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
+3.1%

Performance as of Aug 26, 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 Aug 26, 2026.

Total Return

+3.1%

↑ AGG -1.4%

Ann. Return

+3.1%

↑ AGG -1.4%

Ann. Vol

13.8%

↑ AGG 4.0%

Sharpe

0.23

↑ AGG -0.34

Max Drawdown

-9.4%

↓ AGG -4.1%

Alpha vs AGG

+5.3%

↓ hit rate 49.0%

Performance as of Aug 26, 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 Aug 26, 2026.

DateModel basket wealth indexAGG
Aug 27, 20251.0000x1.0000x
Aug 28, 20250.9924x1.0012x
Aug 29, 20250.9995x0.9999x
Sep 2, 20250.9936x0.9940x
Sep 3, 20250.9897x0.9976x
Sep 4, 20250.9897x1.0016x
Sep 5, 20250.9965x1.0063x
Sep 8, 20250.9866x1.0098x
Sep 9, 20250.9915x1.0077x
Sep 10, 20250.9887x1.0098x
Sep 11, 20250.9963x1.0117x
Sep 12, 20250.9937x1.0108x
Sep 15, 20250.9872x1.0125x
Sep 16, 20250.9878x1.0129x
Sep 17, 20250.9948x1.0111x
Sep 18, 20250.9830x1.0082x
Sep 19, 20250.9826x1.0082x
Sep 22, 20250.9791x1.0070x
Sep 23, 20250.9857x1.0086x
Sep 24, 20250.9868x1.0067x
Sep 25, 20250.9836x1.0053x
Sep 26, 20250.9876x1.0060x
Sep 29, 20250.9896x1.0079x
Sep 30, 20250.9913x1.0078x
Oct 1, 20250.9918x1.0071x
Oct 2, 20250.9830x1.0082x
Oct 3, 20250.9866x1.0071x
Oct 6, 20250.9787x1.0049x
Oct 7, 20250.9858x1.0066x
Oct 8, 20250.9775x1.0067x
Oct 9, 20250.9764x1.0055x
Oct 10, 20250.9817x1.0097x
Oct 13, 20250.9761x1.0116x
Oct 14, 20250.9873x1.0132x
Oct 15, 20250.9896x1.0128x
Oct 16, 20250.9918x1.0164x
Oct 17, 20250.9972x1.0150x
Oct 20, 20251.0020x1.0167x
Oct 21, 20251.0044x1.0177x
Oct 22, 20251.0050x1.0176x
Oct 23, 20250.9988x1.0158x
Oct 24, 20250.9982x1.0168x
Oct 27, 20250.9969x1.0175x
Oct 28, 20250.9823x1.0181x
Oct 29, 20250.9668x1.0133x
Oct 30, 20250.9717x1.0114x
Oct 31, 20250.9700x1.0108x
Nov 3, 20250.9611x1.0062x
Nov 4, 20250.9570x1.0067x
Nov 5, 20250.9509x1.0040x
Nov 6, 20250.9510x1.0077x
Nov 7, 20250.9589x1.0073x
Nov 10, 20250.9553x1.0069x
Nov 11, 20250.9705x1.0100x
Nov 12, 20250.9691x1.0096x
Nov 13, 20250.9630x1.0065x
Nov 14, 20250.9648x1.0053x
Nov 17, 20250.9588x1.0055x
Nov 18, 20250.9642x1.0061x
Nov 19, 20250.9567x1.0061x
Nov 20, 20250.9546x1.0073x
Nov 21, 20250.9657x1.0098x
Nov 24, 20250.9589x1.0118x
Nov 25, 20250.9623x1.0134x
Nov 26, 20250.9679x1.0150x
Nov 28, 20250.9722x1.0136x
Dec 1, 20250.9580x1.0059x
Dec 2, 20250.9527x1.0072x
Dec 3, 20250.9542x1.0091x
Dec 4, 20250.9530x1.0067x
Dec 5, 20250.9479x1.0056x
Dec 8, 20250.9400x1.0040x
Dec 9, 20250.9369x1.0031x
Dec 10, 20250.9333x1.0063x
