SURE: 3rd Quarter 2026 Portfolio Review
Portfolio Review
Against this backdrop, the AdvisorShares Insider Advantage ETF (SURE) demonstrated its resilience, finishing the third quarter with a decline of -3.18% (NAV) / -3.27% (market). Because SURE equally weights its 100 holdings, it behaves more like the average stock than like a market-cap weighted index, and the average stock had a difficult summer. Still, SURE held up considerably better than its peers: Morningstar’s Mid-Cap Blend category average fell -3.96% over the same three months. Zooming out, the picture comes into even sharper focus. Year-to-date, SURE is up 13.18% (NAV) / 13.04% (market) versus 10.24% for the Mid-Cap Blend category, and over the trailing twelve months it has returned 17.23% (NAV) / 17.48% (market) compared to 11.46% for its peers and 15.13% for the Russell 3000 Index. As of September 30, 2026, SURE ranked in the top 18% of 366 funds in Morningstar’s Mid-Cap Blend category for the one-year period, the top 15% of 349 funds for the five-year period, and the top 10% of 277 funds for the ten-year period, based on total return.¹ We believe the fund’s results since its September 2022 strategy change reflect the discipline of the quantitative model behind this ETF.
Energy was the portfolio’s clear winner. The sector rose 17.20%, and SURE held roughly 10% in energy companies, more than twice the sector’s weight in the S&P 500. Refiners Marathon Petroleum (MPC) and Valero Energy (VLO) led the way, growing 55.09% and 49.40%, respectively, in the third quarter. Software was the other bright spot as investors rotated away from the semiconductor trade in August. Fortinet (FTNT) has more than doubled since we added it to the portfolio at the end of 2025, with Freshworks (FRSH), which we added at the end of April, up more than 50%. On the other side of the ledger, the portfolio’s 17% allocation to industrials, well above the sector’s weight in the S&P 500 Index, was the main drag as the sector sold off on higher rates.
Companies have not stopped buying back their own shares, even as spending on artificial intelligence competes for the same dollars. On September 28, Nvidia (NVDA), a holding in SURE, added $150 billion to its repurchase program, the largest single increase in history, lifting its remaining capacity to $235 billion. In total, U.S. public companies authorized $330 billion in new buybacks during the quarter, bringing the total for the first three quarters to $1.34 trillion, $200 billion more than the same period in 2025.
Source: Qubed Capital. January 1, 2024 to September 30, 2026.
At the October rebalance, our quantitative model replaced 55 of the 100 holdings, and the resulting portfolio looks quite different from the one that entered the summer. Health care more than doubled to eleven names, with Cardinal Health (CAH), McKesson (MCK), and Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) among the additions; the sector gained 6.5% last quarter and offers earnings stability should the economy slow under the weight of higher rates. Energy was trimmed to 6.5% after its strong run, with Exxon Mobil (XOM), Chevron (CVX), and Devon Energy (DVN) exiting while the refiners stayed. That is still well above the sector’s weight of under 4% in the S&P 500. Within technology, the model rotated out of six semiconductor names, including Applied Materials (AMAT) and Marvell Technology (MRVL), and into software and IT services companies such as Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) and VeriSign (VRSN). Technology now accounts for 18.70% of SURE compared to roughly 40% of the S&P 500 Index. Notably, the portfolio no longer holds any utilities or real estate, the two sectors most exposed to a 10-year yield above 5%.
Consumer discretionary has become the largest sector at 19.60%, with retailers Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF), Ralph Lauren (RL), Ulta Beauty (ULTA), and Williams-Sonoma (WSM) joining the portfolio. These are companies that pulled back during the quarter yet continue to repurchase shares aggressively, and with unemployment at 4.10% the consumer heads into the holiday season on reasonably firm footing. As always, no sector exceeds 20% of the portfolio.
Looking ahead, investors face midterm elections, a Fed that may not be finished tightening, and an S&P 500 in which the ten largest companies now make up more than 40% of the index. We believe a balanced portfolio of companies with the free cash flow to keep repurchasing their own shares is well suited to such an environment. SURE‘s 100 holdings collectively have $540 billion worth of stock buyback capacity, dry powder that insiders can put to work on any further weakness.
