Market Participants
ETF (Exchange Traded Fund)
Exchange-traded index fund with transparent intraday pricing.
ETFs are investment funds traded on exchanges just like equities. Most passively track an index (S&P 500, MSCI World, Nasdaq 100) and are characterised by low expense ratios, high liquidity and intraday price discovery.
ETFs show up in 13F filings both as held positions (e.g. a hedge fund owns SPY as a cash equivalent) and as filers in their own right. The largest ETF providers — BlackRock, Vanguard, State Street — are among the 13F filers with the broadest holdings tables.