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Peter Babilla brings 40 years of experience in investment management and fiduciary* financial consulting to Vertex Planning Partners, LLC.
Pete graduated from Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana with a Bachelor’s of Science in Finance.
He began his career in 1983 with a focus on institutional fixed-income portfolio management, primarily working with community banks. After a decade serving institutional clients, Pete shifted his focus to working with individuals, families and business owners, providing guidance and education in all areas of Wealth Management. Among his areas of focus are accumulation and retirement planning, investment management, risk management, and estate and wealth transfer.
Pete’s planning philosophy allows him to create a personalized program for clients, based on their own unique goals and circumstances. The extensive investment and planning platform offered by Vertex enables him to create a highly customized program, tailored to each individual client.
Pete and his wife Suzanne have two children, and have resided in Wheaton, Illinois for the past 30 years. He enjoys golf, reading, and traveling with his family. Pete gives back as a past Board Member of the Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Chicago, where his focus is on improving the lives of those living with epilepsy.
Pete works as fiduciary for his clients and holds the CERTIFIED FIANANCIAL PLANNER™ (CFP®) designation and the Chartered Retirement Plan Specialist (CRPS®) designation.
Justin D’Agostino is a Partner and Private Wealth Advisor at Vertex Planning Partners, advising business owners, executives, and high-net-worth families on investments, financial planning, tax and succession planning.
He coordinates the full advisory team around each client to keep tax, investment, and planning decisions moving in the same direction. Justin’s approach centers on rigorous, data-driven analysis — modeling outcomes across planning scenarios so clients can make decisions with clarity.
With over a decade of experience, Justin’s work focuses on:
Justin attended Hillsdale College, where he earned his BA in Accounting and Financial Management. He is an avid sports fan and enjoys spending weekends with his family.
Designations:
Justin does not provide tax or legal advice. He works alongside each client’s CPA and attorney on those matters.
CRPC conferred by College for Financial Planning.
Scott Sandee brings over 20 years of experience to his role as Managing Partner of Vertex Planning Partners, leading the firm’s efforts to assist middle-market business owners and eight and nine-figure families in comprehensive planning. We enable clients to achieve their financial goals by tailoring solutions to their unique aspirations and situations. Leveraging his experience in sophisticated investment techniques and financial strategies with privately held family businesses, supported by extensive post-graduate education focused on exit planning, wealth management, estate planning, investment analysis, insurance planning, risk management, and tax optimization, he:
Scott guides successful entrepreneurs and wealthy families through the transfer of ownership of their privately held companies.
Designations: Certified Financial Planner® Certified Private Wealth Advisor® Certified Investment Management Analyst® Certified Exit Planning Advisor Certified Merger & Acquisition Advisor
Julie Hupp, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional, has worked in the accounting and corporate finance field since 1987. She began her career as a CPA with Deloitte & Touche, specializing in the financial needs of small businesses. Then spent the next 13 years in corporate financial planning and business development at Baxter and TAP Pharmaceuticals. Recognizing her passion for personal financial planning, Julie started her business in 2006 where she focuses on comprehensive financial planning strategies and implementation.
Julie graduated from University of Illinois with a BS in Accountancy. She received her Master’s in Management with a concentration in Finance from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management in 1994.
Outside the office, Julie is the co-founder of the 12 Oaks Foundation, which has merged with Cal’s Angels, and is a former Board member. Julie enjoys cooking, reading, running, triathlons and doing almost anything outdoors. A great weekend is spending time with her husband and two adult kids boating at their lake house in Wisconsin.
Steven P. Franzen, CPA, PFS, CGMA is a public accountant and consultant with more than 23 years of experience helping individuals and businesses reduce their tax liability. He began his career under the guidance of Patrick M. De Sio, CPA, CGMA and in 1996 became Mr. De Sio’s partner in De Sio, Franzen & Associates, Ltd. Steve’s expertise include entity design, complex tax strategies and multigenerational wealth transfer. As Managing Partner, Steve conducts his practice under the philosophy that the client’s investment in their CPA should yield a return on that investment – most of the time that return is realized when working with clients on planning for their future. In an effort to increase the planning capabilities of the firm, Steve formed Vertex Accounting Partners, LLC to ensure their guiding philosophy will continue well into the future.
Steve is a certified public accountant and has earned the professional designations of Personal Financial Specialist and Chartered Global Management Accountant. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Illinois CPA Society. Steve earned a B.S. degree in accounting from Millikin University. He and his wife Kristie live in Sugar Grove, IL with their three children.
Greg Benner advises high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth business owners, individuals and families on advanced tax, risk management, retirement, estate planning, and wealth strategies.
As a co-founder of Vertex Planning Partners, he works closely with clients, families, and their professional advisors—CPAs, attorneys, and business stakeholders—to implement thoughtful, durable planning strategies. His approach prioritizes clarity, coordination, and disciplined execution.
For twenty-four years, Greg’s work has focused on designing and coordinating multi-factor, integrated plans involving:
Drawing from his own experience as a founder, business and real estate investor, and multi-generational family business member, he understands some of the challenges that can arise for business owners as they consider an exit. Multi-disciplinary, intentional planning with stakeholder communication creates structure, mitigates risk, addresses tax implications, and preempts issues that can arise.
