Investment idea model basket

Defensive Income

Duration proxy for retirees reallocating from cash.

What is the thesis for Defensive Income?

Low-leverage utilities, staples, and select REITs with yields that re-rate as the front end falls. Built for investors rotating out of money-market funds.

This is a curated QuantLink model basket. It is not a filed portfolio, not a fund, and not investment advice.

Published Mar 30, 2026. Updated Apr 8, 2026. Source: QuantLink curated model basket and FastAPI ideas endpoint.

Holdings
5
Benchmark
AGG
Status
New
1Y model return
+1.8%

Performance as of Oct 11, 2026.

Thesis narrative

Built for the cash-rotation trade

$6T sits in money-market funds earning a rate that is about to fall. A meaningful slice rotates back into equity income. This book is positioned for that flow.

Why these five

Each name clears three filters:

  1. Dividend coverage > 1.4x on operating cash flow
  2. Net leverage < 4x (REITs) or < 2.5x (non-REIT)
  3. Beta < 0.7 vs SPY over trailing 3Y

What it isn't

This is not a high-yield grab. We exclude MLPs, BDCs, and anything with a yield trap footprint. Target blended yield is ~3.8% — enough to matter, not so much that it signals distress.

Model basket holdings

Model basket: curated equal or target weighting, not a filed portfolio. Weights are the target basket weights returned by the live ideas endpoint.

NameSymbolModel weight
Realty IncomeO22.00%
Southern CompanySO22.00%
Procter & GamblePG20.00%
Coca-ColaKO18.00%
American TowerAMT18.00%

Backtested performance vs AGG

Performance is backtested from the returned tearsheet series. It reflects the model basket methodology and benchmark series, not live fund returns or a filed portfolio track record. Performance as of Oct 11, 2026.

Total Return

+1.8%

↑ AGG -6.0%

Ann. Return

+1.9%

↑ AGG -6.1%

Ann. Vol

14.1%

↑ AGG 4.2%

Sharpe

0.13

↑ AGG -1.45

Max Drawdown

-12.1%

↓ AGG -7.2%

Alpha vs AGG

+9.6%

↓ hit rate 48.8%

Performance as of Oct 11, 2026.

Rolling Performance vs Benchmark

Portfolio Holdings

Holding
Weight
Country
Exchange
Sector
Industry
Mkt Cap
Price
1Y
1Y Trend
O
ORealty Income
22.0%
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
SO
SOSouthern Company
22.0%
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
PG
PGProcter & Gamble
20.0%
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
AMT
AMTAmerican Tower
18.0%
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
KO
KOCoca-Cola
18.0%
—
—
—
—
—
—
—

SSR performance series fallback

The table below is the server-rendered reference series behind the interactive chart. Values show the wealth index level from a 1.00 starting value, not a second 1Y return figure. Series as of Oct 11, 2026.

