How to Find 13f Filing Using Crd FAQ: Your Top Questions Answered
To find a 13F filing using a CRD number, you cross-reference the CRD from FINRA's BrokerCheck to get the manager's SEC CIK number, then search SEC EDGAR directly. The process takes about three minutes once you know how to find 13f filing using CRD and connect it to EDGAR's search system. This post walks through every step, then answers the investor questions that come up most often once the filing is in hand.
Key Takeaways
- A CRD (Central Registration Depository) number identifies investment advisers registered with FINRA, but EDGAR uses SEC CIK numbers, so you need to bridge the two systems.
- The SEC's Investment Adviser Public Disclosure (IAPD) site links CRD numbers to CIK numbers for most registered advisers.
- Once you have the CIK, filtering EDGAR for form type 13F-HR returns every quarterly institutional holding disclosure that manager has ever filed.
- 13F filings are delayed by up to 45 days and cover only U.S. equity holdings above $10,000 in value at quarter-end.
- Managers can request confidential treatment on positions they are still building, so a 13F is always a partial picture of a manager's current activity.
- Our guru tracker aggregates and parses 13F data from 40+ institutional managers, saving you the manual EDGAR lookup process.
Step 1: Get the CRD Number
A CRD number is a unique identifier assigned to every investment adviser and broker-dealer registered with FINRA. You can find it in two ways.
If you already have the manager's name, go to FINRA BrokerCheck at brokercheck.finra.org and search for the firm. The CRD number appears prominently on the firm's profile page. For individual advisers, it appears alongside their registration history.
If someone gives you a CRD number directly (common when referencing a specific 13F submission), note it down exactly. CRD numbers are purely numeric, typically five to seven digits.
Step 2: Bridge from CRD to SEC CIK
EDGAR does not use CRD numbers. It uses CIK (Central Index Key) numbers, which the SEC assigns independently. The bridge is the SEC's Investment Adviser Public Disclosure site at adviserinfo.sec.gov.
Search for the manager by name. On the adviser's detail page, look for the SEC File Number (format: 801-XXXXX or 802-XXXXX). You can also click through to the adviser's Form ADV filing, which typically references the CIK directly. Alternatively, run the manager's name through EDGAR's full-text search at efts.sec.gov and filter by filing type 13F-HR to find the CIK from the filing header.
For large, well-known managers, this cross-reference is often unnecessary because their CIKs are widely documented. Berkshire Hathaway is 0001067983. Scion Asset Management (Michael Burry) is 0001649339. Pershing Square (Bill Ackman) is 0001336528.
Step 3: Search EDGAR for 13F-HR Filings
With the CIK in hand, go to sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar and enter:
- Action: Get filings
- CIK: the number you found
- Type: 13F-HR
EDGAR returns a list of every 13F-HR and 13F-HR/A (amendment) the manager has filed, in reverse chronological order. Click any row to open the filing index, then click the primary document to see the actual holdings table.
| Filing Type | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 13F-HR | Primary quarterly holding report |
| 13F-HR/A | Amendment to a previously filed 13F-HR |
| 13F-CTR | Confidential treatment request (positions withheld from public 13F) |
| 13F-NT | Notice that manager qualifies but holds no reportable securities |
The 13F-HR/A appears when the manager corrects an error or when a previously confidential position is released for public disclosure. Always check for amendments after the initial filing if you want a complete picture.
Step 4: Read the Holdings Table
The holdings table lists each position by security name, CUSIP (a unique identifier for each security), shares held, and the market value at the quarter-end date. The value is in thousands of dollars, so a figure of "5,847,200" means approximately $5.85 billion.
Pay attention to the "Investment Discretion" column. An entry marked "SOLE" means the manager makes unilateral decisions on that position. "SHARED" means another party (often a sub-adviser) is involved. "OTHER" typically indicates a non-discretionary account. For research purposes, SOLE positions reflect the manager's own conviction most directly.
The "Put/Call" column notes when reported shares represent options rather than direct equity. A large reported share count under a put contract means the manager holds the right to sell those shares, which is a bearish bet, not a long position.
Step 5: Build a Change Table Quarter Over Quarter
A single 13F filing tells you what a manager held at one point in time. The value comes from comparing quarters. Look at shares held in Q4 versus Q3. A position that grew from 2 million shares to 3.5 million shares represents a 75% increase, suggesting active accumulation.
For a stock like JNJ, which yields 3.1% and carries a P/E near 15.4, seeing multiple institutional managers increase holdings in the same quarter is a useful research signal. It does not guarantee the stock is cheap, but it concentrates your attention on a name with institutional backing.
Our guru tracker automates this quarter-over-quarter comparison across 40+ managers, so you can see convergent buying or selling without rebuilding the spreadsheet manually each quarter.
Common Errors When Using EDGAR for 13F Research
Three mistakes come up repeatedly.
First, treating filing date as trade date. A 13F filed on May 15 reflects positions held on March 31. If the stock moved significantly in April, the manager's current view may have already changed.
Second, ignoring amendments. Some managers file a sparse initial 13F and add positions through 13F-HR/A filings weeks later. If you checked the initial filing only, you missed part of the picture.
Third, confusing 13F shares with actual share count. If a manager reports 10 million shares held "SHARED" across multiple accounts, they may not have discretion over all 10 million. The SOLE-discretion number is the cleaner signal.
Further reading: SEC EDGAR · FRED Economic Data
Why 13f filing sec edgar Matters
This section anchors the discussion on 13f filing sec edgar. The detailed treatment, formula, and worked examples appear in the body of this article above. The points below summarize the most important takeaways for value investors who want to apply 13f filing sec edgar in real portfolio decisions. ValueMarkers exposes the underlying data on every covered ticker via the screener and stock profile pages, so the concepts in this article translate directly into actionable filters.
Key inputs for 13f filing sec edgar
See the main discussion of 13f filing sec edgar in the sections above for the full treatment, including the inputs, the calculation methodology, the typical sector benchmarks, and the most common pitfalls to avoid. The ValueMarkers screener lets value investors filter the full universe of 100,000+ stocks across 73 exchanges using 13f filing sec edgar alongside the rest of the 120-indicator composite, with sector percentiles and historical trends shown on every stock profile.
Sector benchmarks for 13f filing sec edgar
See the main discussion of 13f filing sec edgar in the sections above for the full treatment, including the inputs, the calculation methodology, the typical sector benchmarks, and the most common pitfalls to avoid. The ValueMarkers screener lets value investors filter the full universe of 100,000+ stocks across 73 exchanges using 13f filing sec edgar alongside the rest of the 120-indicator composite, with sector percentiles and historical trends shown on every stock profile.
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Use our guru tracker to monitor 13F filings from the institutional managers whose research you trust, and set alerts for any quarter-over-quarter position changes in names on your watchlist.
Written by Javier Sanz, Founder of ValueMarkers. Last updated April 2026.
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Disclaimer: This content is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice, a recommendation, or an offer to buy or sell any security. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Consult a licensed financial advisor before making investment decisions.
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