SEC Form 13F Filing Analysis Guide for Investment

Now I have comprehensive information to provide you with a detailed analysis of how to interpret and utilize SEC Form 13F filings for investment purposes. Let me provide a systematic guide.

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mandated by Section 13(f) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 for institutional investment managers who exercise investment discretion over $100 million or more in Section 13(f) securities [1][2]. This includes U.S. stocks, certain ETFs, convertible securities, and related instruments, though it explicitly excludes mutual fund shares and other open-end investment company securities [3].

, as a registered investment adviser, files its Form 13F with the SEC, providing transparency into its portfolio positioning. According to recent filings, Paladin Advisory Group LLC reported assets under management of approximately as of March 2025, with a portfolio value of in Q3 2025, reflecting a from the previous quarter [4].

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Each Form 13F filing contains critical information that investors can analyze:

Data Element	Description	Investment Significance
Manager Name & CIK	Identifies the institutional filer	Allows tracking of specific managers’ strategies
Security Name & CUSIP	Unique identifier for each security	Enables precise position identification
Shares Held	Number of shares as of quarter-end	Reveals position sizing and conviction
Market Value	Total value of holdings	Shows capital allocation and importance
Transaction Type	Buy, sell, or hold adjustments	Indicates recent activity and sentiment

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Form 13F filings reveal

rather than short-term trading activity. The 45-day filing lag filters out noise, revealing slow, deliberate capital shifts that shape markets for quarters [5]. Key analytical approaches include:

• Use positive 13F institutional flows as confirmation for mid-term trend entries
• If a stock rallies in Q1, Q1 13F filings (released in Q2) showing expanded institutional positions validate that the move was driven by institutional capital rather than retail momentum [5]

• Aggregate 13F data by sector to map slow-moving capital shifts
• Persistent positive flows across 3+ quarters signal sustainable trends (e.g., rotations into energy during oil rebounds or defensive sectors during uncertainty) [5]

• Calculate
  quarter-over-quarter changes
  in shares and value:
  • Positive Δ
    = accumulation (institutional buying)
  • Negative Δ
    = distribution (institutional selling)
• Aggregate flows into an
  Institutional Flow Index
  to identify buying/selling pressure before price reflects it [5]

Academic research supports replicating holdings of high-conviction, consistent outperformers:

• Cohen, Polk, and Silli (2010)
  : Managers’ largest active positions outperform their broader portfolios
• Aiken et al. (2013)
  : Copycat funds of top managers deliver alpha despite the 45-day lag [5]

• Select managers with
  concentrated positions
  (high conviction)
• Focus on managers with
  infrequent trading
  and
  long-term horizons
• Example: Cloning Berkshire Hathaway’s top 10 holdings (rebalanced quarterly post-filing) has historically matched or outperformed the S&P 500 with lower volatility [5]

• Identify
  crowded trades
  (stocks held by dozens of major funds)
• Bullish in calm markets but
  risky during sell-offs
  , as coordinated unwinds trigger sharp price drops [5]
• Use a
  Crowding Monitor
  : Rank stocks by institutional holder count to flag risk for long-only portfolios

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Combining price action with institutional ownership patterns provides powerful signals:

Price Action	Institutional Ownership	Signal Interpretation
Rising	Rising	Healthy accumulation phase
Rising	Falling	Potential distribution/weakness
Falling	Rising	Contrarian accumulation signal
Falling	Falling	Capitulation/bearish continuation

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Based on available data, Paladin Advisory Group’s Q3 2025 filing reveals:

• Total Portfolio Value
  : $128.27 million (Q3 2025)
• Quarterly Change
  : -2.05%
• AUM
  : Approximately $213.6 million
• Employee Structure
  : 4 employees, 100% investors

1. The

   -2.05% portfolio change
   suggests either:
   • Strategic reduction of certain positions
   • Market depreciation of existing holdings
   • Profit-taking activities

2. PH (Painters Pick/Home Improvement)
   appears as a notable holding with 169 shares valued at approximately $128,000 as of September 30, 2025 [6]

3. The disparity between total AUM ($213.6M) and reported 13F holdings ($128.27M) indicates the firm manages assets beyond what is required to be disclosed in 13F filings (which covers only Section 13(f) securities) [4][7]

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1. Institutional Sentiment Dashboard
   : Create quarterly heatmaps of sector/stock flows to identify capital concentration and exits
2. Theme Tracker
   : Aggregate flows by niche sectors (AI, clean energy, cybersecurity) to track institutional narrative traction [5]
3. Macro Pulse Index
   : Sum total 13F equity holdings across all filers to gauge broad institutional risk appetite

Limitation	Impact	Mitigation Strategy
45-day lag	Data not real-time	Use for trend confirmation, not short-term timing
Long positions only	No short exposure data	Combine with options/short interest data
$100M AUM threshold	Omits smaller funds	Supplement with alternative data sources
No intra-quarter data	Misses rapid changes	Monitor news for catalyst events
Quarter-end snapshots	May not reflect current positions	Track 13D/13G filings for activist positions

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(as recommended by quant researchers):

1. Fetch institutions
   : Pull a list of reporting managers (CIKs)
2. Get filing dates
   : Retrieve the last 4 quarters of filings per CIK
3. Download holdings
   : Pull full 13F holdings for each date/CIK combination
4. Aggregate data
   : Combine all filings into a single dataset
5. Calculate flows
   : Compute quarter-over-quarter changes in shares and value for each security [5]

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Multiple academic studies support the value of 13F-based strategies:

• Institutional flows correlate with next-quarter sector returns
  , especially for momentum and quality factors
• Top manager cloning strategies
  have demonstrated ability to outperform benchmarks despite the inherent data lag
• Sector rotation signals
  derived from aggregated institutional positioning have shown predictive power for medium-term market direction [5]

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Form 13F filings like Paladin Advisory Group’s provide a unique window into institutional investment behavior and capital allocation strategies. When interpreted correctly, these filings can:

• Validate
  existing market trends with institutional backing
• Identify
  emerging investment themes before they become mainstream
• Monitor
  sector rotations and crowding risks
• Generate
  actionable ideas through smart-money cloning strategies

However, investors must account for the inherent limitations—particularly the 45-day lag and the focus on long positions only. The most effective approach combines 13F analysis with other data sources, using institutional filings as a

for broader investment theses rather than a standalone buy/sell signal.

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[1] SEC.gov - Frequently Asked Questions About Form 13F (https://www.sec.gov/rules-regulations/staff-guidelines/division-investment-management-frequently-asked-questions/frequently-asked-questions-about-form-13f)

[2] Investor.gov - Form 13F Reports Filed by Institutional Investment Managers (https://www.investor.gov/introduction-investing/investing-basics/glossary/form-13f-reports-filed-institutional-investment)

[3] Databento - What is Schedule 13F Trading Compliance Guide (https://databento.com/compliance/schedule-13f)

[4] 13Radar - Paladin Advisory Group 13F Filing for Q3 2025 (https://www.13radar.com/filer/paladin-advisory-group/filings/q3-2025)

[5] Medium/@trading.dude - How to Use 13F Filings: Reading the Hidden Hand of Institutional Money (https://medium.com/@trading.dude/how-to-use-13f-filings-reading-the-hidden-hand-of-institutional-money-a5b7d07a514e)

[6] HoldingsChannel - PH (PH) 13F Filers (https://www.holdingschannel.com/13f/ph/)

[7] AUM 13F - Paladin Advisory Group LLC (https://aum13f.com/firm/paladin-advisory-group-llc)