Howard Financial's $888B Defensive Portfolio Leads Monday's Filings as Institutional Money Shelters in Dividend ETFs and Fixed Income

Executive Summary

Today's 13F filings are dominated by three wealth management and advisory firms collectively reporting over $1.3 trillion in assets under management. The standout is Howard Financial Services, Ltd., which disclosed an $888 billion portfolio heavily weighted toward dividend-focused and quality-factor ETFs — a clear defensive posture that prioritizes income generation and downside protection over growth. This is the largest single filing by AUM we've tracked this week and signals a continued institutional preference for income stability as the VIX remains elevated at 23.87.

Carolina Wealth Advisors filed a $240 billion portfolio that reads like a fixed-income playbook: Schwab Long-Term Treasury ETFs, BNY Mellon Core Bond ETFs, TIPS, and high-yield bond ETFs dominate the top holdings. The defensive tilt is unmistakable. Meanwhile, InTrack Investment Management's $175 billion portfolio offers the most balanced exposure of the three, with meaningful positions in Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT), NVIDIA (NVDA), and Palo Alto Networks (PANW), though even InTrack hedges with substantial iShares Treasury and Fidelity Total Bond ETF allocations.

Today's top signals: (1) Howard Financial Services — $888B portfolio with extreme dividend/quality-factor ETF concentration suggesting defensive repositioning. (2) Carolina Wealth Advisors — $240B portfolio overwhelmingly allocated to fixed income and TIPS, a potential inflation hedge. (3) InTrack Investment Management — $175B balanced portfolio with $5.15B in Palo Alto Networks (PANW), a notable cybersecurity conviction bet. Of the 30 total filings processed today, 27 contained no position data — including Malaysia's Employees Provident Fund Board and known value investor Greenhaven Associates, whose actual holdings remain opaque pending full filing availability.

Important 45-day delay note: These 13F filings report positions as of the prior quarter-end. Current portfolios may differ significantly, particularly given the recent VIX spike from 25 to 31 in late March before moderating to the current 23.87 level. Positions disclosed today reflect decisions made before that volatility event.

Today In Numbers

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The most striking data point today is the 27-to-3 ratio of empty filings to substantive ones. While many of these represent smaller RIAs filing on schedule without parsed position data, the three substantive filings collectively control $1.3 trillion — making today's dataset top-heavy but analytically rich. The positive yield curve (10Y-2Y at +0.50) and stabilizing VIX (down 23% from the March 27 peak) provide macroeconomic context for the defensive-but-not-panicked positioning we observe across all three major filers.

Notable Filer Deep Dives

Howard Financial Services, Ltd. — $888.0 Billion AUM

• Filing: 13F-HR, filed 2026-04-07, period of report not specified. Accession: 0001768130-26-000002. SEC EDGAR
• Portfolio summary: 223 total positions, $888.0B total value. Top 5 holdings represent 30.7% of portfolio — a moderate concentration level suggesting diversified-but-convicted positioning.
• Top 10 holdings table:

Rank	Company	Shares	Value ($M)	% of Portfolio

|---|---|---|---|---|

• What changed: This is the first time we are processing this filing in our dataset — prior quarter comparison is not available. No historical baseline exists to determine new vs. increased vs. exited positions.
• Sector allocation: Other/ETFs 85.0%, Technology 8.4%, Automotive 4.0%, Consumer 0.7%, Healthcare 0.7%, Energy 0.6%, Financials 0.6%, Communications 0.1%
• The signal: Howard Financial's portfolio is a textbook defensive-income playbook. The top three holdings — iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor (QUAL), Schwab US Dividend Equity (SCHD), and Vanguard Dividend Appreciation (VIG) — collectively account for 22.4% of the portfolio and all screen for high-quality, dividend-paying companies. The presence of three bond ETFs in the top 10 (GTO, HTRB, PTRB) totaling $101.7B reinforces the income mandate. Apple (AAPL) at $34.9B is the only individual equity in the top 10, suggesting this is a core-satellite strategy where ETFs provide the base and select mega-caps add alpha. The 4.0% allocation to Automotive ($35.2B) is unexpectedly large and warrants monitoring — this could represent a significant position in Tesla (TSLA) or a major traditional automaker.

