Connecting with Vertex Planning Partners is your first step towards a tailored financial future. Reach out to discuss guidance that aligns with your unique financial goals and aspirations.
Schedule a meeting with a Vertex Planning Partner Advisor who will answer any questions you might have.
p: 630.836.3300 – e: in**@************rs.com
We’re here to help. Email or call us and speak with a Vertex Planning Partner Advisor who will answer any questions you might have: 630.836.3300 or in**@************rs.com
Enter your email to download our Independent Advisors eBook and unlock the secrets to a tailored financial future.
Enter your email to download our PATH eBook and unlock the secrets to a tailored financial future.
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 joined Vertex Partners in 2019 and serves a select group of business owners and affluent families. He specializes in investments, financial planning, and succession planning. His interest and knowledge in providing comprehensive financial planning and wealth management services to clients was sparked when he worked at a boutique tax and wealth management firm in Michigan. He has nine years of experience in the financial services industry, and his mission is to provide every client with targeted, comprehensive financial advice and to help them implement customized strategies designed to move them closer to accomplishing their unique goals.
Justin attended Hillsdale College where he earned his BA in Accounting and Financial Management and was a member and captain of the football team. Justin is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Professional, and holds the Tax Planning Certified Professional®, Chartered Financial Consultant® and Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor™ designations.
Justin and his wife, Alexandra, reside in Chicago, Illinois. He is an avid sports fan and enjoys golfing, playing soccer and spending summer weekends with his family.
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.
Mid-Year Outlook 2026: Key Investor Lessons for the Second Half of the Year
There is a saying that smooth seas do not make skillful sailors. When it comes to investing, at no time has this been more true than during the first half of the year. Investors faced major events including the war in Iran, oil prices pushing inflation to multi-year highs, and questions around artificial intelligence (AI). And yet, markets have climbed to new all-time highs, corporate earnings have grown at a double-digit pace, and many asset classes have performed well. The first six months have been a reminder of the importance of staying invested and maintaining a longer time horizon.
This lesson is perhaps even more important today because the business cycle is now in its seventh year while the market cycle is approaching its fifth. For investors, it can feel as if the same set of concerns have cycled in and out of focus, including inflation, the Fed, valuations, and more. Managing these conflicting challenges is not just a part of investing, but is why investors who stay the course are rewarded in the long run.
There will no doubt be unexpected events in the second half of the year, including developments in the ongoing Middle East conflict, the upcoming midterm election, and new market activity such as initial public offerings (IPOs). How can investors maintain perspective as these events unfold?
Key Market and Economic Drivers in the First Half of 20261
The business cycle has entered its seventh year
The business cycle affects all aspects of investing and financial planning, from mortgage costs to annual pay raises. A healthy economy drives consumer spending and business investment, fueling corporate earnings and ultimately stock market returns. So, while the stock market and economy are not the same thing, they are often closely linked. The chart above compares this cycle to other historical periods. The longest business cycles, including the one that began after the 2008 financial crisis and the 1990s during the dot-com boom, have lasted for a decade or longer.
How is the economy doing today? Inflation is high but could improve if oil prices remain low. The job market has begun to heat up again, reversing last year’s concerns over the slow pace of hiring. The dollar has stabilized and rebounded more recently, trade is still uncertain but has stabilized, and business investment has accelerated. Consumers are feeling pessimistic, but continue to spend on both necessities and discretionary items. Overall, the economy appears to be healthy despite some mixed signals, which is historically positive for financial markets in the long run.
Many asset classes have performed well this year
There are many themes behind these returns, including the strength of the economy, hopes of a peace deal in Iran, and enthusiasm around AI. Many of these factors have driven corporate earnings growth, with profits rising over 20% in the past twelve months for S&P 500 companies.2 This strong market environment has also led to a wave of high-profile IPOs, including SpaceX in the second quarter, and the anticipated listings of OpenAI and Anthropic, both AI companies.
While investors often focus on the first few days of an IPO when there are the most headlines, the real benefits accrue over a longer period. The benefit of these listings is that they broaden the opportunity set for all investors, which is especially important since many companies have been staying private longer. What matters most is how these businesses then perform over the years and decades that follow. The largest technology companies today, for instance, have grown over a long period through many market and economic cycles.
All of these positive trends do mean that U.S. stock valuations are historically high. The S&P 500 currently trades at a price-to-earnings ratio of 20x, above the long-term historical average of 16x.3 These valuation ratios do not predict what the markets will do over the next year or two. Instead, they are helpful guides for building long-term portfolios, especially when considering other asset classes and risk management. Overall, this year’s asset class returns show the importance of maintaining balance.
