AI & Future Prosperity

Each week, the Stokes Family Office staff puts together a list of our favorite news and updates on all things wealth management. From financial planning, portfolio construction, tax and estate planning, and retirement plan services to anything we found interesting.  Enjoy this week’s curated list for your weekend reading!

ECONOMY NEWS

There is No AI Apocalypse

• Jeremy J. Siegel:  The recent report by Citrini Research paints a frightening future of massive AI- induced unemployment, crashing stock markets, rising default rates, and a general descent into economic chaos. But such a prediction has no historical or economic basis. Let us envision the following scenario.

AI’s High Hopes

• Joachim Klement: The AI “Rorschach test” – Optimists see rising adoption and believe productivity gains will finally materialize. Skeptics point out that, after three years of adoption, productivity improvements remain modest and largely limited to creative tasks such as writing and image generation — possibly suggesting that meaningful gains are still elusive.

Let’s Imagine a World of Universal Prosperity—It’s Actually Easy If You Try

• James Pethokoukis: If the 20th century proved anything, it’s that sustained growth can transform human prospects—and that progress pessimism, however fashionable, often offers the least reliable forecast of all.

Related:

• • • Energy Stocks, Housing, & the Overstretched Consumer
    • Shelter Inflation & The AI Gamble
    • A New Fed Chair, Manufacturing, & Diversification
    • Newsweek Names Stokes Family Office One of America’s Top Financial Advisory Firms 2026

MARKETS NEWS

New Private Credit Data Contradicts the Recent Risk Narrative

• Cliffwater: New data does not support the heightened risk narrative around private credit—and, if anything, shows it has performed robustly and remains structurally resilient. The negative narrative stems from inappropriate comparisons and misunderstanding of how private credit functions versus public credit markets.

Stock Market Concentration Has Surpassed Its 1930s Peak. Should Investors Worry?

• Dan Lefkovitz: A historically concentrated market isn’t necessarily bad, but it does pose risks.

The Analog World

• Josh Brown: I can always tell when I’m seeing a video that’s been created by AI or reading a paragraph in an article that’s been authored by it. I know it’s AI because I have an instant revulsion to it, almost like an allergic reaction or a mental gag reflex. It’s hard to describe. It’s what the Gen Z girls refer to as “the ick” and it’s real.

CHART OF THE WEEK

Charlie Bilello (Creative Planning) says this is the “Reversal of Everything.”

2026 YTD:

– International Stocks > US Stocks

– Small & Mid Caps > Large Caps

– Value Stocks > Growth Stocks

– Mag 7 in the Red

Stokes Family Office is 100% Family Owned, and has been continually operating in the New Orleans Area for over 35 years.  As a family office, we are focused on family wealth, financial planning, and tax planning. We are your local experts for Gulf South wealth management. Want to hear more from our team? Check out the Lagniappe Podcast.