---
title: "Reading 13F Voting Authority Columns: Sole, Shared, None"
type: learn
slug: reading-13f-voting-authority-columns-sole-shared-none
canonical_url: https://13finsight.com/learn/reading-13f-voting-authority-columns-sole-shared-none
published_at: 2026-05-13T04:46:15.815Z
updated_at: 2026-05-13T04:46:18.837Z
author: Sarah Mitchell
author_title: Education Editor
author_url: https://13finsight.com/authors/sarah-mitchell
word_count: 1081
locale: en
source: 13F Insight
---

# Reading 13F Voting Authority Columns: Sole, Shared, None

> Every Form 13F-HR line item carries three voting authority columns: sole, shared, and none. The sum equals the position's share count, but the split tells you whether you're looking at an investment manager, a custodian, or a sub-advised pool. Here's how to read each column and what they imply about who actually controls the vote.

Every Form 13F-HR line item carries four columns most retail readers skip past: shares or principal amount, voting authority — sole, voting authority — shared, and voting authority — none. The three voting numbers must sum to the share count. The split — that is, how those shares allocate across the three buckets — is one of the most under-read signals on the entire filing.If you only look at total shares, you see what the filer holds. If you look at the voting authority split, you see what kind of filer it is and who actually controls the vote. Three different filer types can hold the exact same share count on a name and tell three completely different stories.What each column actually meansThe SEC's Form 13F instructions define the three columns directly. They are not optional reporting fields:Sole voting authority — the filer has unilateral authority to vote those shares. No second party shares the decision. This is the column where active investment managers concentrate their positions.Shared voting authority — the filer votes the shares jointly with another party, typically a co-trustee, a sub-adviser, or the client whose assets the filer manages. The vote requires both parties' agreement.No voting authority — the filer reports the position because of investment discretion rules, but does not vote the shares at all. The voting right rests entirely with another party (often the underlying account holder or a separately retained proxy voting service).The three columns must add to the total share count on that line. If they don't, the filing has an error and the cleaning pipeline either drops the line or normalizes it. Our platform exposes the columns as votingAuthoritySole, votingAuthorityShared, and votingAuthorityNone on each holding record.Three patterns and what they signalPattern 1: 100% sole voting authorityThe simplest case. The line reads X shares, X sole, 0 shared, 0 none. This is what discretionary investment managers look like on positions they pick and vote themselves. Lilly Endowment, for example, reports 92.19 million LLY shares with all 92.19 million in the sole column — the endowment is the unambiguous voting decision-maker.Most active long-only mandates show this pattern across their book. When you see 100% sole authority on a high-conviction value name, you are looking at the filer's actual investment view.Pattern 2: Heavy shared voting authorityThe line reads something like X shares, 0 sole, X shared, 0 none — or some non-trivial mix where the shared column dominates. This is the signature of sub-advised pools, joint trustees, or family-office co-management arrangements.Reading the position size alone you might mistake it for high conviction. Reading the voting split tells you the filer has agreed in advance not to vote unilaterally. That's not a less valuable position — it's a structurally different one. The investment decision was likely shared between two parties; the vote will be, too.Pattern 3: Heavy none voting authorityThe line reads X shares, 0 sole, 0 shared, X none. This is the custodial pattern. Trust banks, prime brokers, and certain quantitative pools report large 13F lines on which they exercise no voting authority at all. The shares are held in the filer's name for reporting purposes but the underlying account owner — typically a separately managed mandate or a fund client — keeps the proxy rights.State Street, BNY Mellon, and the trust subsidiaries of major banks frequently show this pattern. So do some large quantitative funds that use external proxy services. When the none column dominates, the filer is functioning as a record-keeper or model executor, not as a voting participant in the issuer's governance.Why this matters for proxy seasonThe aggregated 13F register a retail investor sees on a stock page typically sums positions across all filers. That number is useful for sizing institutional ownership. It is not the same as the number of votes those institutions can collectively cast at the next annual meeting.If the top five 13F filers on a name show heavy none voting authority — they're custodians, not investment managers — then a contentious proxy proposal will hinge on the smaller filers with sole voting authority, not on the largest dollar holders. A 5% activist position with 100% sole voting authority can carry more proxy weight than a 15% custodial position with 100% none voting authority. The 13F record shows you exactly which column dominates.A working readThe voting authority columns are the cleanest test of what a 13F line actually represents. Three quick questions to ask on any large position you're researching:What's in the sole column? That number is the filer's actual investment-decision share count for that name.What's in the none column? That number is custodial — large here means the filer is holding for someone else's account, not its own model.What's in the shared column? That number signals a co-management or sub-adviser structure. Investment views were made jointly; the vote will be, too.The number you see on a stock holders page is the share total. The story under it is in the three voting columns.Where to find these columnsOn 13F Insight, voting authority columns are exposed on every holding record returned by the filer holdings endpoints. The filer directory links to per-quarter holdings tables; the stock pages sum these into a single line per filer but the underlying voting split is preserved in the 13F filings themselves. For aggregate signal context that already accounts for filer-type heterogeneity, the aggregate insights feed is the daily roll-up.FAQWhat do the three voting authority columns on a 13F filing mean?Form 13F requires every line item to allocate the position's share count across three columns: sole voting authority (filer votes unilaterally), shared voting authority (filer votes jointly with another party), and no voting authority (filer reports the position but does not vote it). The three columns must sum to the total share count.What kind of 13F filer typically shows heavy 'none' voting authority?Trust banks, prime brokers, and the custodial subsidiaries of major banks (State Street, BNY Mellon, JP Morgan trust businesses) frequently report large 13F lines on which they exercise no voting authority — the shares are held for client accounts that retain proxy rights. Some quantitative funds that outsource proxy voting also show this pattern.Does the voting authority split affect a stock's proxy outcome?Yes. The 13F dollar value at the top of a holder list is not the same as the votes those filers can cast at the next annual meeting. Custodial filers with high 'none' voting authority don't vote. Smaller filers with 100% sole authority may carry more proxy weight than larger custodial holders.

