First, consider the history. It was 1932, during the depths of the nation’s Great Depression, that securities analysts William Duff and George Phelps identified the pressing need among institutional investors for high quality, objective research and analysis of the security offerings from utility companies. More than 90 years later, the firm and its sound reputation continue to endure by pursuing a limited number of specialized investment strategies.

Then consider present-day Duff & Phelps, a firm nearing a century of operation, under the decade-plus leadership of current president David Grumhaus, a man who earned his stripes at Goldman Sachs and William Blair. There was also the lesson learned at Copia Capital — a new utility- and energy-focused hedge fund being launched in Chicago — before finding his way to his current assignment.

He was five years into his 10-year tenure at Copia, and all the signs were auspicious. On the strength of its burgeoning financ