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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.
Data Centers, Tech Volatility, and the Midterm Election Results
The stock market has swung in both directions in the days following the midterm election, driven primarily by technology and AI-related stocks. For financial markets, perhaps the most closely watched issue is the outlook for data center construction.
This is because the buildout of data centers has been a significant driver of economic activity and corporate profits as companies set up the infrastructure needed for AI applications. The midterm election results and related ballot measures suggest that voters are in favor of restricting this construction across all levels of government.
These developments add to pressures on technology stocks, which have contributed to portfolio returns in recent years but are also facing questions about valuations, interest rates, and whether large AI infrastructure buildouts will pay off. At the same time, volatility in these parts of the market is normal, and returns have been strong over longer time horizons. What do the latest election results mean for markets, and how can investors maintain a broader perspective?
Voters largely sought to restrict data centers
These measures varied in scope, covering zoning, electricity and water usage, and rules specific to data centers. For example, one measure in Kansas banned “high-impact” data centers, defined as facilities using more than 10 megawatts of electricity or 100,000 gallons of water per day, for 10 years. Towns in New Hampshire and Maine approved temporary moratoriums on new construction.
The one exception in the latest election was Harwood, North Dakota, a town of roughly 850 people, where about three-quarters of voters rejected stricter review requirements on large industrial projects. The result clears the way for construction to continue on a $3 billion data center campus. The reported reason was that a data center would likely have been built nearby regardless of how they voted. By allowing it within town limits, the community could capture tax revenues and other economic benefits.
The tension between the construction of infrastructure and the needs and desires of local communities is not new, but is accelerating due to the rapidly growing demands of AI applications.
Historical parallels include the construction of oil and gas drilling sites, which many communities have long considered by weighing environmental and quality-of-life concerns against jobs and tax revenues. The same “Not In My Backyard” (NIMBY) dynamic also occurs with highways, power plants, cell phone towers, and more. Data centers are the latest example of a large industrial buildout affecting residential communities, raising concerns about power usage, water consumption, and the scale of these facilities.
Another parallel is the construction of large job-creating factories, which many towns and cities historically fought to obtain. An extreme version of this was the industrial towns of the 19th and 20th centuries, where manufacturing plants, mills, and production lines were not just central to local economies, but had towns that were built around them. In many cases, these facilities brought economic benefits to their communities, including jobs, tax revenues, and local investment. In hindsight, these towns had a mixed track record, and history shows that a high dependence on a single economic engine can create challenges, in addition to issues such as environmental concerns, noise, and strain on local infrastructure.
Data centers are following a similar pattern with the key difference being that they are typically capital intensive, meaning they require lots of investment and equipment, but are not necessarily labor intensive. The fact that data centers are not necessarily a significant long-term source of jobs for local communities appears to be an important reason for the pushback that ballot results have shown.
Data center construction has supported the economy
Spending on these facilities has grown in terms of its contribution to economic activity. As the chart above shows, data center construction spending, not including the hardware inside, has risen sharply since the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022. The Census Bureau estimates it has risen to $96 billion on an annualized basis, well above the roughly $49 billion spent on all other office construction.2 This buildout is one reason the gross private domestic investment component of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which measures business spending on structures, equipment, and more, accelerated to 3.3% in the third quarter, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis.3
It’s important to distinguish between the potential long-term benefit of AI that many are hoping for, such as productivity gains, improved profit margins, and new business models, from what is currently driving AI trends. Today, it’s the physical construction of infrastructure that has been propelling economic activity and financial markets when it comes to AI.
This is similar to the railroad boom of the 19th century, where laying rail lines created jobs and demand for steel and other materials. However, this was separate from the longer-term gains that faster transportation eventually delivered to the entire economy. Restrictions on data centers may affect the pace of construction activity, but whether AI applications truly do boost productivity and provide real economic benefits is what will determine the longer-term trajectory of AI adoption.
Technology and AI stocks can be volatile
The market’s reaction has not been the same across all AI-related companies. Semiconductor makers and so-called “neoclouds,” which are new public companies that provide cloud computing services, experienced sharper declines in the days following the election. In contrast, large “hyperscalers,” the companies that are funding the AI buildout, did not see their share prices pull back as much, although they have been under stress due to concerns over their cash flows.
Pullbacks like these are not unusual, even for companies with strong long-term fundamentals. In 2022, when interest rates rose rapidly, the Magnificent 7 declined by nearly 50% before recovering and generating healthy returns for long-term investors. More broadly, transformational technologies have often faced public and regulatory resistance during their buildout phases.
Of course, today’s volatility also reflects uncertainty. It is not yet clear whether new restrictions will be widespread and lasting, or whether economic incentives will lead many communities to support data center development over time. For investors, this is a reminder that AI does not represent a single investment, but instead is a long-term theme that can support portfolios over time.
The bottom line?
The midterm election has raised new questions about the pace of data center construction across the country. However, recent volatility is not unusual, and maintaining a long-term perspective with a well-balanced portfolio remains the best way to navigate these periods.
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
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.
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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