Updated May 24, 2026 · 798 articles
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Educational guides about 13F filings, insider trading, institutional investing, and how to track smart money moves.
Currency Exposure: The Hidden Layer in Foreign Holdings
When a fund owns foreign stocks or ADRs, its dollar returns carry a currency effect a 13F never shows. Here's how FX exposure hides in international holdings.
Sarah MitchellFund-of-Funds 13Fs: A Secondhand Signal
A fund-of-funds invests in other funds, not stocks directly — so its 13F is a derivative signal. Here's why their holdings aren't direct stock picks.
Marcus ChenLiquidity: How Big Funds Move (and Get Stuck in) Stocks
Liquidity is the invisible constraint on what large funds can own. Here's how it drives megacap clustering, small-cap diversification, and hidden exit risk in 13Fs.
Marcus ChenWhen a 13F Is Mostly One Company (Control Stakes)
Some 13Fs are 90%+ a single stock — not a wild bet, but a parent reporting its own public subsidiary. Here's how to spot and read a control-stake filing.
Marcus ChenSmall-Cap Investing: Reading a Small-Cap 13F
Small-cap funds fish in under-covered waters with hundreds of tiny positions. Here's what small-cap investing is and why a small-cap 13F looks so different.
Sarah MitchellGARP: Growth at a Reasonable Price, Explained
Many funds refuse to choose between value and growth — they practice GARP, buying growers at sensible prices. Here's what GARP is and how its 13F reads.
Sarah MitchellDisruptive-Innovation Investing: Betting on the Future
Some funds buy tomorrow's winners — unprofitable innovators in AI, genomics, and fintech. Here's what disruptive-innovation investing is and how its 13F reads.
Sarah MitchellHow Market Drawdowns Show Up in 13F Data
In a selloff, a 13F's value falls from prices and from selling — two very different things. Here's how to read share counts to tell what a manager actually did.
Marcus ChenConstructivist vs Aggressive Activism
Some activists collaborate with management; others wage public proxy fights. Here's the spectrum from constructivist to aggressive activism and why the style matters.
Marcus ChenKey-Person Risk: When a Fund Is One Person
Many tracked funds depend on a single star manager. Here's why key-person risk matters when you follow a fund's 13F — and how a leadership change can show up in the data.
Sarah MitchellA Fund's First 13F: Why New Filers Are Worth Watching
Every quarter, funds cross the $100M threshold and file a 13F for the first time, revealing a once-private book in full. Here's how to read a debut filing.
Sarah MitchellSurvivorship Bias: The Trap in Following Famous Funds
Tracking only legendary investors hides the many who used the same strategies and failed. Here's how survivorship bias distorts 13F analysis — and how to avoid it.
Sarah MitchellStyle Drift: When a 13F Stops Matching the Mandate
A value fund full of growth stocks? A small-cap manager holding megacaps? That's style drift. Here's how to spot it in a 13F and why it matters.
Sarah MitchellPod Shops: Reading a Multi-Manager Platform's 13F
Millennium and Citadel run hundreds of independent pods, and their 13Fs aggregate them all. Here's why a pod shop's filing rarely reflects a single view.
Marcus ChenCrossover Funds: The Public-Private 13F
Crossover funds like Coatue invest before and after IPOs — but their 13F shows only the public half. Here's how to read a crossover fund's filing.
Sarah MitchellFounder-Led Companies: Why Investors Seek Them
Many long-term investors favor founder-led companies for their alignment and long-term mindset. Here's why the theme recurs in 13Fs — and the governance risks.
Sarah MitchellInsurance Float: Why Insurers Hold Big Stock Portfolios
Insurers like Berkshire run huge equity 13Fs thanks to float — premiums they invest before paying claims. Here's how float works and why it makes insurers great investors.
Sarah MitchellPension Funds as 13F Filers: How to Read Them
CalPERS and state retirement systems file 13Fs too — but their books are largely indexed and externally managed. Here's how to read a pension fund's filing.
Sarah MitchellCapital Allocation and Buybacks: Reading How Firms Use Cash
How management spends a company's cash — reinvesting, acquiring, or buying back stock — can make or break an investment. Here's why it shapes quality 13F portfolios.
Sarah MitchellTotal Return Swaps: The Exposure a 13F Can't See
A fund can have huge exposure to a stock that never appears in any 13F — through total return swaps. Here's how they work and why they're a disclosure blind spot.
Marcus Chen