The three will share their perspectives on the latest investment trends shaping 2026 strategies, allocations, and exposures, exploring:

  • How recent performance outcomes are shaping allocator perspectives
  • Where market momentum is translating into real capital movement
  • What investor and consultant research activity reveals about sentiment and priorities
  • Manager-search and fundraising signals emerging this quarter

For more information and to watch the replay, 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.

Marquette Speaking at Markets Group 2026 Mountain States Institutional Forum 3/4–5

On March 4 and 5, Ryan P. Tracy, CFP® and Frank Valle, CFA, CAIA will be speaking at the 13th Annual Mountain States Institutional Forum hosted by Markets Group in Denver.

On the 4th, Frank will be joining a panel entitled, “Fixed Income: Trends Shaping Today’s Landscape,” described as follows: Federal Reserve rate cuts are undetermined, but what will result from the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet and the U.S. government’s borrowing needs? Given this precarious moment in time, investors are left wondering what role bonds should play within their portfolios. This panel will aim to answer such key questions as:

  • How are investors strategizing around rate movement in 2026?
  • How quickly will the Fed reduce its balance sheet and for how long?
  • How is the liquidity in the bond market and what is the impact on fixed income portfolios?

On the 5th, Ryan will be moderating the closing Chief Investment Officer Roundtable, which will bring together leading CIOs from across the financial industry to explore the evolving landscape of global markets, risk management, asset allocation strategies, and the future of institutional investing.

For more information, please visit the event webpage.

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

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.

Luis Sierra Speaking at With Intelligence 2026 Institutional Partnership Retreat 3/2–3

Luis Sierra, CFA will be speaking at With Intelligence’s Institutional Partnership Retreat in Dallas, Texas on March 2–3.

On the second, Luis will be moderating a session entitled, “Creating an Automated Associate – and All the Problems That Will Accompany ‘It’” described as follows: For anyone who watched Ex Machina – the story of a genius tech founder who creates a lifelike robotic girlfriend in his wilderness retreat, with predicable results – the idea of an automated associate might not be all that appealing. Yet it’s happening, so be ready: What skills, tasks, and human allocator jobs will artificial intelligence come for first – and who is leading the way on the edges of automation?

With Intelligence is part of S&P Global, delivering end-to-end coverage across the alternatives marketplace. For more information, please visit their website.

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