Carolina Wealth Advisors, LLC — $240.1 Billion AUM

• Filing: 13F-HR, filed 2026-04-07, period of report not specified. Accession: 0001437749-26-011555. SEC EDGAR
• Portfolio summary: 278 total positions, $240.1B total value. Top 5 holdings represent 27.6% of portfolio.
• Top 10 holdings table:

Rank	Company	Shares	Value ($M)	% of Portfolio

|---|---|---|---|---|

• What changed: First filing processed in our dataset — prior quarter comparison is not available.
• Sector allocation: Other/ETFs 85.4%, Healthcare 6.9%, Consumer 2.8%, Communications 2.4%, Technology 2.2%, Automotive 0.3%, Financials <0.1%, Energy <0.1%
• The signal: Carolina Wealth's portfolio screams fixed-income conviction. Four of the top six holdings are bond ETFs spanning long-duration Treasuries (SCHQ), core aggregate bonds (BKAG), inflation-protected securities (SCHP), and high-yield corporates (SPHY). This is not a simple flight to safety — the TIPS position ($12.4B) signals active inflation hedging, while the high-yield allocation ($9.7B) indicates willingness to accept credit risk for yield. The individual equity picks are revealing: Merck (MRK), Gilead (GILD), and Cisco (CSCO) are all defensive, high-dividend names. Southern Copper (SCCO) at $4.7B is the contrarian outlier — a commodities play that could reflect an inflation/real-assets thesis consistent with the TIPS allocation.

InTrack Investment Management Inc — $175.5 Billion AUM

• Filing: 13F-HR, filed 2026-04-07, period of report not specified. Accession: 0001847343-26-000002. SEC EDGAR
• Portfolio summary: 108 total positions, $175.5B total value. Top 5 holdings represent 17.7% of portfolio — the most diversified of today's three substantive filers.
• Top 10 holdings table:

Rank	Company	Shares	Value ($M)	% of Portfolio

|---|---|---|---|---|

• What changed: First filing processed in our dataset — prior quarter comparison is not available.
• Sector allocation: Technology 15.6%, Other/ETFs 76.1%, Financials 3.5%, Healthcare 2.1%, Consumer 2.0%, Energy 0.7%
• The signal: InTrack presents the most balanced and interesting portfolio of the day. The core-satellite structure is clear: S&P 500 and bond ETFs provide the base, while individual names like AAPL ($6.4B), MSFT ($5.4B), PANW ($5.2B), and NVDA ($4.8B) provide growth and thematic exposure. The Palo Alto Networks position is particularly notable — at $5.15B and nearly 3% of the portfolio, this represents meaningful cybersecurity conviction at a time when the sector is facing both elevated threat landscapes and compressed valuations. The Dimensional International Value and US Targeted Value ETFs suggest a value factor tilt that balances the growth-heavy mega-cap names. The Fidelity Enhanced International ETF position ($6.5B) indicates active international diversification, unusual among US-based advisory firms of this size.

Sector Flow Analysis

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The aggregate sector picture from today's filings tells a clear story: institutional money is sheltering in passive vehicles and fixed-income wrappers (the "Other/ETFs" category at $1.09T) while maintaining selective technology exposure through mega-cap names. The Technology allocation ($106.9B across all three filers) is driven almost entirely by the usual suspects — Apple, Microsoft, NVIDIA, Palo Alto Networks, and Cisco — rather than speculative growth names.

The most conspicuous absence is Energy, which accounts for just $6.4B (0.5% of total disclosed assets) across all filings. Given the current oil price environment and geopolitical tensions, the near-zero energy allocation across three sizable portfolios suggests these advisors are either underweight the sector by conviction or have rotated energy exposure into commodity ETFs that fall under the "Other" classification.

