Updated May 24, 2026 · 2187 articles
Insights
Research, news and field guides on institutional positioning. Powered by real SEC filings — 13F, 13D/G, Form 4.
Constructivist vs Aggressive Activism
Some activists collaborate with management; others wage public proxy fights. Here's the spectrum from constructivist to aggressive activism and why the style matters.
Marcus ChenKey-Person Risk: When a Fund Is One Person
Many tracked funds depend on a single star manager. Here's why key-person risk matters when you follow a fund's 13F — and how a leadership change can show up in the data.
Sarah MitchellA Fund's First 13F: Why New Filers Are Worth Watching
Every quarter, funds cross the $100M threshold and file a 13F for the first time, revealing a once-private book in full. Here's how to read a debut filing.
Sarah MitchellSurvivorship Bias: The Trap in Following Famous Funds
Tracking only legendary investors hides the many who used the same strategies and failed. Here's how survivorship bias distorts 13F analysis — and how to avoid it.
Sarah MitchellStyle Drift: When a 13F Stops Matching the Mandate
A value fund full of growth stocks? A small-cap manager holding megacaps? That's style drift. Here's how to spot it in a 13F and why it matters.
Sarah MitchellPod Shops: Reading a Multi-Manager Platform's 13F
Millennium and Citadel run hundreds of independent pods, and their 13Fs aggregate them all. Here's why a pod shop's filing rarely reflects a single view.
Marcus ChenCrossover Funds: The Public-Private 13F
Crossover funds like Coatue invest before and after IPOs — but their 13F shows only the public half. Here's how to read a crossover fund's filing.
Sarah MitchellMaverick Q1 2026: A Tiger Cub Rotates Beyond Semis
Lee Ainslie's Maverick trimmed semiconductors and added Nu Holdings +92%, Boston Scientific +76%, plus new RTX and Argan in Q1 2026 — a Tiger cub broadening its growth book.
Marcus ChenValueAct 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.
Marcus ChenFounder-Led Companies: Why Investors Seek Them
Many long-term investors favor founder-led companies for their alignment and long-term mindset. Here's why the theme recurs in 13Fs — and the governance risks.
Sarah MitchellInsurance Float: Why Insurers Hold Big Stock Portfolios
Insurers like Berkshire run huge equity 13Fs thanks to float — premiums they invest before paying claims. Here's how float works and why it makes insurers great investors.
Sarah MitchellPension Funds as 13F Filers: How to Read Them
CalPERS and state retirement systems file 13Fs too — but their books are largely indexed and externally managed. Here's how to read a pension fund's filing.
Sarah MitchellCapital Allocation and Buybacks: Reading How Firms Use Cash
How management spends a company's cash — reinvesting, acquiring, or buying back stock — can make or break an investment. Here's why it shapes quality 13F portfolios.
Sarah MitchellTotal 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.
Marcus ChenReturn on Invested Capital: The Quality Metric
ROIC measures how well a company turns capital into profit, and it's the number quality investors care about most. Here's why ROIC drives so many 13F portfolios.
Sarah MitchellWhat Is an Economic Moat? A Quality-Investing Guide
A moat is the durable competitive advantage that lets a company defend its profits for years. Here are the types of moats and how to spot a moat-driven 13F.
Sarah MitchellSoutheastern 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.
Marcus ChenTrian 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.
Marcus ChenAkre 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.
Marcus ChenHow 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.
Marcus Chen