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One of the oldest and most effective edges in the market isn't built on algorithms, speed, or insider tips. It's built on patience, discipline, and the willingness to read what others ignore. Every quarter, the world's best investors are required to leave a paper trail in the form of 13F and 13D filings. If you know how to read those filings and apply a disciplined value and credit framework, you can piggyback the moves of some of the smartest, most influential investors in the world.
Piggybacking isn't about predicting the next hot sector or deciphering the Fed's mood. It's about systematically cloning the best ideas of proven investors who take concentrated positions, think long term, and have a history of creating value. You let them do the work. You follow the breadcrumbs. And over time, you build portfolios that compound quietly and consistently alongside the giants.
The fundamental edge comes from time arbitrage. Legendary investors like Warren Buffett, Seth Klarman, Joel Greenblatt, and Mario Gabelli buy stocks with a three- to five-year horizon. Their investment theses don't depend on next quarter's earnings call. By studying their disclosed holdings after the fact, you can often still buy into their ideas at attractive prices, because the market hasn't fully recognized the story yet.
Academic studies have backed this up for years. Portfolios built by cloning the top holdings of concentrated, long-term managers have outperformed the market by 5–10% annually. Joel Greenblatt himself has remarked that simply combining Magic Formula stocks with the best 13F ideas would give most investors all the edge they'd ever need.
The key is focusing on the right managers. Broad indexers or giant funds filing for compliance don't give you much. But high-conviction value investors and activists who build meaningful stakes in undervalued companies often leave behind a trail of fat pitches. Activists, in particular, are worth watching. When they show up on the register, they're usually not there to sit quietly. They're there to unlock value.
While 13F filings tell you what managers own, 13D filings tell you why someone might be preparing to act. Any investor who crosses the 5% ownership threshold and intends to influence management must file a Schedule 13D. These filings are the first public sign that strategic capital, activists, or operators are getting involved.
This past week brought two particularly interesting 13D disclosures — each one representing a different flavor of smart money at work.
The first filing is classic Mario Gabelli. Through GAMCO, Gabelli Funds, and affiliates, Gabelli disclosed a 5.48% stake in Big 5 Sporting Goods (NASDAQ:BGFV). Gabelli's approach has always been rooted in patient, fundamental value investing. He hunts in neglected corners of the market, looking for solid balance sheets, real assets, and steady cash flow that the market has overlooked.
BGFV is a modest-sized sporting goods retailer that doesn't get much attention. But Gabelli's use of a 13D rather than a 13G is telling — it signals that they want to keep the option to get involved. A stake of just over 5% may not control the company, but in a smaller-cap situation, it's enough to be heard.
Gabelli has a long track record of pushing sleepy companies toward value-enhancing moves: special dividends, buybacks, operational improvements, or asset sales. This is a classic "backwater value" situation, and his involvement is exactly the kind of signal piggybackers look for.
The second filing has strategic implications. Beretta Holding S.A., the private parent company of the Beretta firearms empire, filed an amended 13D disclosing a 9% stake in Sturm, Ruger & Co. (NYSE:RGR).
Beretta isn't a hedge fund or an activist investor. It's a direct industry peer with centuries of history in firearms manufacturing. A 9% stake in Ruger is a clear strategic move. Whether Beretta is laying the groundwork for a future combination, pushing for operational coordination, or simply taking a long-term industry bet, this position has to be taken seriously.
It also sets up an intriguing dynamic: foreign strategic capital accumulating a meaningful position in a major U.S. firearms manufacturer. This will attract regulatory attention and political scrutiny, but it also opens the door to potential industry consolidation in a fragmented and cyclical sector.
Both of these filings illustrate the spectrum of smart money behavior. Gabelli's move is value-driven, with activist optionality. Beretta's stake is a strategic industry play that could foreshadow larger moves.
For piggybackers, the game is to separate signal from noise. Not every 13D is a call to action, but many are the first step in a multi-year value creation process. You watch for follow-up filings, amendments, board nominations, or increased buying. You layer on your own credit and valuation discipline. And then you let time work.
The beauty of piggybacking is that it doesn't require you to outsmart anyone. It just requires you to follow the right people, in the right way, and to be patient enough to benefit when their strategies play out.
Markets are crowded with short-term noise. But the real money is often made by patiently riding along with those who have the resources, discipline, and vision to create value over time. Whether it's a sovereign fund quietly building a strategic stake, a legendary value investor sniffing out neglected assets, or an industry peer setting the board for consolidation, 13F and 13D filings give you a window into their plans.
