Glossary
Form 13F institutional holdings
Form 13F institutional holdings are quarterly SEC disclosures of the equity positions managed by institutional investment managers. WhaleWisdom aggregates them commercially into filer-security-quarter position rows covering every 13F filer since 2001 Q1 - tens of millions of position rows in total.
What is Form 13F institutional holdings?
Form 13F is the quarterly report institutional investment managers file with the SEC disclosing their holdings in exchange-traded equities. The raw filings become analytically useful once normalized, and WhaleWisdom is the cataloged example: one row per filer-security-quarter position, covering all SEC 13F filers from Q1 2001 to the latest filed quarter, tens of millions of position rows in total. Schedule 13D/G activist disclosures and insider transactions start later there, at 2006. Access tiers shape how much history you can reach: the free tier offers only the past two years with no current quarter, Standard at $90 per quarter unlocks history to 2001 with up to 50 funds and 50 stocks per query plus API access, Pro at $150 per quarter raises limits to 200 funds and stocks with combined holdings, and Enterprise adds nightly 13F and 13D/G FTP files.
Why does Form 13F institutional holdings matter when choosing a dataset?
13F-derived datasets carry structural blind spots that mislead anyone who skips the caveats.
- Long-only equity, quarterly. Shorts, most debt, derivatives beyond listed options and intra-quarter trades are invisible - a manager's true book is not in the file.
- Tier limits gate history. Two years free versus 2001-onward paid is a 20-fold depth difference; backtests silently truncate if built on the free tier.
- Redistribution is prohibited. Terms bar crawling, bypassing the API, and publishing or reselling WhaleWisdom information, so downstream products need their own sourcing plan.
How do you evaluate Form 13F institutional holdings in a data source?
- Verify the grain before joining. Rows are filer-security-quarter positions - portfolio-level aggregates must be derived, never assumed present.
- Match your tier to your time range. Free covers the past two years without the current quarter; Standard ($90/quarter) reaches 2001 Q1.
- Check API and file delivery limits. Standard allows up to 50 funds and 50 stocks per query; Enterprise supplies nightly 13F and 13D/G FTP files.
- Read the restrictions on reuse. Crawling, bypassing the API, and publishing or reselling the information are prohibited by terms.
Related terms
Entries that sit next to Form 13F institutional holdings in this glossary:
Frequently asked questions
What does a Form 13F show?
Quarterly holdings of exchange-traded equities by institutional investment managers; WhaleWisdom normalizes them to one row per filer-security-quarter position.
How far back does 13F data go?
SEC filings reach 2001 Q1, and WhaleWisdom's paid tiers cover all of it - tens of millions of position rows; the free tier shows only the past two years.
Can I resell aggregated 13F data from WhaleWisdom?
No. Its terms prohibit crawling, bypassing the API, and publishing or reselling WhaleWisdom information; commercial redistribution requires separate arrangements.
Datasets containing this field
Datasets containing Form 13F institutional holdings
6 datasets carry form 13f institutional holdings in the catalog. Open one, count the fields, judge for yourself.
U.S. Census Quarterly Financial Report (QFR)
World Bank Stock Market Indicators
Country Name · Country Code · Indicator Name …+3 more
Data.gov Securities Portal
Federal Reserve Bank of New York Markets Datasets
FINRA API Developer Center
FINRA BrokerCheck
ind_source_id · ind_firstname / ind_middlename / ind_lastname · ind_other_names …+8 more
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