The Automotive sector's $35.8B allocation (2.7% of total) is disproportionately concentrated in Howard Financial's portfolio and likely represents one or two large positions. This warrants follow-up monitoring in subsequent filings to determine whether this is a sector bet or an issuer-specific conviction.

Activist And Concentration Watch

Today's batch does not include filings from any recognized activist investors (Icahn, Ackman, Elliott, Starboard, Third Point, ValueAct, Trian, or Jana Partners). However, several concentration signals warrant attention:

Howard Financial Services — iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF (QUAL): 10.86% of portfolio ($96.5B)

While this is an ETF rather than a single-name concentration, a 10.86% allocation to a single vehicle controlling $96.5 billion is functionally a high-conviction bet on the quality factor. If the quality factor underperforms — as it tends to during sharp risk-on rallies — this position would create meaningful tracking error against broad benchmarks. This is not activist behavior, but it is an unusually large concentration in a factor bet that deserves monitoring.

Carolina Wealth Advisors — Southern Copper Corp (SCCO): $4.67B position

Southern Copper is a mid-cap mining company with a market capitalization of approximately $75B. While Carolina's $4.67B position represents only 1.95% of its own portfolio, the absolute dollar amount is significant relative to SCCO's float. If Carolina's position represents actual direct equity ownership (rather than a look-through from an ETF), this could approach a level requiring 13D/13G disclosure monitoring. The position is notable because it's the only pure commodities play in an otherwise fixed-income-dominated portfolio — suggesting a deliberate inflation-hedging thesis rather than incidental exposure.

InTrack Investment Management — Palo Alto Networks (PANW): $5.15B (2.94% of portfolio)

Palo Alto Networks at nearly 3% of a $175B portfolio represents $5.15 billion in a single cybersecurity name. This is the largest individual-stock technology position outside of AAPL and MSFT across all three filings today. With PANW's market cap around $130B, InTrack's position could represent approximately 4% of outstanding shares — approaching (though not reaching) the 5% 13D/13G threshold. This signals institutional conviction in cybersecurity that pre-dates the most recent quarterly earnings.

Employees Provident Fund Board (EPF) — Filed twice, no position data

Malaysia's EPF is one of the largest pension funds in Asia with over $250B in AUM. The fund filed two separate 13F-HRs today (accession numbers 0001600177-26-000051 and 0001600177-26-000052) but neither contained parsed position data in our dataset. This is a significant monitoring gap — EPF's US equity positions, when disclosed, regularly move markets in the names they accumulate. Portfolio managers should access these filings directly on EDGAR for the complete position data.

Contrarian Signals

Today's filings present several potential contrarian reads worth monitoring:

Fixed Income Conviction vs. Rate Cut Expectations

Carolina Wealth Advisors' massive long-duration Treasury position (Schwab Long-Term US Treasury ETF at $17.7B, plus $12.7B in BNY Mellon Core Bond and $12.4B in TIPS) is a contrarian signal in the context of a 3.64% federal funds rate that has been stable for weeks. If these positions were established at quarter-end when rates were at similar levels, Carolina is effectively betting on either (a) further rate cuts beyond what the market is pricing, or (b) a flight-to-quality event that would push long-duration Treasuries higher. The bear case: the Fed pauses here and long-duration bonds underperform in a range-bound rate environment.

Tech Conviction Despite Elevated VIX

InTrack's combined $21.7B in individual technology names (AAPL + MSFT + PANW + NVDA) represents meaningful risk-on positioning at a time when the VIX only recently declined from 31.05 to 23.87. The bull case: these are best-in-class companies with strong free cash flow that will outperform regardless of volatility. The bear case: the VIX's decline from 31 to 24 may be a head fake in an unresolved volatility regime, and concentrated tech positions amplify drawdown risk.

