Institutional Investments

What are Institutional Investments?

Although it is interesting to see how much stock individual people, especially insiders, own in a particular company, their ownership is small potatoes compared to that of institutional owners.

An institutional owner is any large entity, like a retirement fund (CalPERS), a bank (JP Morgan Chase), or an investment management firm (Blackrock), that wields control over stock. When these companies manage over $100 million, they are required to file a form, called a 13F, with the SEC every quarter, detailing their investments. Sometimes, even wealthy individuals like Carl C. Icahn file 13Fs due to the size of their portfolios.

Understanding how much stock an institutional investor holds in a company is a good indicator of how much influence that investor has over the company's actions. Furthermore, by tracking the investing strategies of institutional investors, you can get a sense of what direction they think the market is heading.

What Are "New," "Closed," and "Changed" Holdings?

When investors file their 13Fs, they disclose how much stock they bought or sold in a given company. "New" holdings indicate when they are investing in a security that they did not own in the previous quarter. "Changed" holdings are where the investor as either bought or sold stock in the last quarter, but still holds a position in the equity. "Closed" holdings are securities where the investor sold all his stock, leaving none left in his portfolio.

What Are "New," "Former," and "Changed" Investors?

"New" investors are entities that have purchased a security in a given quarter, having not owned any of that security's shares in the previous quarter. "Former" investors are entities that have sold all their shares in a company, leaving it with no shares left. "Changed" investors are those who have either bought or sold stock in the last quarter, but still holds a position in company.