Guides to public disclosures

Most of what GetSignal shows starts as a public filing. These guides set out who files each one, when it is due, what it shows and what it leaves out.

• What is a Form 4? How company insiders report their tradesCompany officers, directors and owners of more than 10% report their trades in the company's shares on Form 4.
• What is a 13F filing? What it shows about a fund, and what it leaves outInvestment managers with $100 million or more in U.S.-listed stocks and similar securities file a 13F every quarter.
• How members of Congress disclose their stock tradesMembers of Congress, certain staff, the President and the Vice President report trades in securities over $1,000.
• What is a Form 8-K? The events a company must report within daysPublic companies file a Form 8-K to report major events, usually within four business days.
• Schedules 13D and 13G: who has to report owning more than 5% of a companyAnyone who comes to own more than 5% of a class of a company's voting shares must report it publicly.

How we read these filings, and the limits of the data, are on the methodology page. These pages explain public disclosures. They are not legal or investment advice.