SpaceX, Private Equity, & the Fed

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

A Bizarre Future for US-China Competition?

• Derek Scissors, AEI: The contest becoming one of Chinese tech advantage versus American financial, physical, and human resources advantage looks possible now when it didn’t 13 years ago. Something to watch.

2026 Outlook: U.S. Stocks and Economy

• Liz Ann Sonders & Kevin Gordon, Schwab: We believe the macro environment will continue to be unstable given policy crosscurrents and a wobbly labor market, but stocks can likely churn higher given a firmer earnings backdrop.

Inflation Eases Enough, Giving the Fed Room to Cut

• Sonu Varghese, Carson Group: There’s a reason why there’s angst amongst Fed members to cut rates. Still, we believe most of the Fed is likely to prioritize supporting the labor market through rate cuts, and future Fed leadership changes could make easing easier.

Related:

• • • Bonds, Gold vs Bitcoin, & A NVIDIA Short
    • Lots of AI Bubble Talk
    • Q3 Review
    • Newsweek Names Stokes Family Office One of America’s Top Financial Advisory Firms 2026

MARKETS NEWS

Does Private Equity Really Beat Public Markets?

• Larry Swedroe looks at the study “Has Private Equity Outperformed Public Equity?” saying, the bottom line is that investors should be willing to pay somewhat higher expenses for superior, persistent past performance. This study reinforces the importance of robust, risk-aware measurement of alternative investments, urges allocators to temper return expectations, and emphasizes active manager vetting for PE exposure in diversified portfolios.

Will The Bond Market’s 2025 Rally Extend Into The New Year?

• The Capital Spectator: Beneath the surface are hints that 2026 could be a more challenging environment for fixed income amid swirling cross-currents for policy and macro factors.

After Years of Resisting It, SpaceX Now Plans to Go Public. Why?

• Eric Berger: Much of the AI race comes down to amassing and deploying assets. Musk has never shied away from risks. So doubling down on his most successful asset in this moment is precisely what one would expect him to do.

Related:

• • Market Timing & The Fed’s AI Challenge
  • Stokes Family Office Ranked Top RIA Firm by Financial Advisor Magazine For Third Consecutive Year
  • Stokes Family Office Welcomes Daniel Becker as Managing Director

CHART OF THE WEEK

The real frenzy starts once the most hyped companies go public.

• Space: SpaceX

• Defense: Anduril

• Al: OpenAl, Anthropic, xAl

• Robotics: Figure Al, Apptronik

• Fintech: Stripe, Revolut

• Crypto: Kraken, Ripple

• Chips: Groq, Cerebras

• Cloud: Databricks

Via The Fullstack Investor

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.