AI wunderkind flies too close to sun, incinerates billions Mickey Kim / August 21, 2026 It’s hard to imagine, but I started my undergrad studies at the University of Illinois 50 years ago this month. Yikes! My favorite first-semester class was Classical Civilizations 101, taught by Professor Richard Scanlan, who [...]
“Walk like Messi” to win investing World Cup Mickey Kim / July 24, 2026 With the United States hosting the FIFA (Federation Internationale de Football Association) World Cup 2026, interest in soccer has skyrocketed. FIFA tracks every player’s movement using arrays of high-resolution cameras mounted throughout each stadium, [...]
Dear Clients: U.S. stocks rebounded sharply in the second quarter of 2026, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq posting their biggest quarterly rallies since 2020 as stronger-than-expected corporate earnings outweighed concerns about geopolitical conflict, inflation and slowing economic growth. By June 2, the S&P 500 had notched its 24th all-time high of [...]
Is AI frenzy a replay of late ‘90s “dot-com” bubble? Mickey Kim / June 26, 2026 The stock market has a knack for déjà vu. Watching artificial intelligence (AI) stocks soar, it’s hard not to think back to the late 1990s, when anything with “dot-com” in its [...]
Trump Accounts: What Families Need to Know - Podcast In this special edition of the Kirr Marbach Market Update Podcast, Director of Client Service Zach Greiner, CFP® and Director of Operations Maggie Kamman, CFP® discuss the newly announced Trump Accounts program. The conversation covers who may be eligible, the proposed $1,000 government [...]
Kirr, Marbach Recognized as “Top Gun” by PSN for 3-Year Period Ending March 31, 2026 PSN “Top Guns” list published by Zephyr identifies best-in-class separate accounts, managed accounts, and managed ETF strategies. Columbus, Indiana—May 20, 2026—Kirr, Marbach & Company, LLC announced today it has been named to the PSN “Top Guns” [...]
“Trump Accounts”: Focus on merits, not the branding Mickey Kim / May 29, 2026 The new “Trump Accounts (“TAs”),” launching July 4, 2026, arrive wrapped in the kind of political branding that practically guarantees half the country will cheer before reading the fine print and the other [...]
Q1 2026 Market Recap - Podcast In this episode, Director of Client Service Zach Greiner, CFP®, and Chief Investment Officer Mark Foster, CFA, recap a volatile first quarter and the key factors that weighed on markets, including geopolitical tensions, labor market softness, and policy uncertainty. They dive into the rapid evolution of [...]
Dear Clients: U.S. stocks began 2026 on a strong note, with the S&P 500 reaching four all-time highs and peaking at 6,978.60 on January 27—approximately 2% above its 2025 closing level. In our Q4-2025 Client Letter (January 6, 2026), we noted that three consecutive years of double-digit gains (2023-2025) is extremely rare, [...]
Investors caught between AI utopia and AI doom loop Mickey Kim / March 27, 2026 Hollywood has long been fascinated by artificial intelligence (AI), portraying it as a miraculously powerful force--for good and evil. I have a special affinity for Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Terminator, who explained how Cyberdyne Systems’ [...]
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Associate Director of Client Service |
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Current Board Member and Vice President of Sans Souci. Past president of Sans Souci and Columbus Young Professionals. Finance Mentor for Turning Point’s Dance Marathon. Leadership Bartholomew County – 2014 and Coalition for Collaborative Learning – 2015. Zach was previously a Credit Analyst and Commercial Lender for MainSource Bank and, most recently, Financial Advisor for Raymond James. Zach joined KM in 2018. |
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Associate Director of Client Service |
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Current member of Heritage Fund Bartholomew County Grants Committee and First Presbyterian Preschool Policy Board. Before joining KM in 2018, Maggie was a financial analyst at Cummins, Inc. |
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Roger Lee, CFA, CPA
Senior Research Analyst |
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Roger joined KM as a Senior Research Analyst in 2016. Prior to joining KM, he sharpened his research skills while on the investment teams of Pacific View Asset Management, the Artisan Partners Global Equity Fund, and Tradewinds Global Investors, a subsidiary of Nuveen Investments. He began his career in assurance services at Ernst & Young. Roger has been a licensed Certified Public Accountant in the State of New York since 2010. |
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Collin Foster, CFA
Research Analyst and Fixed Income Portfolio Manager |
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Collin joined KM as an Equity Analyst in 2015. Prior to joining KM, he worked as a credit analyst and credit manager at MainSource Bank. |
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Mickey Kim, CFA
Managing Partner, Chief Operating/Compliance Officer |
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Mickey was Senior Research Analyst at Driehaus Capital Management, a Chicago investment management firm, from 1982 to 1985. Mickey joined KM in 1986 and has been the firm’s Chief Operating Officer since 1996 and Chief Compliance Officer since 2004. |
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Mark D. Foster, CFA
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Managing Partner, Chief Investment Officer, Portfolio Manager |
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Mark was formerly associated with American Fletcher National Bank (now JP Morgan Chase, Indiana, NA) as a research analyst from 1980 to 1982 and with Merchants National Bank as a portfolio manager/research analyst from 1982 to 1984. From 1984 to 1987 he was associated with Merchants Investment Counseling Inc. as Director of Equity Strategy, directly responsible for managing approximately $200 million of equity assets. Mark joined KM in 1987 and has been the firm’s Chief Investment Officer since 1997. |
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Matt Kirr
Partner, Director of Client Service |
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Current Board Member of Heritage Fund Bartholomew County and Foundation for Youth. Past president of Foundation for Youth, the Day Nursery Foundation Board, and past vice-chairman of the Make-a-Wish Foundation of Indiana. Matt was previously a Vice President and Private Banker for Bank One, N.A. and, most recently, McDonald Financial Group. Matt joined KM in 2005. |
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Darrell H. “Kip” Wright, CFA
Partner, Portfolio Manager, Senior Research Analyst |
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Kip was a Trust Investment Manager for various banks in Iowa from 1982 through 1995, most recently with Brenton Bank, N.A., with responsibilities of overall strategy and equity selection. Kip joined KM in 1995 and is a portfolio manager and senior research analyst. |
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Colin King, CFA
Senior Research Analyst |
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Colin joined KM as an Equity Analyst in 2012. Prior to joining KM, he worked in assurance services with Ernst & Young and in business valuation with Blue & Co., both CPA firms. Colin has been a licensed Certified Public Accountant in the State of Indiana since 2012. |
