13F Filings Explained
Every quarter, institutional investors managing over $100M must disclose their equity holdings to the SEC. These filings are public record — and they reveal exactly what the world's best investors own. But the data has nuances worth understanding.
The Filing Timeline
There's a built-in delay between when a portfolio snapshot is taken and when you can actually see it. Understanding this gap is crucial for interpreting 13F data.
Quarter End
Portfolio snapshot date. Holdings are frozen as of market close.
Filing Deadline
13F must be submitted to the SEC. Most large filers submit early.
Public Availability
The filing appears on EDGAR. Whale Radar picks it up within hours.
Quarter End
Portfolio snapshot date. Holdings are frozen as of market close.
Filing Deadline
13F must be submitted to the SEC. Most large filers submit early.
Public Availability
The filing appears on EDGAR. Whale Radar picks it up within hours.
Key insight: By the time you see a 13F filing, the portfolio snapshot is at least 45 days old. The investor may have already changed their positions. This delay is the fundamental limitation — and opportunity — of 13F data.
Reading Between Filings
A single filing shows what an investor holds. But comparing two consecutive filings reveals what they bought, sold, or exited — the real signal.
Q3 2024 Filing
Report Date: Sep 30, 2024
Q4 2024 Filing
Report Date: Dec 31, 2024
Q3 2024 Filing
Report Date: Sep 30, 2024
Q4 2024 Filing
Report Date: Dec 31, 2024
Detected Changes
Key insight: 13F filings only show snapshots — we compare consecutive filings to detect changes. A stock that appears in Q4 but not Q3 is a NEW position. One that disappears is an EXIT.
The Price Uncertainty Window
13F filings tell you how many shares an investor holds — but not when they bought or sold, or at what price. The actual trade could have happened at any point during the quarter.
Position Snapshot
The filing shows shares held on the report date — not when they were bought.
Price Range
We can bound the trade price to the quarter's high/low range — $172 to $192 in this example.
45-Day Delay
You only see this data on the filing date — up to 45 days after the quarter ends.
Key insight: The exact transaction price is unknowable from 13F data. But we can bound it: if an investor added shares during Q3 2024, they paid somewhere between $172 and $192 per share. Whale Radar uses this range to estimate position values.
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