Creative Planning Rotates Into Bonds And AI Mega-Caps In 2026-Q1

The “biggest buys” list is unambiguous: Creative Planning is doubling down on high‑quality duration and the largest engines of global equity beta, then layering on select AI leaders on top.

On the defensive side, BSV was ramped up by +43.2% in shares with an estimated $884.3M added, even though it sits slightly below cost at -1.1% versus average buy. AGG saw a +31.8% share increase and about $335.7M of fresh capital, and BND grew with another $265.4M despite a -4.3% mark‑to‑market. That is a clear statement that, at current yields, they prefer locking in high‑grade coupon streams to stretching further out the equity risk curve.

On the equity core, IVV remains the workhorse: a +4.5% share increase and roughly $669.9M more into the S&P 500, with the position now up 129.1% versus their average cost. They also leaned into developed ex‑US via SPDW (+6.9% in shares, about $396.5M added) and into US mid‑caps via SPMD (+4.3% in shares, ~$235.3M added), keeping their broad‑beta posture diversified.

The more aggressive message is in single‑name tech. Apple and Nvidia, both already massive winners — up 162.1% and 145.7% versus Creative Planning’s average buy prices — were added to, not trimmed. Apple’s shares rose +7.2% with about $207.8M in incremental capital; Nvidia’s stake climbed +7.9% with about $172.1M added. Microsoft, Alphabet (both share classes), Meta, Broadcom, and even Tesla all saw mid‑single to low‑double‑digit share increases. This is not a manager nervously top‑slicing frothy AI winners; it’s a manager saying the structural AI and hyperscale cloud story still has legs and deserves incremental capital even after a huge run.

The sells are subtle in size but consistent in theme: Creative Planning is shaving around the edges of mid‑cap, small‑cap, and REIT exposures to fund its bond build‑out and large‑cap tilts.

On the equity core, they pulled capital from VEA (shares down -3.0%, about -$240.7M), SCHX (-1.8%, around -$39.5M), and SPY (-1.9%, roughly -$38.2M). None of these are thesis reversals — sizes remain large — but it’s telling that the trims cluster in broad beta sleeves that overlap with beefed‑up positions like IVV, SPDW, and SPMD. They are tidying up factor and issuer redundancy rather than cutting equity exposure outright.

The more pronounced cooling is in the mid/small complex. VO (US mid‑caps) was reduced (-1.2% in shares, -$30.0M), VB (US small‑caps) was cut more decisively (-4.2% in shares, -$23.6M), SCHM also fell (-3.3% in shares, -$31.1M), and the small‑cap value tilt DFAT was trimmed (-1.4% in shares). That cluster suggests less enthusiasm for the “small‑cap catch‑up” narrative after a long stretch of underperformance versus mega‑caps.

Real estate is another quiet funding source. VNQ, SCHH, and XLRE together show a net tilt: they trimmed VNQ (-2.4% in shares, -$27.5M) and SCHH (-3.5%, -$16.1M) while adding to XLRE (+7.8% in shares, +$141.6M). That looks like a rotation within REIT land — away from broad, low‑conviction baskets and toward a more concentrated sector ETF expression with better liquidity and, potentially, a different quality mix.

Outside equities, the only noticeable micro‑trim in a single name is Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B), down -0.6% in shares with about -$8.3M freed up, despite being up 183.6% versus their average cost. That small sale is more about cash sourcing from a long‑term winner than about giving up on Berkshire’s compounding engine.

On the surface, the sector chart shows only modest shifts — Technology up from 8.27% to 8.52%, Health Care from 0.63% to 0.65%, Energy from 0.33% to 0.35%. Underneath, the real story is about where within those sectors and regions the risk is being pointed.

Technology exposure is climbing via the usual AI and cloud suspects: Apple, Nvidia, Microsoft, Alphabet, Meta, and Broadcom all saw share increases. The message is that Creative Planning wants its tech risk squarely in the globally dominant platforms with proven profitability and direct exposure to AI infrastructure, not in speculative small‑cap innovation.

Regionally, there is a quiet reweighting toward developed markets and away from broad EM baskets. Developed ex‑US ETFs like SPDW (+6.9% shares) and IDEV (+8.8%) were built up, while diversified EM vehicles such as SPEM (-1.2% shares), VWO (-0.9%), and even SCHM (US mid‑caps, often more cyclical) were trimmed. Yet EM is not abandoned: IEMG was still increased (+1.8%), and SCHE was boosted a hefty +15.1% in shares. That suggests more selective, ETF‑level tuning within EM rather than a blanket risk‑off.

On the defensive side, the surge in bond ETFs — BSV, BND, AGG, MUB, VTEB, VCIT, VGIT, and SPSB all increased — effectively shifts part of the “sector” mix toward interest‑rate sensitivity. REIT exposure is being repositioned, not dumped: XLRE’s add offsets cuts to VNQ and SCHH, implying a preference for a more targeted REIT slice as a modest inflation hedge while they simultaneously load up on high‑grade duration.

Put together, this quarter’s moves look less like a tactical trade and more like a structural reset for a world of higher yields and AI‑driven equity leadership. Creative Planning is building a substantial bond ballast at slightly underwater prices, betting that today’s yields will age well once rate volatility cools, while keeping the bulk of its equity risk in broad US and developed ex‑US indices.

Within equities, the center of gravity is drifting up the market‑cap ladder. Adds to the S&P 500 complex (IVV, SPYM, VOO) and to mega‑cap tech (Apple, Nvidia, Microsoft, Alphabet, Meta, Broadcom) tell you where they think long‑term equity returns will be generated: in scale platforms with durable moats and direct exposure to compute, cloud, and advertising upside. The trims in US small and mid‑caps, along with selective EM tweaks, read as a downshift in appetite for more cyclical, balance‑sheet‑sensitive stories.

For allocators reading this 13F, the message is clear: Creative Planning is not trying to time a crash, but it is deliberately lowering the portfolio’s reliance on continued multiple expansion. More income from bonds, more exposure to cash‑rich AI winners, and less dependence on a broad small‑cap renaissance is a coherent, if distinctly conservative, blueprint for the next leg of the cycle.