Name: First Command Advisory Services, Inc. 13F Holdings
Creator: 13F Insight

AI Analysis · Q1 2026

First Command Advisory Services' Q1 2026 13F is a $14.8B, 1,332-position fund constructed almost entirely from ETFs — and the quarter's signal is not a thematic stock bet but a deliberate factor-and-geography reallocation within the ETF wrapper. The three largest positions — IVV (iShares Core S&P 500, $5.70B, 38.4%, -$664.3M, -6.1% shares), DYNF (iShares US Equity Factor Rotation Active ETF, $1.70B, 11.5%, +$323.5M, +29.1% shares), and QQQM (Invesco NASDAQ 100, $1.13B, 7.6%, -$68.6M but +0.4% shares) — account for 57.5% of AUM and show the manager trimming passive large-cap core while aggressively adding an active factor-rotation sleeve. The 52 total changes (2 new, 2 sold, 27 increased, 21 decreased) is extraordinarily high churn for a 1,332-position portfolio, which on its face seems contradictory — but the resolution is that the fund holds 1,332 positions across dozens of ETFs, and the changes are almost entirely within the ETF sleeve construction (which ETFs to hold, in what size) rather than in single-name selection. The two new opens — DFAI (Dimensional International Core Equity, $581.0M, a new international-equity core replacing the prior IWF/IWC-style small-growth positions) and AVES (Avantis Emerging Markets Value, $106.6M, an explicit value-factor EM sleeve that excludes China) — represent a geographic and factor pivot: the manager is adding international equity and emerging-markets value while reducing developed-markets growth and broad EM (which includes China). The two sells — GOOG ($3.5M, a tiny Alphabet Class C residual) and PG ($3.3M, Procter & Gamble) — are rounding-error positions that do not reflect strategy. At a 78.25 whaleScore on $14.8B with 1,332 positions, this is a multi-factor ETF construction engine; the Q1 delta is best read as a shift in the manager's factor-timing view — adding DYNF (active US factor rotation), DFAI (international core), and AVES (ex-China EM value) while trimming the pure passive large-cap IVV core and reducing developed-markets growth (EWJ, IWF) and high-yield credit (USHY).

The core sleeve change is the IVV-to-DYNF rotation at the portfolio's apex. IVV (iShares Core S&P 500, $5.70B, 38.4%) was the fund's largest position in Q4 2025 at $6.37B (44.4%) and was reduced by $664.3M and 565,322 shares (-6.1%) — a modest but deliberate trimming of the passive large-cap anchor. DYNF (iShares US Equity Factor Rotation Active ETF, $1.70B, 11.5%) was the portfolio's largest increase in absolute terms: raised $323.5M and 6,582,878 shares (+29.1%). DYNF is an actively managed ETF that rotates between US equity factor tilts (value, momentum, quality, size) based on BlackRock's quantitative signals; the manager's $323.5M add is a vote that factor timing is generating alpha above and beyond passive S&P 500 exposure. The pairing — reduce IVV, increase DYNF — is the structural signal: the manager is moving from pure passive large-cap to an active-factor-overlay approach within US equities.

The international sleeve shows a parallel rotation. DFAI (Dimensional International Core Equity, $581.0M, new) — a Dimensional-fundamentals international equity ETF with a value-and-small-cap tilt — opened as a 14th-largest position and effectively replaces the IWF (iShares Russell Growth) and IWC (iShares Russell Microcap) positions that the fund sold in prior quarters. The manager is shifting international exposure from US-listed Russell-index ETFs toward a Dimensional-factor-tilted vehicle that screens for profitability and value — a more deliberate factor expression than cap-weighted international. AVES (Avantis Emerging Markets Value, $106.6M, new) is an equally important signal: it is an emerging-markets ETF that explicitly excludes China (the 'ex China' in the name) and tilts toward EM value names. Opening AVES while reducing broad EM (IEMG, $65.7M, +$33.6M — actually increased, but the ex-China tilt is new) and Japan (EWJ, -$30.9M, -11.7%) signals a manager that wants EM exposure but wants it expressed through value names outside of China — a geopolitical and factor-aware positioning that is more sophisticated than a simple 'I like emerging markets' call.

Quarter at a glance — Q1 2026

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