What SEC Form 13F-HR actually reveals and doesn't

Form 13F-HR is the quarterly public holdings report that institutional investment managers file with the SEC when they cross the Section 13(f) reporting threshold. Understanding what it covers, when it is due, and what it omits prevents misreading these disclosures as current investment recommendations. For a broader primer on institutional filings, see our SEC filing types overview.

TL;DR

• An institutional investment manager files Form 13F-HR when it exercises investment discretion over accounts holding at least $100 million in Section 13(f) securities on the last trading day of any month during a calendar year SEC.
• Each report is due within 45 days after the calendar quarter ends; the report shows quarter-end holdings, not the manager's current portfolio.
• Only reportable Section 13(f) securities appear on the Information Table; short positions, cash, most bonds, and private holdings are excluded, and very small positions may be omitted under specific conditions.

Who must file Form 13F-HR

Under Rule 13f-1, an institutional investment manager must file if it:

1. Exercises investment discretion over accounts holding Section 13(f) securities with an aggregate fair market value of at least $100 million on the last trading day of any month during a calendar year SEC.
2. Uses U.S. interstate commerce in its business SEC.

The $100 million threshold applies to reportable Section 13(f) securities only, not total assets under management. Managers who cross the threshold must file for that year's fourth quarter and the following three quarters, even if holdings later fall below $100 million SEC.

Examples of filers include registered or unregistered investment advisers, hedge fund managers, banks and trust departments, insurance companies, broker-dealers, pension funds, and certain foreign managers using U.S. interstate commerce SEC.

Quarterly deadlines and the reporting lag

Form 13F-HR is due within 45 days after the end of each calendar quarter. If the deadline falls on a weekend or federal holiday, it moves to the next business day SEC.

Because filings are due up to 45 days after quarter-end, the public report reflects the manager's reportable holdings as of the last day of the quarter, not the filing date. A Q2 2026 filing submitted in August shows the manager's reportable portfolio as of June 30, 2026, while the underlying manager may have bought, sold, or materially changed positions before the filing becomes public SEC.

What the Information Table reports

A standard Form 13F-HR includes a Cover Page, a Summary Page, and an Information Table in required XML format SEC.

For each reportable security, the Information Table generally discloses:

• Issuer name
• Title or class of security
• CUSIP and, where applicable, FIGI
• Number of shares or principal amount
• Whether the position is discretionary
• Put/call designation for reportable options
• Fair market value SEC

Since the February 2022 amendments, fair market values are rounded to the nearest dollar rather than the nearest thousand dollars SEC. This provides more precise disclosure compared to the previous rounding methodology that grouped values in $1,000 increments.

Value and discretion fields explained

The fair market value column uses the security's end-of-quarter fair market value, generally based on the last trading day of the quarter SEC. The valuation methodology aims to reflect the price that would be received to sell, or paid to buy, the security in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date.

The discretion field indicates whether the manager has investment discretion over that particular position. This separates holdings where the manager independently makes investment decisions from those held on behalf of others under different decision rights. A filing may combine multiple managers' portfolios under one CUSIP/FIGI. In such cases, positions are marked with the discretion indicator corresponding to who exercises control over each security SEC.

Because Form 13F-HR aggregates discretionary holdings for the $100 million threshold test, the discretion flag matters for both compliance and public interpretation of which positions the manager actively controls. A position held by a manager on behalf of a pension fund with no discretion would be excluded from the $100 million calculation, even if the fund owns the same security through a separate adviser.

Amendment filings (13F-HR/A)

A manager may file 13F-HR/A to amend a previously filed Form 13F SEC. Under Rule 13f-1(a)(2), an amendment other than one reporting only holdings that were not previously reported in a public filing for the same period must set forth the complete text of the Form 13F. Amendments must be numbered sequentially SEC.

Common triggers for amendments include:

• Correcting errors in previously filed data
• Adding previously omitted holdings after a recalculation or internal review
• Updating positions that were held but not reported due to a temporary omission from the 13(f) securities list

What can be omitted

A manager may omit a position from the Information Table only if both conditions are met:

• Fewer than 10,000 shares or units
• Aggregate fair market value below $200,000

The manager may voluntarily report the position instead, which can be useful for transparency or client communication SEC.

Additionally, the following generally do not appear on Form 13F-HR:

• Short equity positions
• Written put and call options
• Cash, bank deposits, most bonds, many derivatives
• Private-company holdings
• Securities traded only on non-U.S. exchanges (e.g., Toronto, London, Tokyo)
• Open-end mutual funds SEC

The reporting universe: Section 13(f) securities

Reportable securities are defined as Section 13(f) securities: equity securities of a class described in section 13(d)(1) of the Exchange Act that are admitted to trading on a national securities exchange or quoted on the automated quotation system of a registered securities association SEC.

In determining what classes of securities are Section 13(f) securities, an institutional investment manager may rely on the most recent list published by the SEC under section 13(f)(4) of the Act. Only securities of a class on that official list are counted for the $100 million threshold test and must be reported SEC.

Interpreting 13F-HR disclosures

A Form 13F-HR is best understood as a delayed, incomplete snapshot of an institution's reportable long holdings at quarter-end. It can help identify disclosed equity positions, approximate position sizes, and quarter-to-quarter changes, but it does not reveal the manager's full portfolio, current positions, short book, cash allocation, or most derivative exposures SEC. To track disclosed holdings on a specific US-listed stock, open the AAPL institutional ownership page or compare positions across large-cap equity holdings.

For US-listed equity research with public market data, see the AAPL stock overview.

Common errors and fixes

FAQ

Does a single manager below $100 million ever file Form 13F-HR? No. A natural person investing only for their own account generally is not an institutional investment manager. An individual who exercises investment discretion over another person's or entity's account can be required to file SEC.

Can foreign managers file Form 13F-HR? Yes. A foreign manager that uses an instrumentality of U.S. interstate commerce and meets the $100 million Section 13(f) securities threshold can be subject to the filing requirement SEC.

Are options always reported on Form 13F-HR? Not always. Reportable options generally must be put or call options on a Section 13(f) security. Written options generally are not reported SEC.

What happens if a manager misses the 45-day deadline? The SEC does not grant routine extensions for late Form 13F filings SEC.

How are values rounded after the 2022 amendments? Fair market values are rounded to the nearest dollar, not the nearest thousand dollars SEC.

Does a manager keep filing if it falls below $100 million? Once the obligation starts, falling below the threshold after the triggering month does not immediately eliminate the requirement to file the remaining required reports SEC.

Can confidential treatment be requested? Yes. Since February 28, 2023, confidential-treatment requests must be filed electronically on EDGAR using Form 13F-CTR or 13F-CTR/A SEC.

Where can I see a manager's historical 13F filings? Historical filings are publicly available on EDGAR. Look for filings with cover sheet type 13F-HR for quarterly reports and 13F-HR/A for amendments.

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