Guide
How to follow a specific investor's portfolio (Buffett, Burry)
You can follow a specific investor's portfolio by reading the 13F filings their fund submits to the SEC each quarter, which list the US stocks it held at quarter-end. Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, Michael Burry's Scion Asset Management, and other large managers all file one, so their major positions are public. You read the filing on SEC EDGAR, or use a tool that tracks a fund's holdings over time and flags the buys and sells. Brief Equity's ownership view lets you search a fund, X-ray its 13F portfolio, and follow the managers you care about, with a curated set of well-known investors. The catch is timing: 13F data arrives up to 45 days after a quarter ends, so it shows what a manager owned at quarter close, not today.
By The Brief Equity Team · Published
How following an investor actually works
Following an investor means reading their fund's 13F, the quarterly SEC filing that lists its US-listed stock positions. Any manager with at least $100 million in qualifying securities has to file within 45 days of quarter-end. That is why you can see Berkshire's or Scion's big holdings at all: the disclosure is required and public.
The filing lists long US equity positions: the stock, the share count, and the market value at quarter-end. It leaves out short positions, cash, most non-US holdings, and anything below the threshold, so a 13F is a real but partial view of what a manager is doing.
What 13F filings do and don't show
| Shows | Does not show | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Long US stock positions at quarter-end | Short positions and hedges | You see the longs, not the bets against |
| Share count and market value | The manager's reasoning or conviction | The what, never the why |
| A snapshot as of quarter close | What they are trading today | Up to a 45-day lag before you see it |
So a 13F answers what a famous investor owned as of a past date, not what they bought this morning. By the time you read Buffett's or Burry's filing, the quarter it covers has already closed and up to 45 days have passed. Treat it as a considered snapshot, not a trade feed.
How to follow a few investors over time
- Identify the fund behind the investor: Berkshire Hathaway for Buffett, Scion Asset Management for Burry.
- Read the latest 13F, then compare it against the prior quarter to see new buys, adds, trims, and exits.
- Watch the position sizing, since a large new stake says more than a token holding.
- Follow several managers and note the names more than one of them is buying.
The change from quarter to quarter is the signal worth watching, not the static list. A new position in size from a manager you respect is a lead for your own research, not a reason to buy blind. Doing this across several funds by hand on EDGAR is the tedious part.
Following investors in Brief Equity
Brief Equity's ownership view lets you search a fund and X-ray its 13F portfolio: its holdings, biggest adds and exits, turnover, and concentration. Follow the managers you want to watch, and their new quarterly activity surfaces for you. A curated set of well-known superinvestors gives you a starting point beyond names you already know.
The same honest limit applies here as anywhere with 13F data: it is delayed up to 45 days and reflects quarter close, not the present. It is built to generate research ideas off what respected managers owned, not to mirror their trading in the moment.
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Frequently asked questions
- How do I follow Warren Buffett's portfolio?
- Read the quarterly 13F that Berkshire Hathaway files with the SEC, which lists its US stock holdings. You can find it on EDGAR, or use an ownership tool that tracks Berkshire's positions over time and flags the buys and sells each quarter.
- What is Michael Burry buying?
- Burry's fund, Scion Asset Management, discloses its US long positions each quarter in a 13F. That filing shows what Scion held as of quarter-end, up to 45 days earlier, so it reflects past positions rather than what he is trading right now.
- How current is 13F data?
- It is delayed. Filings arrive up to 45 days after a quarter ends and reflect holdings as of that quarter's close. So following an investor this way shows what they owned at a past date, not their current trades, and it excludes shorts and non-US holdings.
- Can I track several investors at once?
- Yes. Brief Equity lets you follow multiple managers and surfaces their new quarterly activity, and it includes a curated set of well-known superinvestors. Watching several funds makes it easier to spot a name more than one of them is buying.
Brief Equity is built by investors, for investors. For research, not investment advice; market data is delayed. Figures and rules reflect public information at the time of writing and can change. Verify anything time-sensitive at the linked primary source.