How public trading disclosures work
CopyCat Trade Tracker organizes data that the U.S. government already publishes. Here's what those filings are, who has to make them, and — importantly — their limits. This is educational background, not investment advice.
The STOCK Act — congressional trades
The STOCK Act (Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act of 2012) requires members of the U.S. House and Senate — and certain senior staff — to publicly disclose their securities transactions.
Each covered trade must be reported on a Periodic Transaction Report (PTR) generally within 30 days of being notified of the transaction, and no later than 45 days after the trade itself. Filings are published by the House Clerk and the Senate Office of Public Records (EFD).
Amounts are reported in broad ranges (for example, $1,001–$15,000 or $50,001–$100,000), not exact dollar figures — and transactions can be made by the member, a spouse, or a dependent child.
SEC Form 13F — institutional investors
Institutional investment managers that exercise discretion over $100 million or more in 13F-eligible U.S. securities must file a Form 13Fwith the SEC each quarter. That's how the public can see the equity holdings of large funds run by well-known investors.
13F is a quarterly snapshot filed up to 45 days after the quarter ends, and it only covers long positions in U.S.-listed equities and options. It does notshow short positions, cash, foreign-listed holdings, or private investments — so a 13F is only part of a manager's full picture.
How to read the data
- Transaction date is when the trade happened; disclosure date is when it became public. The gap between them is the disclosure lag.
- Amount is a disclosed range, not an exact figure. We show the range as filed.
- Buy / Sell reflects the transaction type on the filing (including partial sales).
- For 13F holdings, % of portfolio and quarter-over-quarter changes are computed from the filing's reported values.
Important limitations
- It's delayed. By the time a filing is public, the trade is often 30–45+ days old (here, ~50 days on average for Congress).
- It's imprecise. Congressional amounts are ranges with no share counts or prices.
- It's incomplete.Some paper filings can't be machine-read, late or amended filings happen, and 13F omits shorts, cash, and foreign holdings.
- It's not a strategy. Disclosed activity is a transparency record, not a recommendation, and past activity does not indicate future results.
CopyCat Trade Tracker is for educational and informational purposes only and is not investment advice. See the full disclaimer in the footer.