A recent report from The Wall Street Journal highlighted that OpenAI fell short of some of its internal expectations for user growth and revenue in 2026. In addition, ChatGPT did not reach its goal of one billion weekly active users by the end of 2025, instead finishing the year with an estimated ~800 million.

I work at a Registered Investment Advisor firm. I am not, however, a financial person. I’m a regular person. I do not manage portfolios. I do not read prospectuses for fun.

I play a supporting role at Carnegie Investment Counsel. As Marketing Coordinator, my job is to draw out the insights and guidance from the big brains of the financial professionals around me and get it out in front of the people who actually need it. That's you. Blogs, videos, emails, educational content. That kind of thing. I'm an ideas-and-words person in a room full of math-and-numbers people.

One thing we absolutely share, though: A genuine desire for clients to get the objective, transparent, and personalized investment services they deserve. Not to be dramatic, but I love my job.

So, even though I’m not a financial person, I am adjacent to some of the smartest financial minds around, and I soak up as much as I can. Naturally, I assumed some of that had to be rubbing off on my own financial life. I've done the things. I have a will. I have beneficiaries named. I have signed important-looking documents in important-looking offices.

Plus, I’m young.

Okay, yeah, I was born in the 1900’s but still… estate planning is a problem for future me. I was not worried.

So imagine my surprise on a random Thursday when I showed up to what I thought was just another workshop to take notes for content ideas and walked out texting my husband: "WE NEED TO SCHEDULE A MEETING WITH AN ESTATE PLANNER, like yesterday!"

Here’s what happened:

As we move into May, one of the most familiar phrases in investing tends to resurface: “Sell in May and go away.” This year, that saying may not apply. While headlines remain filled with geopolitical tension and economic uncertainties, the market itself continues to show a notable degree of resilience. Here’s what the Carnegie Investment Team is honing in on for the month.

A strong estate plan is not just about having documents in place. Over time, your life evolves, your family changes, and past decisions may no longer reflect your current situation. If it has been a while since you reviewed these details, it is worth taking another look to ensure your plan plays out the way you intend.

Major endowment donors and their families are increasingly concerned about what happens to charitable gifts when nonprofit institutions close.

In 2025, 15,000 churches and sixteen colleges closed in the United States.Many fraternal and social organizations have continued a decades long decline, with clubs, lodges, and chapters consolidating or disappearing. Many arts organizations, including small museums, have also closed.

Some projections suggest these trends may continue due to demographic, social, and economic factors.

As institutions disappear, donors and their families are beginning to ask important questions:

• What happens to the property and endowment funds of these organizations?
• What happens to planned gifts or bequests if the nonprofit no longer exists?
• How closely will donor intent be honored?

The answers are not always straightforward.

As we move into April, several familiar forces are converging at once. Tax season is coming to a close, earnings season is set to begin, and renewed geopolitical tensions are influencing markets — most visibly through energy prices. While these may appear to be separate headlines, they are interconnected parts of a broader environment the market is working to process. This is typical for this time of year: periods of short-term uncertainty often emerge even as the underlying, longer-term foundation remains more stable than the headlines suggest.

For many collectors, building a collection is a lifelong pursuit. Fine art, rare watches, classic automobiles, coins, jewelry, or wine often reflect years of curiosity, expertise, and personal passion. Over time, these pieces may also become some of the most valuable assets a person owns.

But there’s a question many collectors don’t spend much time thinking about while they’re building their collection: what will happen to it when they’re no longer the one managing it?

For many people, taxes are something that get settled once a year in April. But the U.S. tax system does not work that way. The IRS operates under a “pay-as-you-go” system, which means taxes are generally expected to be paid throughout the year as income is earned.

For individuals who receive a regular paycheck, this happens automatically through withholding. But for many investors, retirees, and self-employed individuals, income often comes from sources that do not automatically withhold taxes, such as dividends, capital gains, business income, or retirement account withdrawals. In those situations, estimated tax payments may be required.

On February 22nd, Citrini Research posted a report titled “The 2028 Global Intelligence Crisis” by Citrini and Alap Shah. The self-described thought exercise theorized a scenario in which Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) destroys more jobs than it creates. The results are economically catastrophic.

 From a seasonal perspective, March is not typically known for any major changes in market dynamics. The month is often quieter with tax season emerging, earnings season’s completion, and investors analyzing early-year market direction. Despite the lack of obvious activity, several meaningful developments are unfolding that warrant our investment team’s attention.