Strategic Shift: Why a Major Fund Allocated 2.1% to a High-Return Concentrated ETF

In late January 2026, Capital Planning LLC made a notable portfolio adjustment by establishing a position in the Akre Focus ETF, committing $7.45 million and acquiring 114,952 shares. This move carries broader significance for how institutional investors are thinking about concentrated equity strategies. The decision to allocate 2.1% of managed assets to a focused fund targeting 15% long-term returns reflects a deliberate bet that disciplined stock selection can still outperform in today’s market environment.

Capital Planning’s Strategic Entry Into Akre Focus

According to SEC filings dated January 22, 2026, Capital Planning LLC initiated its stake in AKRE (the ticker for Akre Focus ETF) through a significant capital commitment. The $7.45 million investment represents a meaningful conviction play for the fund, which until recently maintained holdings primarily in broad-based index products and factor-tilted strategies.

As of the filing date, AKRE shares traded at $62.64, reflecting an 11% decline from the fund’s October 2025 launch. Despite the near-term pullback, the move signals that Capital Planning believes the long-term value proposition remains compelling.

Concentrated Holdings Now Comprise 2.1% of AUM

The Akre Focus ETF position now accounts for 2.1% of Capital Planning’s reportable 13F assets under management. To contextualize this allocation, Capital Planning’s portfolio remains heavily weighted toward traditional index exposure:

Top five holdings after the filing:

• S&P 500 tracker: $45.79 million (12.8% of AUM)
• Microsoft: $26.21 million (7.3% of AUM)
• Quanta Services: $26.05 million (7.3% of AUM)
• Growth-focused ETF: $25.64 million (7.2% of AUM)
• Dividend strategy fund: $16.68 million (4.7% of AUM)

By contrast, the 2.1% allocation to AKRE represents a deliberate tilt toward a non-diversified, actively managed approach. This positioning suggests Capital Planning is comfortable accepting higher volatility in exchange for differentiated performance potential.

How a 15% Track Record Attracts Institutional Capital

The Akre Focus ETF’s appeal rests on its disciplined fundamental approach and impressive historical performance. The fund has delivered 15.5% annualized returns over the past three years on a net asset value basis—a track record that stands out in a competitive ETF landscape.

Akre accomplishes this through a selective stock-picking methodology. The fund maintains a concentrated portfolio typically holding fewer than 50 positions, with each selection based on durable competitive advantages, proven management execution, and the ability to reinvest earnings at high rates of return. As of late January, the fund’s top five holdings—including Mastercard, Visa, Moody’s, Brookfield, and Constellation Software—comprised approximately 50% of total assets.

This concentrated approach comes with a 0.98% expense ratio, reflecting active management costs. However, Akre’s historical performance suggests the active fees have been justified by net-of-fees returns. The fund also benefits from a deep operational history, having operated as a mutual fund for over a decade before converting to ETF status in late 2025—providing investors with a longer track record than its recent public listing might suggest.

What Concentrated Bets Reveal About Market Strategy

Capital Planning’s decision to add AKRE alongside its substantial positions in index funds offers a revealing insight: despite the dominance of passive investing, institutional money managers still believe selective stock picking can add measurable value at the portfolio margin.

The 2.1% allocation is modest relative to the fund’s overall index holdings, yet meaningful enough to suggest genuine conviction. By maintaining the bulk of assets in low-cost, broad-based exposure while allocating a focused 2.1% to a high-conviction 15%-returning strategy, Capital Planning is essentially hedging two competing investment theses—capturing broad market participation while reserving capital for managers who practice disciplined, quality-focused security selection.

This positioning reflects broader industry thinking: as passive index investing dominates institutional flows, the remaining alpha opportunities increasingly flow to concentrated strategies that can identify and capitalize on business-level distinctions that broad indices cannot capture. The 15% historical returns that Akre has generated represent exactly this kind of differentiation.

For investors evaluating their own portfolios, Capital Planning’s move underscores that the diversified-versus-concentrated debate may be a false choice. A core-satellite approach—combining broad index exposure with strategic allocation to focused funds—potentially harnesses the stability of markets while maintaining exposure to concentrated value creation.