Jobs, Self-Driving Cars, & Q3 Returns

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, retirement plan services to anything we found interesting.  Enjoy this week’s curated list for your weekend reading!

ECONOMY NEWS

The US Really is Two Economies in One

• Joachim Klement writes about the top 20% vs. the rest, and how tax cuts, the US budget, and tariffs affect both groups of people.

Why Is Job Growth So Slow When GDP Is So Strong?

• Torsten Sløk says there are three reasons why job growth is slow: 1) Lower immigration, 2) AI implementation 3) fewer government jobs, and notes where he believes the Fed should focus.

Self-Driving Cars Are Miracle Drugs

• Derek Thompson: Driverless vehicles aren’t just a gadget or novelty, but a public health innovation with the power to prevent tens of thousands of deaths annually.

Related:

• • Q3 Review
  • Stoke Family Office Named Top RIA Firm by Forbes for 4th Straight Year
  • Debt, Data Centers, & Gold
  • Reactions to Fed Signals
  • Stokes Family Office Welcomes Daniel Becker as Managing Director

MARKETS NEWS

2025: Q3 Returns

• Novel Investor: Through nine months, both international and emerging markets have outperformed both U.S. large and small caps by a wide margin. The obvious question is: is this another one-off year or the start of a longer trend, much like the one experienced during the early 2000s?

Invest Like You Are Bad at Making Predictions

• Joe Wiggins: Most financial market commentary involves forecasts about the future that are hastily discarded and wilfully forgotten, and many investment approaches are founded on taking bets about the complex interactions of economies and asset prices. The problem with all this activity is that the world is a highly uncertain place, and we are wildly overconfident in our ability to foresee what will happen next.

OpenAI’s Rising Tide Strategy

• M.G. Siegler argues that OpenAI and its partners are creating circular investment structures that feed into each other, betting that continued growth will sustain the model

Related:

• • Stokes Family Office Ranked Top RIA Firm by Financial Advisor Magazine For Third Consecutive Year
  • The Stock Market & The Economy Are Diverging
  • Viewing the Economy Through Different Lenses

CHART OF THE WEEK

The top 10 companies in the S&P 500 have continuously evolved over the years. From oil, manufacturing, and consumer staples…to digital manufacturing. It will be fascinating to see what comes from the next 10 years of this AI revolution. Via J.P. Morgan Asset Management.

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.