Why You Should Pay Attention to 13F Filings When Watching Hedge Funds

Investors are eagerly awaiting second quarter 13F filings to get a peak at which stocks Wall Street’s most prominent hedge funds are betting on.

The 13F is a quarterly filing that funds with more than $100 million in assets are required to publish.The report shows which securities the fund owns, as of the end of the most recent quarter (second quarter in this case). The filing does not include short positions or written options.

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Stocks react when big name investors show interest. If one or more Wall Street gurus add a position, the security will often trade higher on the news and vice versa.

How to Use This Information

Brand name hedge funds have typically acquired their celebrity status by outperforming benchmarks, indicat strategies can be replicated with 13F filings. However, the filing shows holdings as June 30: almost seven weeks ago. Equities have likely moved in a several percent range during that period and funds may have changed their positions.

Traders may also see opportunity in to reacting to volatility as longer term investors rush into or out of a stock. These trades could range from selling liquidity to correcting overdone or underdone moves.

Investors can find filings by searching the fund name on the SEC website. On the following page, click the link right of “DESCRIPTION FOR INFORMATION TABLE.”

Today's Reports

Below is a list, ranked by expected impact, of funds reporting 13F filings Thursday. Most reports will be published after the close. Times listed are estimated release times based on past filings.

• Carl Icahn, Publicly Traded as Icahn Enterprises IEP ~4:05pm
• Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-A) Between 4:30pm and 5:30pm
• Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square Between 4:30pm and 5:30pm
• David Einhorn’s Greenlight Capital ~4:05pm
• David Tepper’s Appaloosa Management ~4:00pm
• Steven Cohen’s Point 72 Asset Management ~4:05pm
• Nelson Peltz’s Trian Partners ~5:00pm
• John Paulson’s Paulson & Co Between 4:10pm and 5:00pm
• George Soros’ Soros Fund Management ~4:15pm
• James Chanos’ Kynikos Associates ~5:30pm
• Stephen Mandel’s Lone Pine Capital ~4:30pm
• Tiger Global Between 4:15pm and 4:30pm
• Fairholme ~4:15pm