Lido's Q1 Portfolio Shift
Lido Advisors Trims Major Holdings, Rebalancing Portfolio Across Diverse Markets
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Key Points
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Lido's move regarding SPYM highlights the fund's leveraged, 2x exposure to SPY: SPYM is a 2X long SPY monthly ETF designed to provide twice the SPY price movement, and it was described as an actively managed instrument launched by Tradr.
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IWP remains highly concentrated among institutional investors, with hedge funds and other institutions owning about 74.49% of iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF (IWP), per the filing context.
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ACWI trading context: ACWI opened at $156.19, with a 50-day moving average of $156.29, providing a reference point for the quarter’s price action in the iShares MSCI ACWI ETF.
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VTWO trading context: VTWO opened at $118.73, with a 50-day moving average of $117.75, offering a snapshot of its near-term technicals during the period Lido reduced its stake.
Lido Advisors LLC trimmed its stakes across five major holdings in the first quarter of 2026, cutting its Morgan Stanley position by 18.5% and slashing its State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF stake by 39.2%, according to Watchlist News. The Los Angeles-based wealth manager, which oversees roughly $33 to $38 billion in assets, sold a combined 494,911 shares across the five positions as part of a broad rebalancing effort.
The moves touched every major market segment — large-cap, mid-cap, small-cap, and international equities. Analysts describe the quarter's activity as a textbook profit-locking rebalance after an extended market rally.
Lido Cuts Five Positions From Morgan Stanley to Small-Cap ETFs
Lido sold 47,324 Morgan Stanley shares, leaving it with 208,195 shares worth about $34.26 million. Its biggest percentage cut came in the State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF (SPYM), where it dumped 274,937 shares — a 39.2% reduction — leaving 426,058 shares valued at $32.61 million, per Watchlist News.
The firm also sold 116,899 shares of the iShares MSCI ACWI ETF, a 34.7% cut, leaving 219,746 shares worth $30.41 million. It trimmed the Vanguard Russell 2000 ETF (VTWO) by 13.9%, selling 44,696 shares and holding 276,952 shares worth $27.74 million. Finally, it cut its iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF (IWP) stake by 5.4%, selling 11,055 shares and retaining 193,236 shares valued at $24.76 million.
The SPYM Ticker Has a Complicated and Surprising History
The ticker "SPYM" has not always meant what it does today. In August 2024, Tradr ETFs launched it as a leveraged 2X monthly S&P 500 fund — meaning it aimed to deliver twice the daily price move of the popular SPY ETF. That fund was shut down and liquidated by February 28, 2025, after institutional demand dried up.
State Street grabbed the vacant ticker on October 31, 2025, and rebranded its existing SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF under the SPYM name. The fund now charges just 0.02% per year in fees — cheaper than Vanguard's VOO at 0.03%. That ultra-low cost made it the U.S. Treasury's chosen default fund for newly created "Trump Accounts," tax-advantaged savings accounts for American children seeded with a one-time $1,000 government deposit.
Trump Accounts Send Billions Flowing Into State Street's SPYM
President Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act on July 4, 2025, creating the Trump Accounts program. On July 1, 2026, the Treasury picked SPYM as the exclusive default investment. The accounts launched publicly on July 4, 2026 — the nation's 250th birthday. Over 6 million families enrolled by that month, with 1.4 million children qualifying for the $1,000 federal seed money.
Bloomberg Intelligence senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas called State Street's win "one of the biggest distribution victories in ETF history." SPYM has already surpassed $150 billion in assets. Private donors piled on too — Michael and Susan Dell pledged $6.25 billion, or $250 per child for up to 25 million lower-income kids. Ray Dalio separately committed $75 million for children in Connecticut.
IWP Stays Tightly Held as Lido Frees Up Cash for New Bets
Despite Lido's 5.4% trim in IWP, the iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF remains heavily concentrated. Hedge funds and institutions control about 74.49% of the fund's outstanding shares. That tight grip means even a relatively small block trade — like Lido's 11,055-share sale — can move the needle on institutional ownership metrics.
With over $140 million freed up across these five trims, Lido appears to be repositioning toward private credit and corporate bond ETFs. The firm recently acquired Fountainhead Advisors and has been building out its fixed-income exposure, including adding shares in Invesco BulletShares corporate bond ETFs during the same quarter, per Watchlist News.
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