Five Q4 2025 Filers Show the Allocation Spectrum From ETF Fortress to Mega-Cap Core

Q4 2025 offered a useful reminder that not every large 13F should be read the same way. Wick Capital, Mengis Capital, Nuveen, Amundi, and Stenger Family Office all reported large portfolios, but their structures span the full spectrum from ETF fortress to stock-led core.

TL;DR

• Wick: wrapper-led concentration, with ITOT and other ETFs doing most of the talking.
• Mengis: huge reset activity, but still a familiar Apple-Microsoft-led opening statement.
• Nuveen: broad institutional core with selective growth acceleration in Netflix and ServiceNow.
• Amundi: mega-cap core plus an optionality sleeve through convertibles and tactical adds.
• Stenger: family-office style hybrid with a higher top-five weight and more thematic flavor.
• Key lesson: top-five concentration and new-position count tell you more than headline AUM alone.

The ETF Fortress End of the Spectrum

Wick sits at one edge. A filing can show hundreds of lines and still be functionally concentrated if the top wrappers own the implementation. That is why the presence of ITOT, VTI, and IVV matters more than a random stock deep in the list.

The Broad-Core Reset Middle

Mengis and Nuveen both show that high activity does not have to mean radical style change. Mengis rebuilt aggressively but still landed in Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, JPMorgan, and Chevron. Nuveen stayed broad and then used its biggest percentage adds to lean into growth. Both are active. Neither is chaotic.

The Structural Optionality End

Amundi and Stenger demonstrate a different point. Once the basic mega-cap core is in place, managers can express judgment through secondary sleeves. For Amundi, that shows up in structured additions. For Stenger, it shows up in a hybrid of familiar tech leaders and thematic wrappers.

What Investors Should Actually Compare

Comparing these filers by AUM alone is almost useless. Compare them by top-five weight, by how many new lines they added, and by whether the top of book is dominated by wrappers or by individual stocks. That is the framework that separates real portfolio-construction signals from spreadsheet noise.

Questions Investors May Ask

Why is top-five concentration more useful than raw holdings count?

Because holdings count can hide the fact that a handful of wrappers or stocks still dominate the economic exposure.

What does a large new-position count tell us?

It tells us the portfolio architecture moved, but not necessarily that the manager changed style. You still need to inspect where the biggest weights landed.

Which filing in this group looks most like a classic allocator?

Wick, because the wrappers dominate the opening slots and define the implementation.

Which filing looks most like a broad active core?

Nuveen, because the top of the book is diversified and the strongest signal comes from selective growth adds rather than from overwhelming concentration.