Inflation remains a concern but oil prices have improved
Energy price swings have directly impacted inflation rates. The Consumer Price Index rose 4.2% year-over-year in May, its highest reading in several years, with the gasoline component jumping 40.5% over the same period. Importantly, core CPI, which excludes food and energy, rose only 2.9%.5 This shows that inflation has been concentrated in fuel prices, and is not yet a broader phenomenon.
With oil prices falling recently, many economists hope that we are near peak inflation levels. This is similar to other past geopolitical shocks that affected the supply of oil, such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and many others shown in the chart above. Once the situation stabilized, oil prices often improved, bringing inflation rates back down over time.
Volatility has been manageable
Another way to think about how these market moves affect investors is via the largest pullback each year. So far, the S&P 500’s largest peak-to-trough decline in 2026 has been 9%. While pullbacks like these are never pleasant, markets tend to rebound when investors least expect it. Today, not only has the market fully recovered from its earlier pullback, but the S&P 500 has reached 24 new all-time highs so far this year.6
The first half of the year demonstrates that the most important risk for investors navigating these episodes is not the volatility itself, but how we react to them. It’s tempting to try to time the market during periods of uncertainty, but this can often backfire. Instead, it’s better to hold a portfolio that is designed to withstand all parts of the market cycle, while serving long-term financial goals. By doing so, investors can better prepare for the inevitable periods of uncertainty in the second half of the year.
It’s important to stay invested
While cash may feel safe and stable on paper, the challenge is that cash yields often do not offset inflation. For instance, the current average rates on certificates of deposit mean that the real income from cash is currently negative after adjusting for inflation.7 Even when nominal yields on money market funds and short-term instruments appear attractive, there can be challenges both due to inflation and the ability to maintain those rates. Altogether, this means that the purchasing power of cash holdings can erode over time.
Once again, this is why it’s important to instead hold a balanced portfolio that can benefit from growth, income generation, and capital preservation. This will only grow in importance as the market and economic cycle continues.
The bottom line?
The first half of 2026 has rewarded investors who stayed diversified and maintained a long-term perspective, even as geopolitical and economic headlines created short-term uncertainty.
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.
Dow Jones Industrial Average
The Dow Jones Industrial Average consists of 30 stocks that are major factors in their industries and widely held by individuals and institutional investors.
NASDAQ
The NASDAQ Composite Index measures all NASDAQ domestic and non-U.S. based common stocks listed on The NASDAQ Stock Market. The market value, the last sale price multiplied by total shares outstanding, is calculated throughout the trading day, and is related to the total value of the Index.
MSCI Emerging Markets Index
The MSCI EM (Emerging Markets) Index is a free float-adjusted market capitalization weighted index that is designed to measure the equity market performance of the emerging market countries of the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. The MSCI EM Index consists of the following emerging market country indices: Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, Hungary, Poland, Qatar, Russia, South Africa, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, China, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, and Thailand.
MSCI EAFE Index
The MSCI EAFE Index is a free float-adjusted market capitalization index that is designed to measure the equity market performance of developed markets, excluding the US & Canada. The MSCI EAFE Index consists of the following developed country indices: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK.
Bloomberg US Aggregate Bond Index
The Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index is an index of the U.S. investment-grade fixed-rate bond market, including both government and corporate bonds.
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.
Copyright (c) 2026 Clearnomics, Inc. All rights reserved. The information contained herein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but is not necessarily complete and its accuracy cannot be guaranteed. No representation or warranty, express or implied, is made as to the fairness, accuracy, completeness, or correctness of the information and opinions contained herein. The views and the other information provided are subject to change without notice. All reports posted on or via www.clearnomics.com or any affiliated websites, applications, or services are issued without regard to the specific investment objectives, financial situation, or particular needs of any specific recipient and are not to be construed as a solicitation or an offer to buy or sell any securities or related financial instruments. Past performance is not necessarily a guide to future results. Company fundamentals and earnings may be mentioned occasionally, but should not be construed as a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold the company’s stock. Predictions, forecasts, and estimates for any and all markets should not be construed as recommendations to buy, sell, or hold any security–including mutual funds, futures contracts, and exchange traded funds, or any similar instruments. The text, images, and other materials contained or displayed in this report are proprietary to Clearnomics, Inc. and constitute valuable intellectual property. All unauthorized reproduction or other use of material from Clearnomics, Inc. shall be deemed willful infringement(s) of this copyright and other proprietary and intellectual property rights, including but not limited to, rights of privacy. Clearnomics, Inc. expressly reserves all rights in connection with its intellectual property, including without limitation the right to block the transfer of its products and services and/or to track usage thereof, through electronic tracking technology, and all other lawful means, now known or hereafter devised. Clearnomics, Inc. reserves the right, without further notice, to pursue to the fullest extent allowed by the law any and all criminal and civil remedies for the violation of its rights.
Share This: