What Is a 13F Filing?
A 13F filing is a quarterly report that institutional investment managers with $100M or more in qualifying assets must file with the SEC. It discloses their US equity holdings - stock names, share counts, and market values. These filings are the primary data source for tracking what hedge funds, mutual funds, and other large investors actually own.
The Legal Basis for 13F Reporting
The 13F requirement comes from Section 13(f) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended in 1975. Congress created the rule to increase transparency into institutional ownership of US equities. The SEC maintains an official list of qualifying securities (the “13F Securities List”) that determines which holdings must be reported.
The purpose is straightforward: give the public visibility into how large pools of capital are positioned. Before 13F reporting, institutional holdings were essentially a black box. Today, any investor can look up what Berkshire Hathaway, Bridgewater, or Renaissance Technologies owns - all from public SEC data.
Who Must File a 13F?
Any institutional investment manager exercising investment discretion over $100M or more in qualifying 13F securities must file. The threshold is based on fair market value at any point during the calendar year. Once a manager crosses $100M, they must continue filing until their holdings drop below $100M for the full year.
The types of institutions that file include:
- Hedge funds - Firms like Citadel, Renaissance Technologies, and Bridgewater
- Mutual funds - Companies like Vanguard, Fidelity, and Capital Research
- Pension funds - State and corporate pension plans
- Insurance companies - Firms managing policyholder assets
- Bank trust departments - Banks managing client portfolios (JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs)
As of 2026, over 5,000 institutional managers file 13F reports with the SEC. HoldingsIntel tracks the top 500+ by assets under management, covering the vast majority of institutional capital.
What Information Is in a 13F Filing?
Each 13F filing contains a table of holdings with the following fields for every position:
- Issuer name - The company whose stock is held
- CUSIP - A unique 9-character identifier for the security
- Shares or principal amount - Number of shares (for equities) or face value (for convertibles)
- Market value - The dollar value of the position at quarter end
- Investment discretion - Whether the manager has sole, shared, or defined authority
- Voting authority - Sole, shared, or no voting power over the shares
- Put/Call - Whether the holding is a put option, call option, or common stock
Critically, 13F filings do not include:
- Short positions
- Non-US securities
- Derivatives (beyond listed options)
- Fixed income (bonds, treasuries)
- Cash positions
- Cost basis or purchase dates
This means 13F data shows you the long equity book of an institutional investor, but not the full picture. A fund might appear heavily long a stock while simultaneously holding a large short position or hedge that offsets the risk.
The 45-Day Reporting Delay
13F filings are due within 45 calendar days after the end of each quarter. The four quarter-end dates are March 31, June 30, September 30, and December 31. This means there is always a minimum 45-day gap between when a manager holds a position and when that information becomes public.
In practice, the delay can be even longer. Some managers file on the last possible day. Others request confidential treatment from the SEC, which can hide specific positions for an additional quarter or more. Confidential treatment is typically granted when a manager is actively building or exiting a large position and premature disclosure would impact their ability to trade.
The delay is important context: by the time a 13F is published, the manager may have already changed their position. 13F data is best used for understanding institutional conviction and long-term positioning, not for chasing short-term trades.
How to Use 13F Data for Investment Research
Despite the delay, 13F filings remain one of the most valuable public data sources for retail investors. By comparing filings across quarters, you can identify:
- New positions - Stocks a fund bought for the first time
- Conviction levels - How much of their portfolio a fund allocates to a single stock
- Double-down signals - Funds increasing positions into price weakness (a contrarian value signal)
- Exit patterns - Stocks being sold by multiple institutional investors
- Sector rotation - Capital shifting between industries over time
- Consensus picks - Stocks where multiple smart-money managers are accumulating
HoldingsIntel tracks 500+ institutional investors and transforms raw 13F data into 17+ proprietary analytics, including Conviction Scoring (0-100 scale measuring position meaningfulness), Double-Down Detection, and Smart Money Flow. You can browse all tracked funds and explore their holdings for free.
Related Terms
For definitions of key terms used in 13F analysis, see the glossary:
- 13F Filing - Quick definition and context
- Conviction Score - How HoldingsIntel quantifies position meaningfulness
- Position Changes - Quarter-over-quarter changes in fund holdings
Frequently Asked Questions
Who has to file a 13F?
Institutional investment managers with $100M or more in qualifying assets under management must file 13F reports with the SEC. This includes hedge funds, mutual funds, pension funds, insurance companies, and bank trust departments.
How often are 13F filings due?
13F filings are due quarterly, within 45 days of the end of each calendar quarter. The four deadlines fall around February 14, May 15, August 14, and November 14 each year.
What is the 13F reporting delay?
There is a minimum 45-day delay between the quarter end and when the filing becomes public. For example, a filing covering positions as of December 31 is not due until mid-February. Some managers also request confidential treatment, which can delay disclosure by an additional quarter or more.
What positions are included in 13F filings?
13F filings cover long positions in US-listed equities, including common stock, ETFs, and convertible debt. They also report the market value of each holding, the number of shares, voting authority, and investment discretion.
Are short positions reported on 13F?
No. 13F filings only disclose long equity positions. Short positions, derivatives, non-US securities, and fixed income instruments are not included. This is one of the most important limitations to understand when using 13F data.
How can I track 13F filings?
HoldingsIntel processes 13F filings from the SEC's EDGAR system within hours of publication, covering 500+ institutional investors. The platform transforms raw filing data into analytics like conviction scores, double-down signals, and smart money flow - making it easy to see what large investors are buying and selling each quarter.