ETFs Must Report Portfolio Holdings Every Month, SEC Rules: What It Means For Investors

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) voted Wednesday to change reporting times for mutual funds and exchange-traded funds from a quarterly to a monthly basis.

What Happened: So-called "open-end" funds will now have to report portfolio holdings every month, instead of four times a year.

The five-member chamber voted 3-2 to approve the rule change, which was said to benefit investors by providing more clarity over funds' holdings.

Analysts will also have information more readily available, granting more transparency to the investor side of the equation.

"The amendments will provide the Commission with timelier information about funds' portfolio investments, which will promote more effective regulatory monitoring and oversight of the fund industry for the benefit of fund investors," wrote the SEC in a release.

As of now, funds are required to report their holdings 60 days after the end of every quarter. Investors holding shares of those funds get an outdated picture of the fund's actual holdings at any given time. 

Furthermore, reports on holdings only include information running up to the third month of every quarter, leaving investors without the complete story.

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The new regulation, set to take effect in November 2025 for funds over $1 billion in holdings, will require the funds to report their holdings within 30 days of the month's end, and make them public 30 days after that.

The rule will start after May 2026 for funds smaller than $1 billion.

Why It Matters: Having monthly updates on ETF holdings will surely affect investment decisions, as investors will have new information to decide whether to buy or sell their stake in any given fund.

"Reliable, accessible data benefits everyone," said SEC Chair Gary Gensler. 

The amendment affects reporting requirements for Form N-PORT, and the SEC did not clarify if any changes will affect reporting times for Form 13F.

Large hedge funds are obliged to submit their quarterly holdings via a Form 13F. Retail investors can use information in these filings to inform their own investment decisions, as they get a window into where "smart money" goes on a quarterly basis.

The SEC did not immediately respond to a Benzinga request for information on how the rule affects 13F reporting times.

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