DateModel basket wealth indexAGG
Oct 14, 20251.0000x1.0000x
Oct 15, 20251.0023x0.9996x
Oct 16, 20251.0045x1.0032x
Oct 17, 20251.0101x1.0018x
Oct 20, 20251.0149x1.0035x
Oct 21, 20251.0173x1.0045x
Oct 22, 20251.0179x1.0044x
Oct 23, 20251.0116x1.0026x
Oct 24, 20251.0111x1.0036x
Oct 27, 20251.0097x1.0043x
Oct 28, 20250.9949x1.0049x
Oct 29, 20250.9792x1.0001x
Oct 30, 20250.9842x0.9982x
Oct 31, 20250.9825x0.9976x
Nov 3, 20250.9735x0.9932x
Nov 4, 20250.9693x0.9936x
Nov 5, 20250.9631x0.9910x
Nov 6, 20250.9633x0.9946x
Nov 7, 20250.9713x0.9942x
Nov 10, 20250.9676x0.9938x
Nov 11, 20250.9830x0.9968x
Nov 12, 20250.9816x0.9964x
Nov 13, 20250.9753x0.9935x
Nov 14, 20250.9772x0.9923x
Nov 17, 20250.9711x0.9925x
Nov 18, 20250.9766x0.9931x
Nov 19, 20250.9690x0.9931x
Nov 20, 20250.9668x0.9942x
Nov 21, 20250.9782x0.9966x
Nov 24, 20250.9712x0.9986x
Nov 25, 20250.9747x1.0002x
Nov 26, 20250.9803x1.0018x
Nov 28, 20250.9847x1.0004x
Dec 1, 20250.9703x0.9929x
Dec 2, 20250.9650x0.9941x
Dec 3, 20250.9665x0.9960x
Dec 4, 20250.9653x0.9936x
Dec 5, 20250.9601x0.9926x
Dec 8, 20250.9521x0.9910x
Dec 9, 20250.9490x0.9901x
Dec 10, 20250.9453x0.9933x
Dec 11, 20250.9489x0.9935x
Dec 12, 20250.9554x0.9904x
Dec 15, 20250.9643x0.9914x
Dec 16, 20250.9588x0.9933x
Dec 17, 20250.9668x0.9930x
Dec 18, 20250.9558x0.9954x
Dec 19, 20250.9455x0.9907x
Dec 22, 20250.9460x0.9903x
Dec 23, 20250.9467x0.9903x
Dec 24, 20250.9539x0.9925x
Dec 26, 20250.9553x0.9927x
Dec 29, 20250.9566x0.9938x
Dec 30, 20250.9575x0.9935x
Dec 31, 20250.9516x0.9911x
Jan 2, 20260.9503x0.9908x
Jan 5, 20260.9481x0.9927x
Jan 6, 20260.9469x0.9925x
Jan 7, 20260.9342x0.9935x
Jan 8, 20260.9500x0.9917x
Jan 9, 20260.9505x0.9938x
Jan 12, 20260.9576x0.9934x
Jan 13, 20260.9661x0.9942x
Jan 14, 20260.9789x0.9957x
Jan 15, 20260.9806x0.9944x
Jan 16, 20260.9851x0.9928x
Jan 20, 20260.9866x0.9890x
Jan 21, 20260.9879x0.9923x
Jan 22, 20260.9842x0.9925x
Jan 23, 20260.9885x0.9934x
Jan 26, 20260.9879x0.9948x
Jan 27, 20260.9929x0.9941x
Jan 28, 20260.9835x0.9937x
Jan 30, 20261.0018x0.9936x
Feb 2, 20260.9943x0.9892x
Feb 3, 20261.0083x0.9893x
Feb 4, 20261.0190x0.9887x
Feb 5, 20261.0240x0.9930x
Feb 6, 20261.0227x0.9936x
Feb 9, 20261.0183x0.9938x
Feb 10, 20261.0291x0.9967x
Feb 11, 20261.0391x0.9944x
Feb 12, 20261.0549x0.9989x
Feb 13, 20261.0658x1.0021x
Feb 17, 20261.0639x1.0022x
Feb 18, 20261.0463x1.0008x
Feb 19, 20261.0570x1.0010x
Feb 20, 20261.0652x1.0012x
Feb 23, 20261.0797x1.0032x
Feb 24, 20261.0813x1.0031x
Feb 25, 20261.0687x1.0026x
Feb 26, 20261.0752x1.0042x
Feb 27, 20261.0934x1.0062x
Mar 2, 20261.0853x0.9990x
Mar 3, 20261.0735x0.9979x
Mar 4, 20261.0692x0.9975x
Mar 5, 20261.0522x0.9946x
Mar 6, 20261.0541x0.9935x
