Joel Greenblatt’s Gotham Asset Management made several eye-catching moves in the second quarter, but the filing is more nuanced than a simple shift into defensive stocks. Gotham’s August 14 Form 13F covers reportable holdings as of June 30, 2026. It contained 1,791 entries with a combined reported value of $42.96 billion. The biggest story among these five moves is the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEARCA), which accounted for nearly one-fifth of that disclosed value.
Greenblatt is Gotham’s managing principal and co-chief investment officer, but investors should remember that a 13F is a firm-level disclosure, not a list of trades Greenblatt personally made. It also does not show Gotham’s complete portfolio. The firm runs both long-only and long/short strategies, and the SEC notes that short equity positions are not reported on Form 13F. That makes the filing useful for spotting ideas, but not for reconstructing Gotham’s actual risk exposure.
SPY Became an Even Bigger Part of Gotham’s Reported Holdings
Gotham reported 11,393,386 shares of SPY worth $8.51 billion at June 30, up from 9,005,674 shares at the end of March. That is a 26.5% increase in the number of shares held. SPY represented about 19.8% of Gotham’s total reported 13F value at quarter-end, making it easily one of the most important positions visible in the filing.
There is an important distinction here. The reported value of the position increased by roughly $2.65 billion between the two quarter-end filings, but that does not mean Gotham invested another $2.65 billion in SPY. Some of that change came from adding shares and some came from the ETF’s price movement. It is also a stretch to automatically call SPY a “hedge.” A long position in an S&P 500 ETF is broad market exposure. Whether it reduces Gotham’s overall risk depends on positions and hedges that the 13F does not fully reveal.
For individual investors, including retirees, that distinction matters. Owning a broad index can reduce the company-specific risk that comes with relying heavily on a few stocks, but it does not protect a portfolio from a broad market decline. The useful signal from Gotham is that the firm substantially increased its broad U.S. equity exposure while simultaneously making several much more targeted bets.
Humana and General Mills Are the Clearest Defensive-Looking Adds
The most dramatic percentage increase among these names was Humana (NYSE). Gotham went from just 3,418 Humana shares at the end of March to 224,860 at June 30, meaning the position became nearly 66 times larger. Humana also has real operating momentum behind the trade. Second-quarter revenue reached $40.87 billion, up about 26% from $32.39 billion a year earlier, and the company continues to expect individual Medicare Advantage membership to grow approximately 25% in 2026. Management also says it remains committed to returning the individual Medicare Advantage business to a sustainable pre-tax margin of at least 3% in 2028.
That does not make Humana a low-risk stock. Its insurance benefit ratio was 91.2% in the second quarter, meaning medical costs consume the vast majority of insurance premium revenue, and Medicare Advantage remains exposed to reimbursement rules, medical-cost trends and federal policy. For retirees, there is an interesting connection because Medicare Advantage is directly tied to the economics of an aging population, but investors should not confuse demographic demand with guaranteed profitability.
General Mills (NYSE) is the more traditional defensive name. Gotham increased its position from 416,197 shares to 2,262,103, making the position about 5.4 times larger. The investment is contrarian because General Mills is working through a difficult operating stretch. Fiscal 2026 net sales fell 5%, organic sales declined 2%, and adjusted operating profit dropped 16% in constant currency. The attraction for income-oriented investors is easier to see: General Mills currently pays a $0.61 quarterly dividend and says it and its predecessor have paid dividends without interruption for 127 years. That history is notable, although future dividends still depend on board approval and business performance.
Vornado and KLA Show This Is Not a Pure Defensive Shift
Vornado Realty Trust (NYSE) looks more like a recovery bet than a classic defensive holding. Gotham increased its shares from 459,476 to 1,929,294, roughly 4.2 times the previous quarter’s position. There are tangible signs of improvement in Vornado’s core New York office portfolio. Office occupancy at Vornado’s share reached 92.2% at June 30, while New York same-store net operating income at share increased 11.9% from the same quarter a year earlier.
That is encouraging, but office real estate still brings risks that matter to income investors. REIT valuations can be sensitive to interest rates, refinancing costs, property values and the ability to keep buildings leased. Vornado may benefit if Manhattan office demand continues improving, but this is not the same defensive profile as a packaged-food company selling products consumers buy in most economic environments.
KLA Corporation (NASDAQ) makes the “defensive shift” description even harder to support. Gotham increased its KLA holding from 31,024 shares to 293,586, making the position roughly 9.5 times larger. KLA generated $13.58 billion of revenue in fiscal 2026, up 12%, with a 61.3% gross margin and $4.83 billion in net income. The company specifically attributed revenue growth in part to leading-edge foundry, logic, memory and advanced-packaging investment supported by AI and high-performance computing demand.
That is a strong business backdrop, but semiconductor equipment remains cyclical. KLA itself warns that results depend heavily on customer capital spending and conditions across the semiconductor industry. In other words, Gotham paired defensive-looking additions with a sizable increase in a high-quality but economically sensitive technology name.
What Retail Investors Should Actually Take From Greenblatt’s Moves
The most useful lesson is not to copy all five positions. Gotham’s filing instead shows a mix of broad-market exposure and selective bets across healthcare, consumer staples, office real estate and semiconductor equipment. That is a much more interesting portfolio message than simply saying Greenblatt “went defensive.” The firm increased SPY substantially, made an enormous percentage increase in Humana, built much larger General Mills and Vornado positions, and dramatically expanded KLA at the same time.
For retirees and investors nearing retirement, there is another reason not to blindly mirror a 13F. Gotham may have short positions, hedges and other assets that are invisible in this filing, and its liquidity needs, tax situation and time horizon can be completely different from those of an individual household. A retiree drawing money from a portfolio has to think about losses occurring early in retirement, income needs and how much volatility the portfolio can realistically absorb.
The filing is best used as an idea generator. SPY provides broad exposure. General Mills offers an established dividend but faces weak operating trends. Humana offers a potentially powerful Medicare Advantage turnaround with substantial medical-cost and regulatory risk. Vornado is tied to an improving but still uncertain office market. KLA gives investors exposure to semiconductor investment and AI infrastructure, but with the cyclicality that comes with the industry. Gotham may like all five, but they are doing very different jobs.