13F restatement vs new holdings amendment
On 13F restatement vs new holdings, the difference is whether the amended filing replaces the original or adds to it. Both arrive on EDGAR as a 13F-HR/A, and both look alike at a glance. One carries the manager's whole portfolio; the other may carry a single line. Reading them the same way is one of the easiest ways to misstate what a fund held. This guide sets out the two amendment types and how to tell them apart. It is not investment advice.
Definition
A 13F restatement versus a new holdings amendment
are the two amendment types on Form 13F. A restatement restates the report in its entirety and supersedes the original filing. A new holdings amendment includes only holdings entries being added to a report already public for that period. Source: SEC, Form 13F.
How the two 13F amendment types differ
Special Instruction 3 requires an amendment to do one of two things and nothing in between: restate the report in its entirety, or include only holdings entries reported in addition to those already in a current public Form 13F for the same period. The filer checks the amendment box on the Cover Page, enters the amendment number, and then checks the box for whichever type it is.
| What to check | Restatement | New holdings entries |
|---|---|---|
| Effect on the original | Supersedes it | Supplements it |
| What the table contains | The complete holdings for the period | Only the entries being added |
| Summary Page totals | The full report's totals | The totals of the amendment alone |
| Typical reason | Correcting a share count or a value | Adding holdings left off the original |
| Reading it alone | Gives the portfolio | Understates the portfolio |
Why the Summary Page misleads on an add-only amendment
The SEC's guidance is direct: when completing the Summary Page for any amendment, the summary reflects only the information listed on that amendment. So an amendment adding two omitted positions shows an entry total of 2 and a value total covering just those two lines. Anyone treating that value total as the manager's portfolio size for the quarter is off by orders of magnitude, and any automated reader that overwrites the original filing with the amendment loses most of the portfolio.
2 amendments
Number required when a filer must both correct an error and add omitted holdings, since one amendment cannot do both
Source: SEC, Form 13F FAQs
Multiple amendments are not only permitted but often required. A filer that has already restated a period and then finds another error files a second, separate restatement.
How to read an amended 13F
- Open the Cover Page first and read which amendment box is checked, along with the amendment number.
- If it is a restatement, use it in place of the original for that period.
- If it adds new holdings entries, read it together with the original filing, not instead of it.
- Check the Cover Page for the brief explanatory remarks the SEC asks filers to place after the signature, which often say what was wrong.
- Note the period, not the filing date. Amendments can land long after the 45-day deadline.
A holding can also be absent from the original for reasons that never produce an amendment at all: see the de minimis exemption and 13F confidential treatment, where withheld positions surface later. For the table being amended, see the 13F Information Table; for the report types, see 13F-HR vs 13F-NT.
Flock tracks amendments against the period they restate rather than the date they arrive, so a supplementary amendment adds to a quarter instead of replacing it. What the data means for your money is your call to make.
Frequently asked questions
What are the two types of 13F amendment?
A restatement and an amendment adding new holdings entries. The filer checks one of two boxes on the Cover Page. A restatement restates the report in its entirety and supersedes the original. A new holdings amendment carries only the entries being added. Source: SEC, Form 13F Special Instruction 3.
Does a 13F-HR/A always contain the full portfolio?
No. Only a restatement does. An amendment that adds new holdings entries contains just those entries, and the original filing still stands for everything else, so reading it alone understates the portfolio. Source: SEC, Form 13F FAQs.
What does the Summary Page of an amendment show?
Only what is in that amendment. The entry total, value total and list of other included managers on an amendment reflect the amendment itself, not the combined position, which is why an add-only amendment can show a very small value total. Source: SEC, Form 13F FAQs.
Can one amendment both correct and add holdings?
No. If a filer needs to correct an error and add omitted holdings, the SEC requires two separate amendments, one checked as a restatement and one checked as adding new holdings entries. Source: SEC, Form 13F FAQs.
Flock tracks these filings, sourced, dated, and linked back to the original. See what smart-money entities disclosed, without the guesswork about what it means.
Disclosures shown are public regulatory filings. Data may be delayed or incomplete. Smart-money entities may no longer hold positions shown. Not investment advice.