Mar 9, 20261.0555x0.9966x
Mar 10, 20261.0536x0.9934x
Mar 11, 20261.0454x0.9889x
Mar 12, 20261.0434x0.9852x
Mar 13, 20261.0460x0.9844x
Mar 16, 20261.0538x0.9883x
Mar 17, 20261.0478x0.9903x
Mar 18, 20261.0250x0.9861x
Mar 19, 20261.0213x0.9872x
Mar 20, 20260.9999x0.9790x
Mar 23, 20261.0005x0.9826x
Mar 24, 20260.9912x0.9800x
Mar 25, 20260.9904x0.9834x
Mar 26, 20260.9912x0.9779x
Mar 27, 20260.9964x0.9778x
Mar 30, 20261.0065x0.9827x
Mar 31, 20261.0072x0.9850x
Apr 1, 20261.0086x0.9823x
Apr 2, 20261.0140x0.9846x
Apr 6, 20261.0146x0.9828x
Apr 7, 20261.0085x0.9840x
Apr 8, 20261.0220x0.9866x
Apr 9, 20261.0329x0.9872x
Apr 10, 20261.0295x0.9855x
Apr 13, 20261.0220x0.9875x
Apr 14, 20261.0192x0.9901x
Apr 15, 20261.0143x0.9885x
Apr 16, 20261.0182x0.9871x
Apr 17, 20261.0295x0.9908x
Apr 20, 20261.0218x0.9907x
Apr 21, 20261.0028x0.9870x
Apr 22, 20261.0025x0.9884x
Apr 23, 20261.0209x0.9868x
Apr 24, 20261.0206x0.9882x
Apr 27, 20261.0138x0.9867x
Apr 28, 20261.0295x0.9863x
Apr 29, 20261.0237x0.9819x
Apr 30, 20261.0400x0.9833x
May 1, 20261.0372x0.9813x
May 4, 20261.0271x0.9783x
May 5, 20261.0273x0.9801x
May 6, 20261.0314x0.9842x
May 7, 20261.0161x0.9818x
May 8, 20261.0122x0.9841x
May 11, 20261.0142x0.9815x
May 12, 20261.0210x0.9787x
May 13, 20261.0097x0.9791x
May 14, 20261.0102x0.9788x
May 15, 20261.0038x0.9726x
May 18, 20261.0177x0.9725x
May 19, 20261.0261x0.9687x
May 20, 20261.0273x0.9746x
May 21, 20261.0291x0.9758x
May 22, 20261.0313x0.9768x
May 26, 20261.0285x0.9796x
May 27, 20261.0359x0.9804x
May 28, 20261.0278x0.9823x
May 29, 20261.0189x0.9829x
Jun 1, 20261.0003x0.9792x
Jun 2, 20261.0036x0.9795x
Jun 3, 20260.9999x0.9774x
Jun 4, 20261.0104x0.9790x
Jun 5, 20261.0315x0.9741x
Jun 8, 20261.0185x0.9741x
Jun 9, 20261.0380x0.9761x
Jun 10, 20261.0512x0.9755x
Jun 11, 20261.0421x0.9811x
Jun 12, 20261.0468x0.9800x
Jun 15, 20261.0401x0.9808x
Jun 16, 20261.0414x0.9820x
Jun 17, 20261.0244x0.9785x
Jun 18, 20261.0178x0.9813x
Jun 22, 20261.0170x0.9787x
Jun 23, 20261.0333x0.9795x
Jun 24, 20261.0342x0.9842x
Jun 25, 20261.0233x0.9848x
Jun 26, 20261.0434x0.9857x
Jun 29, 20261.0340x0.9860x
Jun 30, 20261.0163x0.9821x
Jul 1, 20261.0186x0.9774x
Jul 2, 20261.0444x0.9785x
Jul 6, 20261.0275x0.9790x
Jul 7, 20261.0442x0.9745x
Jul 8, 20261.0316x0.9728x
Jul 9, 20261.0247x0.9742x
Jul 10, 20261.0324x0.9732x
Jul 13, 20261.0421x0.9695x
Jul 14, 20261.0329x0.9724x
Jul 15, 20261.0289x0.9738x
Jul 16, 20261.0521x0.9737x
Jul 17, 20261.0417x0.9744x
Jul 20, 20261.0347x0.9719x
Jul 21, 20261.0267x0.9698x
Jul 22, 20261.0365x0.9682x
Jul 23, 20261.0302x0.9659x
Jul 24, 20261.0404x0.9671x
Jul 27, 20261.0442x0.9693x
Jul 28, 20261.0606x0.9716x
Jul 29, 20261.0648x0.9679x
