Byte # 65: Track the Smart Money with Form 13F
Hello and welcome to this week’s Byte on Form 13F and how you can use it to your advantage.
What is Form 13F?
A Form 13F is a quarterly report that certain large institutional investment managers with more than $100 million in assets under management are required to file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to disclose their U.S. equity holdings.
In simple terms, a Form 13F gives you a snapshot of the long equity positions held by large institutional investors. It does not show short positions, cash, or most hedging strategies.
So, while a 13F gives you a useful window into an institution’s portfolio, it doesn’t tell you the entire story. What you’re seeing is a snapshot of their disclosed long positions not their complete investment strategy.
There’s another important thing to keep in mind: 13Fs are not real-time reports.
The SEC requires Form 13Fs to be filed within 45 calendar days after the end of each calendar quarter. This means the information you’re looking at can be up to 45 days old by the time it becomes public.
Because of how the calendar falls, the filing deadlines are generally:
Q1 (ends Mar 31) : Due by May 15
Q2 (ends Jun 30) : Due by Aug 14
Q3 (ends Sep 30) : Due by Nov 14
Q4 (ends Dec 31) : Due by Feb 14 of the following year
To summarize: 13Fs show what institutions own…not what they bought today.
Where to find Form 13F?
Anyone can access Form 13F filings. One resource I like to use is 13F.info.
Simply search by the manager or the firm name. For example, look up Chuck Akre (Akre Capital Management) or Warren Buffett (Berkshire Hathaway Inc.).
How to use Form 13F?
When looking at a 13F, I recommend focusing on changes in the portfolio, rather than simply looking at the list of holdings.
You can compare the current quarter with the previous quarter and look for questions like:
What did they add?
What positions did they increase meaningfully?
What did they exit completely?
Which positions became a larger or smaller percentage of the portfolio?
You can also look at the size of the position. A very small position may represent a new idea or a position the manager is simply testing, while a large portfolio allocation can indicate that the investment is more important to the overall portfolio.
But remember position size alone doesn't tell you the manager's conviction or the reason behind the trade. That's where additional research comes in.
Look for multi-fund consensus
Another interesting approach is to look for multi-fund consensus.
Run the 13F reports for several different funds and see whether multiple managers are adding the same company during the same quarter.
One manager buying a stock may simply reflect that manager’s individual thesis. But when several sophisticated investors independently increase their positions in the same company, it can be an interesting signal worth researching further.
You can also use 13Fs to identify broader investment themes, such as:
Institutions increasing exposure to industrials
Hedge funds accumulating semiconductors
Investment managers increasing exposure to healthcare
Broad buying of high-quality compounders
The goal isn’t to blindly copy these investors but to understand where institutional money may be flowing and then do your own homework.
The emotional benefit: 13Fs reduce fear
There’s another benefit to studying institutional filings that has nothing to do with finding your next stock.
When investors see that some institutions:
Hold through volatility
Add to positions during drawdowns
Build positions over multiple quarters
Remain invested for the long term
…it can provide an important perspective during market turbulence.
It reinforces one of the core messages I keep coming back to:
Investing is not about reacting…it’s about building.
Of course, institutions can also sell, change their thesis, or completely exit a position. That's why a 13F should be viewed as a research tool, not a signal to blindly follow.
Hedge Funds & Investment Managers Worth Watching
Here are a few examples of managers whose 13Fs are consistently studied for understanding institutional behavior.
Berkshire Hathaway : long‑term conviction, concentrated positions
Bridgewater Associates : macro themes, global diversification
Citadel : tactical positioning, broad coverage
Coatue Management : tech‑focused institutional trends
Tiger Global : growth themes, secular trends
Lone Pine Capital : high‑quality compounders
D1 Capital : crossover investing themes
Viking Global : healthcare + quality growth
Third Point : activist signals + thematic bets
These firms can give you a fascinating look at how different investment styles show up in publicly disclosed holdings.
Real Examples from Recent 13Fs
Here are a few examples of what you can uncover when you dig into these filings:
Third Point LLC, Dan Loeb’s investment firm, added 20 million shares of Warner Bros. Discovery, representing a significant position in its Q2 2026 portfolio.
Akre Capital Management, led by Chuck Akre, has been adding ServiceNow to its portfolio over the last two quarters and now holds approximately 1.25 million shares.
During the second quarter of 2026, Bridgewater Associates, the macro investment firm founded by Ray Dalio, made notable changes to its portfolio, including increasing exposure to energy, utilities, and value-oriented sectors while reducing exposure to some technology holdings.
These are exactly the kinds of changes that make 13Fs interesting: you aren't just looking at what an investor owns…you’re looking at how the portfolio is changing.
And yes, that's it for Today!
This is a shorter and easier-to-digest Byte after my last two heavy-duty Bytes on REITs.😊
I wanted to take a step back this week and share one of the tools I often use when I’m looking for new investment ideas and trying to understand what other investors are doing.
A 13F won’t tell you what to buy. But it can give you a starting point for where to look, what to research, and what questions to ask.
And sometimes, that's all you need to uncover your next great investment idea.
I hope you found this Byte useful and, as always, thank you for reading, sharing, and liking my Bytes. 😊
I’ll see you next Tuesday…until then,
Happy Investing!
Pooja