Dec 11, 20250.9369x1.0065x
Dec 12, 20250.9433x1.0034x
Dec 15, 20250.9521x1.0044x
Dec 16, 20250.9466x1.0063x
Dec 17, 20250.9545x1.0060x
Dec 18, 20250.9436x1.0085x
Dec 19, 20250.9335x1.0037x
Dec 22, 20250.9340x1.0033x
Dec 23, 20250.9346x1.0033x
Dec 24, 20250.9418x1.0055x
Dec 26, 20250.9432x1.0057x
Dec 29, 20250.9444x1.0069x
Dec 30, 20250.9453x1.0065x
Dec 31, 20250.9395x1.0041x
Jan 2, 20260.9382x1.0038x
Jan 5, 20260.9361x1.0057x
Jan 6, 20260.9348x1.0055x
Jan 7, 20260.9223x1.0065x
Jan 8, 20260.9379x1.0047x
Jan 9, 20260.9384x1.0069x
Jan 12, 20260.9454x1.0064x
Jan 13, 20260.9538x1.0073x
Jan 14, 20260.9664x1.0088x
Jan 15, 20260.9681x1.0075x
Jan 16, 20260.9726x1.0058x
Jan 20, 20260.9741x1.0020x
Jan 21, 20260.9753x1.0053x
Jan 22, 20260.9717x1.0055x
Jan 23, 20260.9759x1.0064x
Jan 26, 20260.9753x1.0079x
Jan 27, 20260.9803x1.0072x
Jan 28, 20260.9711x1.0068x
Jan 30, 20260.9891x1.0066x
Feb 2, 20260.9816x1.0022x
Feb 3, 20260.9955x1.0023x
Feb 4, 20261.0061x1.0017x
Feb 5, 20261.0110x1.0060x
Feb 6, 20261.0097x1.0066x
Feb 9, 20261.0053x1.0069x
Feb 10, 20261.0160x1.0099x
Feb 11, 20261.0259x1.0075x
Feb 12, 20261.0415x1.0121x
Feb 13, 20261.0522x1.0153x
Feb 17, 20261.0504x1.0154x
Feb 18, 20261.0330x1.0140x
Feb 19, 20261.0435x1.0142x
Feb 20, 20261.0517x1.0144x
Feb 23, 20261.0659x1.0164x
Feb 24, 20261.0676x1.0163x
Feb 25, 20261.0552x1.0158x
Feb 26, 20261.0615x1.0174x
Feb 27, 20261.0795x1.0194x
Mar 2, 20261.0715x1.0122x
Mar 3, 20261.0599x1.0111x
Mar 4, 20261.0556x1.0107x
Mar 5, 20261.0389x1.0077x
Mar 6, 20261.0407x1.0065x
Mar 9, 20261.0420x1.0098x
Mar 10, 20261.0403x1.0064x
Mar 11, 20261.0322x1.0019x
Mar 12, 20261.0301x0.9982x
Mar 13, 20261.0327x0.9974x
Mar 16, 20261.0404x1.0013x
Mar 17, 20261.0345x1.0033x
Mar 18, 20261.0119x0.9991x
Mar 19, 20261.0083x1.0002x
Mar 20, 20260.9872x0.9919x
Mar 23, 20260.9878x0.9956x
Mar 24, 20260.9786x0.9929x
Mar 25, 20260.9778x0.9964x
Mar 26, 20260.9786x0.9908x
Mar 27, 20260.9838x0.9907x
Mar 30, 20260.9937x0.9957x
Mar 31, 20260.9944x0.9980x
Apr 1, 20260.9958x0.9953x
Apr 2, 20261.0011x0.9976x
Apr 6, 20261.0018x0.9958x
Apr 7, 20260.9957x0.9970x
Apr 8, 20261.0091x0.9996x
Apr 9, 20261.0198x1.0002x
Apr 10, 20261.0164x0.9985x
Apr 13, 20261.0090x1.0005x
Apr 14, 20261.0063x1.0031x
Apr 15, 20261.0014x1.0015x
Apr 16, 20261.0053x1.0001x
Apr 17, 20261.0165x1.0038x
Apr 20, 20261.0088x1.0037x
Apr 21, 20260.9901x1.0000x
Apr 22, 20260.9898x1.0014x
Apr 23, 20261.0079x0.9998x
Apr 24, 20261.0076x1.0012x