Dividend/Quality Over Growth

All three substantive filers show a pronounced tilt toward dividend-paying, quality-screened equities over high-growth names. Howard Financial's top three holdings are all quality/dividend ETFs. Carolina's individual equity picks (MRK, GILD, CSCO) are all mature, high-payout companies. Even InTrack's tech picks (AAPL, MSFT) are the dividend-paying mega-caps rather than unprofitable growth stories. In a market where the S&P 500 has rallied from 6,343 to 6,611 (up 4.2%) over the past two weeks, this defensive posture is either prudent risk management or a missed-rally risk. The contrarian question: are these advisors right to stay defensive, or are they fighting the tape?

Southern Copper (SCCO) as Lone Commodities Bet

Carolina's $4.67B SCCO position stands out as the only direct commodities exposure across all 30 filings today. With copper prices elevated on infrastructure spending expectations and electrification demand, this is either a well-timed real-assets allocation or a concentrated bet in a notoriously cyclical sector. The smart money divergence: neither Howard nor InTrack has any meaningful commodities exposure, making Carolina an outlier.

What To Watch This Week

1. April 8 — NVIDIA (NVDA) GTC Spring Announcements

NVIDIA typically releases product roadmap updates in early April. InTrack's $4.85B position makes this a direct catalyst. Any weakness in data center demand guidance could pressure the stock — and given InTrack's 2.76% portfolio weight, this moves the needle.

2. April 9 — March CPI Report

The inflation print is critical for Carolina Wealth's fixed-income-heavy portfolio. A higher-than-expected CPI would validate the $12.4B TIPS position but could pressure the $17.7B long-duration Treasury allocation. All three filers have meaningful bond exposure that is rate-sensitive.

3. April 10 — Palo Alto Networks (PANW) Analyst Day

InTrack's $5.15B position in PANW makes this the single most impactful company-specific event this week. Management guidance on annual recurring revenue (ARR) and platformization strategy will determine whether this conviction bet is validated.

4. April 11 — Major Bank Earnings Begin (JPM, WFC, C)

Financial sector earnings kick off with JP Morgan, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup. While none of today's filers have large direct financial sector positions, the earnings will set the tone for credit markets — directly relevant to Carolina's $28.1B in bond ETFs and Howard's $101.7B in bond holdings.

5. April 14 — Fed Governor Waller Speech

Any signals on rate path will impact the duration-heavy portfolios disclosed today. Carolina's long-duration Treasury bet is the most exposed — a hawkish pivot would create headwinds for the entire fixed-income allocation.

6. April 7-11 — SEC 13F Filing Deadline Watch

We are in the post-quarter filing window. Expect a significant increase in 13F filings this week as the 45-day deadline approaches for Q1 2026 holdings reports. The 27 empty filings today may represent early shell filings that will be amended with position data in coming days — particularly the Employees Provident Fund Board filings, which should contain substantial US equity positions.

7. Copper Prices — Ongoing

Monitor copper futures for validation of Carolina's $4.67B Southern Copper (SCCO) position. Any tariff escalation affecting copper imports or Chinese demand signals will directly impact this holding, which is the only pure commodities play across today's filings.

Bottom Line

The institutional money is sheltering in income and quality. Across $1.3 trillion in disclosed assets from today's three substantive 13F filings, the dominant theme is unmistakable: dividend ETFs, quality-factor screens, and fixed-income allocations are taking precedence over growth positioning. Even the filer with the most aggressive tech exposure (InTrack) limits individual equity bets to proven cash-flow generators like Apple and Microsoft rather than speculative names. Carolina Wealth's overwhelming fixed-income tilt — with nearly half of its top holdings in bond ETFs and TIPS — is either brilliant positioning ahead of a macro deterioration or an opportunity cost if the recent S&P 500 rally extends. The biggest surprise today is what's absent: zero energy exposure of any significance, zero activist filings, and 27 out of 30 filings with no parsed position data (including Malaysia's EPF, whose actual holdings could move markets when disclosed). The #1 filing a portfolio manager should read in full today is Howard Financial Services' $888 billion disclosure (EDGAR link) — its 10.86% concentration in the iShares Quality Factor ETF tells you exactly where this cycle's defensive money is hiding.