Who has to file a 13F?

Institutional investment managers that exercise investment discretion over at least $100 million of Section 13(f) securities. The list of qualifying securities is published by the SEC each quarter.

Within 45 days of the end of each calendar quarter. Because of that window, a 13F's positions are already at least 45 days stale by the time they become public.

Does a 13F show a manager's short positions?

No. A 13F reports only long positions in qualifying U.S.-listed equities (plus some convertible debt and options). Short positions, foreign-listed equities, cash, fixed income, and most derivatives are excluded, so a 13F is a long-equity slice, not a complete portfolio.

What's the difference between a 13F-HR and a 13F-NT?

A 13F-HR (Holdings Report) contains the actual list of positions. A 13F-NT (Notice) is filed by a manager whose holdings are already reported on another manager's 13F-HR — it points to that primary filer instead of re-listing positions. A 13F-HR/A is an amendment to a prior holdings report.

Why does a 13F sometimes disclose a position a quarter late?

A manager can request confidential treatment for specific positions, typically during an ongoing accumulation. SEC review can take months; the position appears on the 13F only when the confidentiality period expires — which is why some new positions surface a quarter after they were actually built.

Learn / 13f

What is a 13F filing?

A 13F is the quarterly long-equity holdings disclosure institutional investment managers with ≥$100M in qualifying U.S. equity assets must file with the SEC, due within 45 days of quarter-end.

Last updated: 2026-07-30. Source: SEC EDGAR.

Who files a 13F, and when

Section 13(f) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 requires institutional investment managers exercising investment discretion over ≥$100M of Section 13(f) securities to report their holdings quarterly. The list of qualifying securities is published by the SEC each quarter.

The 45-day filing deadline is generous on purpose — the disclosure is intended to inform regulators and the public, not to give competitors a real-time window into trading. By the time a 13F is public, the underlying positions are already 45+ days stale.

What's in a 13F (and what isn't)

In: Long positions in qualifying U.S.-listed equities (common stock, ADRs, ETFs), some convertible debt, and certain options on qualifying securities.

Out: Short positions, foreign-listed equities, cash, fixed income, most derivatives, private investments, and any non-13(f) securities. The 13F is not a complete portfolio — it is a long-equity slice.

This asymmetry matters. A manager whose 13F shows zero position in a name may still hold the name short or via derivatives. Reading 13Fs as a complete view of a manager's book is the most common misuse of the disclosure.

13F-HR vs. 13F-NT — the variant taxonomy

13F-HR: Holdings Report. The standard variant containing the actual position list. SecFilingDex tracks 23 13F-HR filings.
13F-NT: Notice filing. A manager whose holdings are already reported on another manager's 13F-HR (e.g., a sub-adviser relationship) files a 13F-NT pointing to the primary report. SecFilingDex tracks 0 13F-NT filings.
13F-HR/A: Amendment to a prior 13F-HR — restated holdings, corrected counts, or post-filing additions.

Confidential treatment requests

A manager can request confidential treatment for specific positions — typically when public disclosure would reveal an ongoing accumulation. SEC review can take months; granted positions appear on the 13F when the confidentiality period expires. This explains why some 13Fs disclose new positions in the quarter after the position was actually built — a useful signal in itself.

Frequently asked questions

Who has to file a 13F?: Institutional investment managers that exercise investment discretion over at least $100 million of Section 13(f) securities. The list of qualifying securities is published by the SEC each quarter.
When is a 13F due?: Within 45 days of the end of each calendar quarter. Because of that window, a 13F's positions are already at least 45 days stale by the time they become public.
Does a 13F show a manager's short positions?: No. A 13F reports only long positions in qualifying U.S.-listed equities (plus some convertible debt and options). Short positions, foreign-listed equities, cash, fixed income, and most derivatives are excluded, so a 13F is a long-equity slice, not a complete portfolio.
What's the difference between a 13F-HR and a 13F-NT?: A 13F-HR (Holdings Report) contains the actual list of positions. A 13F-NT (Notice) is filed by a manager whose holdings are already reported on another manager's 13F-HR — it points to that primary filer instead of re-listing positions. A 13F-HR/A is an amendment to a prior holdings report.
Why does a 13F sometimes disclose a position a quarter late?: A manager can request confidential treatment for specific positions, typically during an ongoing accumulation. SEC review can take months; the position appears on the 13F only when the confidentiality period expires — which is why some new positions surface a quarter after they were actually built.

Our view

The 13F is a great information source and a terrible alpha source. By the time the disclosure is public the position is 45+ days stale. The compounding lens is qualitative — what does this manager own at the level of theme, sector, and concentration — not quantitative replication. Following 13Fs to copy trades is a losing game; following 13Fs to understand mandates and risk tolerance is durable.

See live data

Browse live 13F filings — 33 filings indexed. Updated as new EDGAR submissions are ingested.

Sister-property applied analysis

SecFilingDex catalogs the filings. For applied analysis on the same SEC corpus — narrowed to tracked superinvestors with framework + POV — see the sister site:

HoldLens: What is a 13F filing? (retail-investor angle) — Same form, plain-English framing focused on what 13Fs mean for tracked superinvestors and retail readers.
HoldLens: How to read a 13F — Walkthrough of an actual filing — what to look for, what to ignore, how to spot meaningful position changes vs noise.
HoldLens: Live ConvictionScore leaderboard — Aggregate 13F-based score across 30 tracked managers, updated quarterly — not the raw catalog, the applied signal.

Reading on filings

Understanding the form is step one; reading one is step two. These are the references that help with the second part.

Security Analysis — Benjamin Graham & David Dodd
The reference on reading a filing and valuing what is inside it. Dense, and still the book the rest cite.
Financial Shenanigans — Howard M. Schilit
How accounting manipulation actually shows up in disclosures — written around real filings and what gave them away.
Financial Statement Analysis — Martin S. Fridson & Fernando Alvarez
A working guide to the statements inside a 10-K or 20-F, including where the notes matter more than the headline numbers.
The Intelligent Investor — Benjamin Graham
The plain-language starting point if the filings are new to you and the vocabulary is the obstacle.
The Essays of Warren Buffett — Lawrence A. Cunningham (ed.)
Shareholder letters organised by theme — a filer's own account of what disclosure is for, from the reporting side.

Several of these are on Audible — free trial — Graham and Fridson both read well as audio if you are commuting.

Book links go to Amazon. As an Amazon Associate, SecFilingDex earns from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you. The filings data on this site is free and never changes based on these links.

Glossary

13F: Quarterly report under Section 13(f) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Filed by institutional investment managers exercising investment discretion over ≥$100M of Section 13(f) securities.
13F-HR: Holdings Report variant of 13F. Contains the actual list of positions. Filed quarterly within 45 days of quarter-end.
13F-NT: Notice variant of 13F. Filed by managers whose holdings are reported on another manager's 13F-HR; the 13F-NT points to the primary filer rather than re-listing positions.
Section 13(f) securities: The SEC-published list of securities subject to 13F reporting. Includes most U.S.-listed common stock, ADRs, qualifying ETFs, and certain convertible debt and options.
Confidential treatment: An exemption a 13F filer can request from the SEC to delay public disclosure of specific positions. Granted positions appear on the 13F only when the confidentiality period ends.