Marcus Chen
Senior Market Analyst
Senior Market Analyst at 13F Insight. Covers institutional portfolio strategy, 13F filings, and smart money trends.
A note from Marcus
Hi, I'm Marcus. I spent six years on the buy side staring at 13F filings for a hedge fund, and the thing that bothered me most wasn't the work — it was knowing that the average investor never gets to see what I was looking at, even though it's all public.
That's why I'm here. Every research piece you'll see under my name comes from real SEC data, run through real institutional logic, and translated into something you can actually act on. I write long when the data deserves it and short when it doesn't.
If you ever spot a number that looks off, email me. I'd rather be corrected than wrong.
Articles by Marcus Chen (524)
- Research
ValueAct Q1 2026: A Constructivist Activist's 18 Stocks
ValueAct's constructivist-activist book holds just 18 names — Visa, Amazon, Salesforce, BlackRock, Meta lead — concentrated stakes it engages over years.
- Learn
Total Return Swaps: The Exposure a 13F Can't See
A fund can have huge exposure to a stock that never appears in any 13F — through total return swaps. Here's how they work and why they're a disclosure blind spot.
- Research
Southeastern Q1 2026: Longleaf's Deep-Value Adds
Southeastern's Longleaf book added aggressively to out-of-favor value names in Q1 2026 — Rayonier +90%, Fortune Brands +83%, Mattel +49% — far from the megacap crowd.
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Trian Q1 2026: Peltz's 8-Stock Activist Book
Nelson Peltz's Trian holds just 8 positions, with 86% in Janus Henderson, GE Aerospace, and Solventum — activism expressed through extreme concentration.
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Akre Q1 2026: Trimming Its Quality Compounders
Akre Capital's concentrated compounder book — Mastercard, Moody's, Visa, Roper — shrank 32.7% in Q1 2026 amid heavy trims, with FICO and Roper the exceptions.
- Learn
How an Activist Campaign Works
Filing a 13D is only the opening move. Here's the activist playbook — from quietly building a stake to proxy fights — and how it shapes reading an activist's holdings.
- Learn
Concentrated vs Diversified: Two Ways to Build a 13F
One fund holds 11 stocks; another holds over a thousand. Here's the trade-off between concentration and diversification — and how to read each from a 13F.
- Learn
What a Gold Miner in a 13F Signals
A gold miner like Newmont in a fund's book is a leveraged bet on gold — usually a hedge, not a growth play. Here's how to read gold exposure in a 13F.
- Learn
Special-Situation Investing: Betting on Catalysts
Some funds buy stocks for a specific event — a spinoff, merger, or breakup — not the long-term business. Here's how special-situation investing shows up in a 13F.
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Gabelli Q1 2026: A Hyper-Diversified Value Book
Mario Gabelli's book holds just 13.5% in its top 10 and 86% in a long tail of value and special-situation names — diversification as an explicit strategy.
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Edgewood Q1 2026: A Growth Book More Than Halved
Edgewood Management's concentrated growth book has fallen from ~$37B to $15.5B amid outflows. In Q1 2026 it trimmed ASML and Nvidia while adding Netflix and Axon.
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Brandes Q1 2026: A Global Deep-Value Book
Brandes runs a diversified, contrarian global value book — Grifols, Citi, Mohawk, Shell — and added aggressively to cheap cyclicals like Mohawk (+137%) in Q1 2026.
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Pershing Square Q1 2026: Ackman Buys Microsoft, Exits Alphabet
Bill Ackman's 11-stock book opened a major Microsoft position (15% of assets) and nearly exited Alphabet in Q1 2026, while adding to Amazon — a big-tech rotation.
- Learn
Net vs Gross Exposure: Why a 13F Can Mislead
A hedge fund's 13F shows only longs, so it can't reveal net or gross exposure. Here's what those terms mean and why a big long book may carry little market risk.
- Learn
Merger Arbitrage: Reading a Deal-Driven 13F
Some funds bet on whether deals close, not where stocks go. Here's how merger arbitrage works and how to recognize a deal-driven book in 13F filings.
- Learn
Crowded Trades and Hedge Fund Hotels, Explained
When dozens of hedge funds own the same stock, it's a crowded trade. Here's why crowding is both a validation signal and a hidden risk — and how to read it in 13Fs.
- Research
London Co Q1 2026: A Quality, Low-Volatility Book
The London Company of Virginia holds durable, quality names — Apple, Berkshire, Norfolk Southern — and in Q1 2026 added to utility Dominion while trimming Corning.
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Fred Alger Q1 2026: 12.5% in Nvidia, Growth Conviction
Fred Alger, a growth-investing pioneer, holds 12.55% in Nvidia and added to it through a 10.7% drawdown — high-conviction growth anchored by AI leaders.
- Research
Diamond Hill Q1 2026: Trim Everything, Add Microsoft
Diamond Hill cut most of its value book 17-37% in Q1 2026 as its value slid 18% — while raising Microsoft 400%, the lone high-conviction exception.
- Learn
What a Financials-Heavy 13F Signals
When banks and insurers lead a fund's book, it's a bet on rates, credit, and the economy. Here's how to read a financials-heavy 13F — and which financials matter.