Greg holds a Master of Science in Taxation, a graduate program that deepened his technical training in federal income taxation, partnership and corporate taxation, estate and gift tax, and tax procedure. This academic work enhances his ability to help families and business owners navigate complex tax environments and align their financial and estate-planning objectives across generations.
Designations:
Licenses:
Greg is deeply committed to lifelong learning and continuous professional development in the areas of tax, estate planning, and private-wealth strategy.
Michael D. Bellis, CFP®, CLU® began his career as a financial planning professional in 1994. His practice is centered on holistic financial planning, astute risk management strategies and empirical, research-driven portfolio construction. He began his career in partnership with his father under the name Bellis & Associates. Together, their practice and reputation for excellence dates back more than 40 years and includes multiple generations of the same families. After his father’s retirement several years ago, Mike continued to build a client-centric, consultative practice before forming Vertex.
Mike holds the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ certification and is also a Chartered Life Underwriter. He has been an active member of both the Society of Financial Services Professionals and the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors. He earned a B.S. in Business & Marketing from Illinois State University. Mike is a lifelong resident of Naperville, Illinois. He and his wife Tanja have three children.
What Rising Real Yields Mean for Investors
Treasury rates have surged to their highest levels in recent years due to a combination of concerns around inflation, oil prices, the national debt, and the Fed. The 10-year Treasury yield is once again above 4.6% and the 30-year has been above 5% for the longest streak since 2007.1 In general, this is positive for long-term investors since higher yields support portfolio goals such as income and stability.
Perhaps more importantly, real yields have risen even further. For investors, these moves are helpful to understand because they influence many aspects of investing and planning. Portfolios and financial plans should take these evolving interest rates and economic circumstances into careful consideration, especially because they have changed significantly over the past decade.
The difference between nominal and real interest rates is quite simple, even if it sounds technical. A nominal yield is simply the stated interest rate on a bond, whether it’s a corporate investment grade bond or a U.S. Treasury note. The real yield goes one step further by showing what an investor earns after adjusting for inflation. Real yields represent the true return for savers, and therefore serve as a key benchmark against which all other asset classes are measured. Given the importance of rising real yields, what do investors need to consider?
Long-term real yields are near multi-year highs
Yields then shifted in 2022 when inflation spiked, prompting the Fed to reverse course by raising the federal funds rate at the fastest pace in decades. Both nominal and real yields surged as a result.
Today, the 10-year nominal Treasury yield stands at roughly 4.7% while the corresponding real yield is 2.4%, well above levels since the global financial crisis. This is based on expectations of inflation over the next ten years, and not just the latest figures.
Several factors are keeping long-term yields elevated today. Oil prices have risen back above $90 per barrel for Brent crude amid the ongoing war in Iran, and gasoline prices have climbed back above $4 per gallon nationally.2 Higher energy costs can feed directly into broader inflation, which in turn pushes nominal yields higher. What’s interesting is
that inflation expectations haven’t risen much based on market measures and surveys, but this is largely because many anticipate the Fed may raise rates over the next several months to fight rising prices.
Separately, the rising national debt and federal budget deficit continue to create uncertainty for government bond yields. This affects what economists call the “term premium,” or the extra yield investors require to hold longer-term bonds. With the total national debt now above $39 trillion, greater interest payments naturally raise the borrowing cost for the government, pushing U.S. Treasury yields higher.3
Higher yields affect all parts of the market
This comparison is often referred to as the “equity risk premium” since it measures how much additional benefit is available for taking on greater risk in the stock market. When real bond yields were near zero or negative, as they were for much of the post-2008 era, stocks had little competition. Investors accepted lower earnings yields from equities because there were few alternatives for yield and growth. This was commonly referred to as TINA, or “there is no alternative.”
At current levels, the 10-year real yield of 2.4% means that investors can earn an attractive, inflation-adjusted return from government bonds. The S&P 500 earnings yield sits at roughly 4.9%, corresponding to a forward price-to-earnings ratio of around 20x. This means that understanding and evaluating the balance of stocks and bonds in a portfolio is potentially more important than before.4
The Fed balance sheet and what it means for yields
Warsh has long held the view that the Fed ought to shrink its balance sheet when the economy is healthy. This would involve selling Treasury securities and mortgage-backed securities, which effectively pushes Treasury bond yields higher, raising borrowing costs for businesses and homebuyers. Along with the expectation of Fed rate hikes, these actions could keep both short-term and long-term interest rates higher for longer.
For long-term investors, this means it’s more important than ever to hold a thoughtful balance of stocks, bonds, and other assets that seek to pursue financial goals.
The bottom line?
Real yields are at their highest levels in years, driven by inflation concerns, fiscal uncertainty, and a shrinking Fed balance sheet. A thoughtfully constructed and well-balanced portfolio aligned with financial plans is more important than ever.
References
Index Descriptions S&P 500
The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index is a capitalization-weighted index of 500 stocks designed to measure performance of the broad domestic economy through changes in the aggregate market value of 500 stocks representing all major industries.
Content in this material is for general information only and not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. All performance referenced is historical and is no guarantee of future results. All indices are unmanaged and may not be invested in directly.
All investing involves risk, including loss of principal. No strategy assures success or protects against loss. The economic forecasts set forth in this material may not develop as predicted, and there can be no guarantee that strategies promoted will be successful.
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