SURE: 4th Quarter 2025 Portfolio Review
Portfolio Review
US public companies added $247 billion in new stock buyback capacities during the fourth quarter of 2025. While this represents the lowest quarterly announcement in dollar term in the past two years, it was sufficient to propel the annual total to a new record high of $1.39 trillion—a 12% increase over 2024. Several major buyback programs initiated in the final quarter positively impacted SURE’s portfolio. Notably, S&P Global authorized a repurchase of up to 30 million shares (approximately 10% of its equity float) as part of a broader strategy to return 85% of its free cash flow to shareholders. Other key contributors included ON Semiconductor, which announced a robust $6 billion authorization, Moody’s with a $4 billion program, and Lockheed Martin and TechnipFMC, which each committed $2 billion to share repurchases. These maneuvers signal a strong management conviction in long-term valuations despite the broader market volatility.
Source: Qubed Capital, LLC.
Analyzing the 100 companies in SURE’s portfolio, the Information Technology sector was our primary driver of returns in Q4. Remarkably, SURE’s technology selections generated outsized absolute returns despite a lean allocation of only 20% to the sector, compared to the 35% technology weighting in the S&P 500 Index. Our conviction in the “Big Three” of semiconductor equipment—Applied Materials, Lam Research, and KLA Corp—continues to pay off. These firms are currently navigating a historic supercycle as the industry transitions toward 2nm nodes. Their specialized machines and inspection tools have become indispensable for the move to Gate-All-Around (GAA) nanosheet architecture, which is essential for the next generation of high-performance AI silicon.
Source: Bloomberg as of 12/31/2025 | NVDA = NVIDIA Corp.; LRCX = Lam Research Corp.; AMAT = Applied Materials Inc.; KLAC = KLA Corp.
In addition, a landscape shift is currently favoring SURE’s positioning: the recent outperformance of mid-cap and small-cap equities. A pivot in monetary policy, characterized by three consecutive interest rate cuts in late 2025, has narrowed the valuation gap and sparked a comeback for the Russell 2000 Index. In the second half of 2025, the Russell 2000 gained 14.85%, outpacing the 10.98% return of the S&P 500. This momentum has carried into 2026; the Russell 2000 is already up over 6% year-to-date, while the S&P 500 has remained largely flat.
Source: Bloomberg; from 6/01/25 – 1/20/26.
The start of 2026 has been marked by high-stakes geopolitical drama. The capture of Nicolás Maduro by U.S. military forces on January 3 during “Operation Absolute Resolve” sent shockwaves through global markets and ignited a rally in the energy sector. SURE is well-positioned for this volatility with a 6% exposure to energy, more than double the S&P 500’s allocation of less than 3%. More recently, market anxiety has centered on the U.S. administration’s stated desire to acquire Greenland, a proposal that has triggered trade tensions and threats of new tariffs against European allies. This ever-shifting landscape requires constant monitoring and tactical adjustments. Even established market leaders can stall without warning; for example, Nvidia, once the undisputed AI marquee name, has remained essentially flat over the past six months as investors seek value elsewhere. We believe that SURE’s active management mandate, supported by our unique “insider advantage” stock screening process, is ideally suited to navigate this complex and unpredictable environment.
Top Holdings
| Ticker | Security Description | Portfolio Weight % |
| STGW | STAGWELL INC | 1.29% |
| IRDM | IRIDIUM COMMUNICATIONS INC | 1.23% |
| LRCX | LAM RESEARCH CORP | 1.20% |
| AMAT | APPLIED MATERIALS INC | 1.20% |
| LMT | LOCKHEED MARTIN CORP | 1.18% |
| KLAC | KLA CORP | 1.16% |
| KMX | CARMAX INC | 1.14% |
| FTI | TECHNIPFMC PLC | 1.14% |
| TTC | TORO CO | 1.13% |
| CTS | CTS CORP | 1.13% |
As of 12.31.2025. Holdings are subject to change.
Respectfully,
Minyi Chen
Qubed Capital, LLC
AdvisorShares Insider Advantage ETF (SURE) Portfolio Strategist
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.