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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.
Asset Location vs. Asset Allocation in Financial Planning
Even the healthiest seed will struggle if it is planted in the wrong type of soil. Investments can work the same way since some assets benefit from being placed in specific vehicles, particularly when it comes to how they are taxed. This idea is often referred to as “asset location,” which doesn’t refer to where assets are held geographically. Instead, it is the practice of placing each investment in the account type where it can grow most efficiently. This might include a taxable brokerage account, a tax-deferred account like a traditional IRA or 401(k), or a tax-free account like a Roth IRA.
This matters because most investors spend a lot of time thinking about what to invest in. But where you hold those investments can matter just as much. Unlike asset allocation, which is how investors diversify across asset classes like stocks and bonds, the main idea behind asset location is for investors to maximize their after-tax outcomes. After all, this is the amount that matters for your financial planning needs. Ultimately, the goal of asset location is to maximize the likelihood of reaching your financial goals over your lifetime. What important factors should investors consider today?
Matching the right investment vehicle and account type matters
There are two keys to understanding asset location. The first is that investment accounts can be broadly characterized as taxable and tax-advantaged. Taxable accounts are those where gains are subject to taxes such as ordinary income rates, capital gains rates, and more, depending on the specific circumstances. In contrast, tax-advantaged accounts help to shield gains from taxes but come in many different forms with specific rules.
The second key is that investments can differ in how “efficient” they are when it comes to taxes. An investment is considered tax-inefficient when a share of its return is lost to taxes each year, usually because it produces income taxed at ordinary income rates, such as interest from corporate bonds, or because it frequently distributes short-term capital gains, as some funds do.
The goal of asset location then is to hold tax-inefficient investments in accounts where their income is sheltered from taxes, and use taxable accounts for other investments, including those that will likely be held long-term or already receive relatively favorable tax treatment.
While this concept may seem simple, it requires careful planning in practice because there are often limits to the amount of investments made in tax-advantaged vehicles and rules around when funds can be withdrawn.
Account types provide multiple opportunities
Given this, taxable accounts are generally well-suited for tax-efficient or tax-exempt investments, such as low-dividend stocks held for the long run, and exchange traded funds (ETFs) with low turnover. Municipal bonds are another example, since their interest is generally exempt from federal, and in some cases state income tax. Although these accounts don’t come with built-in tax benefits, certain strategies, such as tax loss harvesting or charitable gifting, can help manage annual taxes.
Tax-advantaged accounts can cover a variety of vehicles such as Roth IRAs, employer-sponsored 401(k) plans, and more. For Roth IRAs, for instance, contributions are non-deductible, but earnings can grow tax-free, and qualified withdrawals are also not taxable. This can make Roth accounts particularly attractive for assets with higher expected growth, since most of the potential appreciation can compound without creating a future tax liability.
This is different from traditional IRAs, which allow pre-tax contributions while withdrawals are taxed at ordinary income rates. Since all of the earnings are reinvested tax-free, the aggregate balance can grow faster than in a standard taxable account. Such accounts are ideal for income-heavy or tax-inefficient assets that would otherwise generate annual taxable income. Examples include high-yield fixed income securities, high-dividend stocks, and Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs).
Planning considerations for long-term strategies
Investors should always begin building their strategy by considering their individual needs, including liquidity, major expenses, higher education, retirement income, and time horizon, to help determine the right mix. This includes weighing the pros and cons of strategically holding funds in specific types of accounts.
One major consideration, for example, is the balance between long-term investing and short-term liquidity, or locking money away for a longer period of time but losing the ability to access those funds when needed. A Roth IRA, for instance, can serve as a liquidity valve because original contributions can be withdrawn tax- and penalty-free at any time.3
For estate planning, there are many other considerations. For example, taxable brokerage accounts are traditionally seen as short-term liquidity pools and can be effective vehicles for transferring wealth upon death because assets receive a step-up in basis when transferred, so heirs avoid larger capital gains taxes and preserve more wealth for transfer.4
Additionally, investors can match assets to specific financial purposes across both Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) and education funds. HSAs offer a unique triple-tax advantage, making it an excellent vehicle for long-term growth if you can pay current medical bills out of pocket and let the balance grow over time. Similarly, for education funding goals, investors can use 529 plans to grow assets tax-free.
Future tax laws can change which may impact asset location strategies. Investors should consider the increased management complexity and time required to monitor and adjust this strategy over time.
Finally, taxes are only one consideration when it comes to financial planning, so asset location should support investors’ broader financial objectives, not just lower taxes in the current tax year. For retirees, this can mean optimizing asset placement to support tax-efficient withdrawals by drawing from taxable accounts first to preserve tax-free growth. For accumulators, it can also mean magnifying after-tax compounding and turning incremental savings into greater lifetime value.
Instead of viewing these accounts in isolation, investors can unlock their full tax efficiencies by treating them as an interconnected system. When it comes to investing and retirement planning, asset location considerations play an important role in your investment strategy. While many investors focus on fine-tuning what assets they own, the decision of where to place those assets is also important.
The bottom line?
Asset location can support financial goals, bridging investment strategy and tax planning. By aligning the right account structures with the right asset types, and viewing these choices through the lens of broader financial planning, investors can potentially enhance after-tax returns without changing their overall investment mix.
References
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