Apr 27, 20261.0010x0.9997x
Apr 28, 20261.0164x0.9993x
Apr 29, 20261.0107x0.9949x
Apr 30, 20261.0268x0.9963x
May 1, 20261.0240x0.9943x
May 4, 20261.0141x0.9912x
May 5, 20261.0143x0.9930x
May 6, 20261.0183x0.9972x
May 7, 20261.0032x0.9948x
May 8, 20260.9993x0.9971x
May 11, 20261.0013x0.9945x
May 12, 20261.0081x0.9916x
May 13, 20260.9969x0.9920x
May 14, 20260.9973x0.9917x
May 15, 20260.9911x0.9854x
May 18, 20261.0048x0.9853x
May 19, 20261.0131x0.9815x
May 20, 20261.0143x0.9874x
May 21, 20261.0160x0.9886x
May 22, 20261.0182x0.9896x
May 26, 20261.0155x0.9925x
May 27, 20261.0227x0.9933x
May 28, 20261.0147x0.9953x
May 29, 20261.0060x0.9959x
Jun 1, 20260.9876x0.9921x
Jun 2, 20260.9908x0.9924x
Jun 3, 20260.9872x0.9902x
Jun 4, 20260.9975x0.9919x
Jun 5, 20261.0184x0.9869x
Jun 8, 20261.0055x0.9869x
Jun 9, 20261.0249x0.9889x
Jun 10, 20261.0379x0.9883x
Jun 11, 20261.0288x0.9941x
Jun 12, 20261.0335x0.9929x
Jun 15, 20261.0269x0.9938x
Jun 16, 20261.0282x0.9950x
Jun 17, 20261.0113x0.9914x
Jun 18, 20261.0049x0.9943x
Jun 22, 20261.0041x0.9916x
Jun 23, 20261.0202x0.9924x
Jun 24, 20261.0211x0.9972x
Jun 25, 20261.0103x0.9978x
Jun 26, 20261.0301x0.9987x
Jun 29, 20261.0209x0.9990x
Jun 30, 20261.0033x0.9951x
Jul 1, 20261.0056x0.9902x
Jul 2, 20261.0312x0.9914x
Jul 6, 20261.0144x0.9919x
Jul 7, 20261.0310x0.9873x
Jul 8, 20261.0185x0.9856x
Jul 9, 20261.0116x0.9870x
Jul 10, 20261.0193x0.9860x
Jul 13, 20261.0288x0.9823x
Jul 14, 20261.0198x0.9852x
Jul 15, 20261.0158x0.9866x
Jul 16, 20261.0387x0.9865x
Jul 17, 20261.0285x0.9872x
Jul 20, 20261.0216x0.9847x
Jul 21, 20261.0137x0.9826x
Jul 22, 20261.0234x0.9810x
Jul 23, 20261.0172x0.9786x
Jul 24, 20261.0271x0.9798x
Jul 27, 20261.0309x0.9821x
Jul 28, 20261.0471x0.9844x
Jul 29, 20261.0513x0.9807x
Jul 30, 20261.0338x0.9814x
Jul 31, 20261.0300x0.9789x
Aug 3, 20261.0236x0.9778x
Aug 4, 20261.0283x0.9818x
Aug 5, 20261.0185x0.9823x
Aug 6, 20261.0205x0.9795x
Aug 7, 20261.0207x0.9812x
Aug 10, 20261.0121x0.9776x
Aug 11, 20261.0115x0.9784x
Aug 12, 20261.0154x0.9795x
Aug 13, 20261.0231x0.9821x
Aug 14, 20261.0248x0.9800x
Aug 17, 20261.0153x0.9777x
Aug 18, 20261.0185x0.9787x
Aug 19, 20261.0283x0.9834x
Aug 20, 20261.0268x0.9801x
Aug 21, 20261.0223x0.9787x
Aug 24, 20261.0345x0.9807x
Aug 25, 20261.0308x0.9853x

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

Research the stocks behind this idea

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Discovery

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.