How out of date are 13F filings?
A 13F shows holdings as of the last day of a quarter and can be filed up to 45 days later. So it's about six weeks old on the deadline, and about four and a half months old by the time the next one replaces it.
That lag is the biggest weakness of following funds through their 13Fs: a fund may have sold a stock weeks before anyone sees that it owned it.
Why it matters less than it sounds
- Many funds hold their stocks for years and build positions over several quarters, so their portfolios change slowly.
- Funds that take a stake of over 5% in a company report it much sooner, on a 13D (within 5 business days) or a 13G.
- Funds that own over 10% of a company, or sit on its board, report trades within 2 business days on Form 4.
HedgeFollow merges those faster filings into each fund's portfolio, so a fund's page shows its latest known position in each stock, not just the one from its last 13F.
Confidential treatment
A fund can ask the SEC to keep a position out of its 13F for a while, usually while it's still buying. Those positions appear later, in an amended 13F.
Related pages: Hedge Fund Tracker