Top Holdings
| Ticker | Security Description | Portfolio Weight % |
| FTNT | FORTINET INC | 1.96% |
| MRVL | MARVELL TECHNOLOGY INC | 1.91% |
| AMPL | AMPLITUDE INC-CLASS A | 1.83% |
| MPC | MARATHON PETROLEUM CORP | 1.70% |
| KFRC | KFORCE INC | 1.55% |
| AMAT | APPLIED MATERIALS INC | 1.46% |
| IRDM | IRIDIUM COMMUNICATIONS INC | 1.43% |
| FRSH | FRESHWORKS INC-CL A | 1.42% |
| VLO | VALERO ENERGY CORP | 1.40% |
| DVA | DAVITA INC | 1.36% |
As of 09.30.2026. Holdings are subject to change.
Past Commentary
– A buyback (or repurchase) occurs when a company repurchases its own shares from the marketplace, reducing the number of shares outstanding. – An insider is an officer, director, executive, entity, or individual that owns more than 10% of a publicly traded company’s shares. – Insider buying is the legal purchase of shares in a firm by a corporate insider that is not based on non-public, material information and follows the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s rules and reporting requirements. – The S&P 500 Index is a broad-based, unmanaged measurement of changes in stock market conditions based on the average of 500 widely held common stocks. One cannot invest directly in an index.
*On September 1, 2022, the AdvisorShares DoubleLine Value Equity ETF (the “Predecessor Fund”) was renamed the AdvisorShares Insider Advantage ETF. The Predecessor Fund had different portfolio managers and investment strategy than the AdvisorShares Insider Advantage ETF. Performance prior to September 1, 2022 reflects the Fund’s performance prior to the change in manager and investment strategy and may not be indicative of the Fund’s performance under the new manager and revised investment strategy. Performance since September 1, 2022 reflects actual AdvisorShares Insider Advantage ETF performance.
Before investing you should carefully consider the Fund’s investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. This and other information is in the prospectus or summary prospectus, a copy of which may be obtained by visiting the Fund’s website at www.AdvisorShares.com. Please read the prospectus carefully before you invest. Foreside Fund Services, LLC, Distributor. The Fund’s investment focus follows a core philosophy that corporate insiders know their companies best. The Advisor believes that insider buying and stock buyback programs not only show that corporate insiders see relative value in investing in their own company’s equity securities, but also create favorable market conditions by reducing public equity float (i.e., the share supply available to investors on the public secondary market). The Advisor allocates the Fund’s portfolio using research from a disciplined and quantitative proprietary model, the U.S. Insiders Edge Model, developed by Qubed Capital, LLC. In utilizing the model, the Advisor seeks to remove emotion from day-to-day decision-making by following a systematic process. The Fund is an actively-managed exchange-traded fund (“ETF”) that seeks to achieve its investment objective by primarily investing in a portfolio of U.S. traded companies selected from a universe of the largest 3,000 U.S. equity securities based on market capitalization. When models and data prove to be incorrect or incomplete, any decisions made in reliance thereon expose the Fund to potential risks. In addition, the use of predictive models has inherent risk. The views in this commentary are those of the portfolio manager/strategist and may not reflect his views on the date this material is distributed or anytime thereafter. These views are intended to assist shareholders in understanding their investments and do not constitute investment advice.
The Morningstar Rating™ for funds, or “star rating,” is calculated for managed products (including mutual funds, variable annuity and variable life subaccounts, exchange-traded funds, closed-end funds, and separate accounts) with at least a three-year history. Exchange-traded funds and open-ended mutual funds are considered a single population for comparative purposes. It is calculated based on a Morningstar Risk-Adjusted Return measure that accounts for variation in a managed product’s monthly excess performance, placing more emphasis on downward variations and rewarding consistent performance. The top 10% of products in each product category receive 5 stars, the next 22.5% receive 4 stars, the next 35% receive 3 stars, the next 22.5% receive 2 stars, and the bottom 10% receive 1 star. The Overall Morningstar Rating for a managed product is derived from a weighted average of the performance figures associated with its three-, five-, and 10-year (if applicable) Morningstar Rating metrics. The weights are: 100% three-year rating for 36-59 months of total returns, 60% five-year rating/40% three-year rating for 60-119 months of total returns, and 50% 10-year rating/30% five-year rating/20% three-year rating for 120 or more months of total returns. While the 10-year overall star rating formula seems to give the most weight to the 10-year period, the most recent three-year period actually has the greatest impact because it is included in all three rating periods. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
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SURE received three stars for the 3-year rating among 366 funds, four stars for the 5-year rating among 349, four stars for the 10-year rating among 277 funds, and four stars for the overall rating among 366 funds in Morningstar’s Mid-Cap Blend category as of September 30th, 2026.