GlossaryGuide

An institutional investment manager that uses the U.S. mail (or other means or instrumentality of interstate commerce) in the course of its business, and exercises investment discretion over $100 million or more in Section 13(f) securities (explained below) must report its holdings quarterly on Form 13F with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

In general, an institutional investment manager is: (1) an entity that invests in, or buys and sells, securities for its own account; or (2) a natural person or an entity that exercises investment discretion over the account of any other natural person or entity. Institutional investment managers can include investment advisers, banks, insurance companies, broker-dealers, pension funds, and corporations.

Form 13F is required to be filed within 45 days of the end of a calendar quarter. The Form 13F report requires disclosure of the name of the institutional investment manager that files the report, and, with respect to each section 13(f) security over which it exercises investment discretion, the name and class, the CUSIP number, the number of shares as of the end of the calendar quarter for which the report is filed, and the total market value.

The securities that institutional investment managers must report on Form 13F are “section 13(f) securities.” Section 13(f) securities generally include equity securities that trade on an exchange (including the Nasdaq National Market System), certain equity options and warrants, shares of closed-end investment companies, and certain convertible debt securities. The shares of open-end investment companies (i.e., mutual funds) are not Section 13(f) securities. Section 13(f) securities can be found on the Official List of Section 13(f) Securities. The Official List is published quarterly and is available for free on the SEC’s website. It is not available in paper copy format or on computer disk.

You can search for and retrieve Form 13F filings using the SEC’s EDGAR database. To find the filings of a particular money manager, enter the money manager’s name in the Company Name field. To see all recently filed 13Fs, use the “Latest Filings” search function and enter “13F” in the Form Type box.

You can learn more about Form 13F filings and the applicable statutory and regulatory provisions, as well as obtain a copy of the Form and instructions and the Official List of Section 13(f) Securities, by accessing Frequently Asked Questions About Form 13F prepared by the SEC’s Division of Investment Management.