## FAQ

### What do the three voting authority columns on a 13F filing mean?

Form 13F requires every line item to allocate the position's share count across three columns: sole voting authority (filer votes unilaterally), shared voting authority (filer votes jointly with another party), and no voting authority (filer reports the position but does not vote it). The three columns must sum to the total share count.

### What kind of 13F filer typically shows heavy 'none' voting authority?

Trust banks, prime brokers, and the custodial subsidiaries of major banks (State Street, BNY Mellon, JP Morgan trust businesses) frequently report large 13F lines on which they exercise no voting authority — the shares are held for client accounts that retain proxy rights. Some quantitative funds that outsource proxy voting also show this pattern.

### Does the voting authority split affect a stock's proxy outcome?

Yes. The 13F dollar value at the top of a holder list is not the same as the votes those filers can cast at the next annual meeting. Custodial filers with high 'none' voting authority don't vote. Smaller filers with 100% sole authority may carry more proxy weight than larger custodial holders on a contested proposal.

### Do the three voting authority columns always sum to the total share count?

Yes — that is a hard requirement in the SEC's Form 13F instructions. If a filing reports a sum that doesn't reconcile, the line is rejected or normalized during the data ingestion process. Our platform exposes the three values as votingAuthoritySole, votingAuthorityShared, and votingAuthorityNone on each holding record.

### What does it mean when shared voting authority dominates a 13F line?

A high shared-voting count signals a sub-advised mandate, a joint trustee structure, or a family-office co-management arrangement. The filer agreed in advance not to vote unilaterally; the underlying investment decision was made jointly with another party, and the proxy vote will be too.

### Where can I see voting authority columns on 13F Insight?

Per-quarter holdings tables on each filer page expose voting authority in the underlying 13F filings. Aggregate stock-page holder tables sum positions across filers; the voting split is preserved at the per-filer per-line level in the raw 13F filings linked from each holdings row.

---

Source: 13F Insight — https://13finsight.com/learn/reading-13f-voting-authority-columns-sole-shared-none
Author: Sarah Mitchell — https://13finsight.com/authors/sarah-mitchell
Last updated: 2026-05-13T04:46:18.837Z