Jul 30, 20261.0471x0.9686x
Jul 31, 20261.0433x0.9662x
Aug 3, 20261.0367x0.9651x
Aug 4, 20261.0415x0.9690x
Aug 5, 20261.0316x0.9695x
Aug 6, 20261.0337x0.9668x
Aug 7, 20261.0339x0.9684x
Aug 10, 20261.0251x0.9649x
Aug 11, 20261.0245x0.9657x
Aug 12, 20261.0284x0.9668x
Aug 13, 20261.0362x0.9693x
Aug 14, 20261.0380x0.9673x
Aug 17, 20261.0284x0.9650x
Aug 18, 20261.0316x0.9660x
Aug 19, 20261.0415x0.9706x
Aug 20, 20261.0400x0.9674x
Aug 21, 20261.0355x0.9660x
Aug 24, 20261.0478x0.9679x
Aug 25, 20261.0440x0.9725x
Aug 26, 20261.0347x0.9710x
Aug 27, 20261.0248x0.9707x
Aug 28, 20261.0277x0.9674x
Aug 31, 20261.0239x0.9666x
Sep 1, 20261.0249x0.9602x
Sep 2, 20261.0252x0.9609x
Sep 3, 20261.0326x0.9620x
Sep 4, 20261.0249x0.9625x
Sep 8, 20261.0256x0.9615x
Sep 9, 20261.0144x0.9593x
Sep 10, 20261.0095x0.9531x
Sep 11, 20261.0170x0.9524x
Sep 14, 20261.0182x0.9515x
Sep 15, 20261.0136x0.9511x
Sep 16, 20261.0058x0.9507x
Sep 17, 20261.0079x0.9558x
Sep 18, 20260.9995x0.9522x
Sep 21, 20260.9973x0.9547x
Sep 22, 20261.0027x0.9551x
Sep 23, 20260.9880x0.9467x
Sep 24, 20260.9797x0.9422x
Sep 25, 20260.9822x0.9438x
Sep 28, 20260.9815x0.9392x
Sep 29, 20260.9813x0.9387x
Sep 30, 20260.9672x0.9381x
Oct 1, 20260.9610x0.9369x
Oct 2, 20260.9656x0.9352x
Oct 5, 20260.9676x0.9340x
Oct 6, 20260.9790x0.9363x
Oct 7, 20260.9754x0.9358x
Oct 8, 20260.9887x0.9390x
Oct 9, 20261.0068x0.9386x

Themes and category

Investment ideaDefensive IncomeQuality

Methodology and caveats

QuantLink fetches this idea from the live FastAPI ideas endpoints and renders the returned title, thesis, holdings, themes, benchmark, and tearsheet fields directly. Missing fields are left unavailable rather than fabricated.

Holdings are a curated model basket. They are not 13F filings, not insider filings, not adviser holdings, and not a claim that any person or fund owns the basket.

Backtested performance depends on the returned basket weights, benchmark, rebalancing assumptions, available price history, and calculation choices in the tearsheet endpoint. Backtests can differ materially from live results and do not include every cost, tax, capacity, liquidity, or execution constraint an investor may face.

Equal-weight and target-weight baskets can drift between rebalance points. Rebalancing can increase turnover, and concentrated thematic baskets can have higher drawdowns than a broad market benchmark.

Frequently asked questions

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Public research

QuantLink is a research tool, not investment advice. This page shows a curated model basket and backtested performance, not a filed portfolio, fund return, or recommendation to buy or sell securities.