What is a 13F filing?
A 13F filing is a quarterly SEC report listing the US-listed shares a large money manager held at quarter end.[S2] Managers with $100 million or more in such shares must file it within 45 days after the quarter.[S1]
The law calls these filers "institutional investment managers". Banks, insurers, broker-dealers and pension funds count even when they invest their own money. So do investment advisers that run other people's money.[S2]
A person investing only their own money is not one, so they do not file a 13F.[S2]
Who has to file one?
The test is "investment discretion": the power to decide what is bought or sold for the accounts.[S2] The trigger is $100 million or more of Section 13(f) securities on the last trading day of any month.[S1]
Section 13(f) securities are the ones on an official SEC list. It mainly covers US exchange-traded stocks, closed-end funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), plus some options, warrants and convertible bonds.[S2]
Once a manager crosses the line in a year, it files four reports: for December, then March, June and September. It must file all four even if its holdings later fall below $100 million.[S2]
When is a 13F due?
Within 45 days after each calendar quarter ends.[S1] When the 45th day falls on a weekend or holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day.[S2]
The SEC's FAQ gives Aug 14, 2026 as the deadline for the quarter ended Jun 30, 2026. For the quarter ended Sep 30, 2026, it gives Nov 16, 2026.[S2]
So a 13F always looks back. A holding on the last day of June can first become public in mid-August.
How is the dollar value in a 13F worked out?
For a line of shares, the value is the number of shares times the closing price on the quarter's last trading day.[S3]
Market value (Column 4) = shares held (Column 5, share lines) × closing price on the quarter's last trading day
The "value total" on the Summary Page adds up Column 4 for every line.[S3]
Watch the units in older filings. Since Jan 3, 2023, values are rounded to the nearest dollar; before that, to the nearest thousand dollars.[S2]
What does a 13F show?
It has three parts: a Cover Page, a Summary Page and the Information Table.[S3] The Information Table has one line per holding, with eight columns:[S3]
- Columns 1 to 3: the company's name, the class of share and its CUSIP (a nine-digit security code).
- Column 4: the market value, worked out as above.
- Column 5: the number of shares ("SH") or the bond principal ("PRN"), marked "Put" or "Call" for options.
- Column 6: who decides on trades: the manager alone ("SOLE"), shared with a related company ("DFND"), or shared otherwise ("OTR").
- Column 7: which other listed manager the line belongs to.
- Column 8: how many shares the manager can vote: sole, shared or none.
An option line describes the shares underlying the option, not shares the manager owns.[S3]
What does a real 13F look like?
Berkshire Hathaway, which Cityfort covers, files its own 13F. Its report for the quarter ended Jun 30, 2026 was filed on Aug 14, 2026.[S4]
It is a "13F Holdings Report". It names Berkshire insurance companies such as GEICO, National Indemnity and General Re as "other included managers".[S4]
The 13F for the quarter ended Mar 31, 2025, filed May 15, 2025, ticked the "Confidential Treatment Requested" box. That box means one or more holdings were left out while the SEC considered a confidentiality request.[S5]
On Aug 14, 2025, Berkshire filed an amendment, form type 13F-HR/A, that added holdings for that quarter. Its cover says confidential treatment for them expired that day.[S6]
For that quarter, the public list was incomplete for three months after it was filed.[S5][S6]
What does a 13F leave out?
- Short positions. Managers report only long positions and never subtract shorts from them. Options they have written are left out too.[S2]
- Anything off the SEC's list. Mutual fund shares and shares that trade only on foreign exchanges are not reported.[S2]
- Everything between quarter ends. Holdings are reported as of the quarter's last day, so trades before or after that day do not show.[S2]
- Some holdings, for a time or for good. A manager may ask for confidential treatment, and may omit positions under 10,000 shares and under $200,000.[S2][S3]
Each rendered filing also carries an SEC warning. It says the SEC "has not necessarily reviewed the information in this filing and has not determined if it is accurate and complete".[S4]
Where do you find 13F filings?
On EDGAR, the SEC's filing system. Search the manager's name and filter by form type "13F".[S7]
A holdings report is form type 13F-HR, and a notice is 13F-NT. An amendment adds "/A".[S2] A notice means another manager reports the holdings.[S2]
A 13F is filed by the manager, not by the companies it holds.[S1]
A company's proxy statement shows the other side. It has a table of anyone the company knows owns more than 5% of a voting class.[S9][S8]
For how that table is laid out, see how to read a proxy statement. For trades by a company's own directors and officers, see Form 4 insider filings. For the business behind the filer above, read the Berkshire Hathaway business explainer.