From corporate earnings and rising interest rates to the November midterm elections, there is no shortage of developments keeping the investment team at Carnegie Investment Counsel on its toes. As we enter the final months of 2026, investors are navigating a market shaped by resilient consumer spending, persistent inflationary pressures and the rapid evolution of artificial intelligence (AI). With AI continuing to dominate market headlines, we're also looking beyond the technology sector to identify opportunities across the broader economy.

With plenty of moving parts in the market, we're closely monitoring these developments while keeping our focus on long-term investment opportunities. Here's a closer look at the key trends and events we're watching as we approach year-end.

Over the last few weeks, investors reading the news headlines, tuning into CNBC or checking their account balances, have taken note of an uptick in volatility. It’s hard not to pay attention when markets turn choppy. Some begin to wonder if they should take action.

But market ups and downs—what investors call volatility—aren’t a sign that something is wrong. They’re a normal part of how investing works. We all want the long-term growth that comes from owning stocks. What we don't want are the uncomfortable stretches that come with it. Unfortunately, you can't separate the two. The superior long-term returns equities provide relative to other asset classes are available precisely because markets are uncertain and prices move around.

As 2026 draws to a close, investors are facing some important questions. How will higher interest rates affect stocks and bonds? Are artificial intelligence companies living up to their valuations? And could the index funds many investors rely on be exposing them to more risk than they realize?

In this edition of Front Row with Carnegie, our investment and financial planning professionals discuss these questions, along with year-end planning opportunities that could make a difference in your financial picture. Below are some of the key takeaways from the conversation, or you can watch the full discussion in the video below.

Medicare, our federal health insurance program, plays an important role in retirement planning for most Americans age 65 and older. While Medicare provides valuable coverage, the choices can be complicated, and making the right decisions at the right time is important. If you are already enrolled, the annual Open Enrollment Period is your main opportunity to review your coverage and make changes for the coming year. This year, Open Enrollment runs from October 15 through December 7. As that window approaches, it’s a good time to take another look at how Medicare works and some of the key decisions that can affect both your coverage and your costs.

Most of us have imagined what we might do if we received an inheritance someday. And in our imaginations, we tend to be pretty good at it. We know what we’d do with the money, what we definitely wouldn’t do, and how we’d make sure it changed our lives for the better.

It’s pretty easy to make smart financial decisions with money you don’t actually have yet.

But when an inheritance becomes more than a hypothetical, the decisions tend to get more complicated.

As a Certified Financial Planner, I’ve helped people work through many of those decisions. And while every situation is different, there are some questions that come up again and again.

In this inheritance Q&A, I’ll walk through seven of them:

• I just received an inheritance. What’s the first thing I should do?
• Can an inheritance help me retire early?
• Should I use my inheritance to pay off my mortgage?
• Should I keep my inheritance separate from my spouse?
• What happens when you inherit money in a trust?
• Can you say no to an inheritance?
• Should I financially help my kids now or leave it as an inheritance?

Some of these decisions may have a clear answer for you. Others may depend on your financial situation, your family and what you want the money to make possible. The important thing is knowing what to consider before you decide.

Fall means cooler weather, changing leaves, and for investors it's another earnings season. Between the Fed's new rate-hike cycle, Big Tech's ongoing AI spending spree, and consumers gearing up for the holidays, there's a lot to watch this month.

At Carnegie Investment Counsel, we're focused on three things: what companies are actually getting for their AI investments, how healthy the consumer really is, and whether rising energy prices start feeding back into inflation.

If you've started looking for a financial advisor, you've probably heard the word "fiduciary" thrown around a lot.

It sounds reassuring, like a seal of approval. But there's an uncomfortable truth: being a fiduciary establishes minimum legal duties, not a guarantee of unconflicted advice. Two advisors can both legally call themselves fiduciaries while working under very different quality of service models, compensation structures, incentives, and levels of transparency.

That distinction matters more than many investors realize.

This guide walks through what fiduciary duty actually requires, how a fiduciary can still have conflicts of interest, why fee-only matters, and the questions that will tell you more about an advisor than just looking for the word "fiduciary".

One of the biggest questions you’ll face as you approach retirement is when to claim Social Security. Your claiming age can make a significant difference in how much you receive. You can generally begin collecting retirement benefits at age 62, but doing so can significantly reduce your monthly benefit compared with waiting until your full retirement age (FRA), which ranges from 66 to 67 depending on your birth year. For someone whose FRA is 67, claiming at 62 can reduce your monthly retirement benefit by about 30%.

The incentives also work in the other direction. Once you reach FRA, your benefit generally increases by 8% for each year you delay claiming until age 70. That means the difference between claiming at 62 and waiting until 70 can be substantial.

Semiconductor stocks were the story of the first half of 2026. The NYSE Semiconductor Index was up 114% through June 30. The index's top holdings include Nvidia, Micron, Advanced Micro Devices, Broadcom and Intel.

So far, the third quarter has been a very different story. As of September 3, the index was down 22% for the quarter. Despite that decline, it remains up 67% for the year.

Interestingly, the decline in the index has not been driven by weakness in the underlying earnings of the companies. In fact, the major semiconductor companies have generally reported very strong results.

As we head into September, the investment team at Carnegie continues to monitor key data that will impact market conditions. Interest rates remain elevated; inflation continues to be a concern, and the enormous investment behind artificial intelligence is creating opportunities as well as risks. At the same time, the strength of the consumer is becoming more difficult to assess, and markets continue to rotate beneath the surface.

Against that backdrop our focus remains on understanding what is driving portfolio performance, maintaining diversification and being selective about where we take risk.