US – EDGAR

What Is Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, And Retrieval (EDGAR)?

Electronic data gathering, analysis, and retrieval system (EDGAR) is the central system for companies and other entities to submit documents after the securities act of 1933.

They have millions of filings with investors and corporations. The system would probably process about 3,000 fillings daily, serving up to 3,000 terabytes of data annually to the public.

Accessing their data is free since it is public information. So, it’s simple to look up a company's information, such as financial information and filings. In addition, information about their fundings, exchange-traded funds, variable annuities, and individuals is also present.

The EDGAR business office owns Edgar. This filing feature accommodates almost 40,000 new filers per year. They are responsible for strategic planning, filer support, staff support, government means and administration, and many more... So any questions they can answer.

The official website has information related to the organization.

EDGAR filing

In Edgar, you have many files you file and various information about a company that you may need.

What gets filed and not filed does vary. Some information can be electronically permitted to be filed on the site. At the same time, other documents may not be filed. For example, tender offers and schedule 13D can be filed on Edgar.

A Schedule 13D offer is most useful when a company buys a large stock. However, this sometimes indicates that corporations can also take over.

At the same time, a Tender offer is helpful when someone or a corporation buys all the shareholder stock.

So, when you go on Edgar, you will see these two pieces of information. This helps tell you how the shareholders will be managed and who manages it - corporate or investors.

Suppose you look for filings before 2002 about foreign filing from foreign governments. You might have difficulty finding one since they weren’t mandated to file. However, after November 2002, they were mandated.

Forms 3,4,5 may or may not be filed on Edgar. However, afterward, you will find them on the site.

Forms 3,4,5 with a company are security ownership and transactions that need to occur inside the facility.

They only take document filing in text HTML or text. Any other text is an unofficial document and will not be uploaded.

Companies can file their filings in XBRL, which stands for extensible business reporting language. This would help the computer read the document better.

The whole point of filing with this tool is to increase fairness in the securities market, which would benefit investors, economists, and corporations.

This will be essential for any type of business and legalities in the United States of America. It also needs to be remembered and comprehended because important information can be easily misinterpreted.

Accessing EDGAR's Data

Suppose you’d like to file with Edgar or, as mandated, it has flexible hours for filing, i.e., Monday to Friday from 6 AM to 10 PM. So, if you get out of work at 5, get home at 6, and want to rest before filing. You have that option.

When we file, we make mistakes, just like we always do. So, if you do so, don’t worry; SEC staff will remove files if you’ve made mistakes with your filings for your benefit, even though it's a hassle. You will get a chance to correct it.

Some reasons they might remove your filings are that the file was submitted with the wrong filer, the submitted document is a duplicate of a previous document, or the document is unreadable or contains sensitive information.

Knowing your mistake is a good thing when filing because next year when you repeat the process, you’ll know what to avoid and won’t need to go through the hassle again.

You can check your yearly files in the archives when checking the data. You can see the information you need starting from 1994 till the present in the database.

The Edgar indexes have the following categories that you can look into: What type of company would you want to look into, the type of form, the central index key (CIK), the date filed, and the file name?

There are three major types of indexes.

1. Company: The type of company you want to look up or associate with.
2. Form: When you visit the site, many forms will be available, like form 3,4,5.
3. CIK Number: CIK numbers are unique serial numbers that Edgar assigns to each company so that they can identify them. You can use this serial number to get to the company you want.

EDGAR PDS System

PDS stands for Public Dissemination Service System. It was established on November 1st, 1998, to provide the public with a more accurate, quick, and complete method.

Public filing is free and open to anyone; however, if you want to use this feature, you will need to pay a subscription since it is provided by Attain and LLC.

Now let’s talk about some of the features this may include. 

1. Tracking of all files received and sent: This is a good thing because sometimes tracking is not available when using the free part of EDGAR. 
2. Access to all recently accepted archived data and transmitted filings: This may be beneficial if you want to stay more informed about all the recent happenings and filings for better data and information.
3. Single or multiple feed options: With this feature, whenever you want an extra opinion on a company, you can see and seek other people’s points of view and opinions.
4. Failover system: It provides delivery from an alternate PDS service in case the main PDS service is down, guaranteeing that you will always have working access.
   • Their PDS also has a new subscriber document updated in 2019. This provides configuration, and they’ll have more testing maintenance, giving you more accurate billing information.

Each element of this new feature gives you more broad and specific points, which makes you faster and helps you get across without the hassle, unlike the free version.

Searching EDGAR

Now, even though we have some basics about the index and how the index works, let’s talk about how we would search for other companies on this site.

The following ways are:

1. Searching for the company's name: You can explore this on the search bar. For example, type “SONIC” or “PANDORA” in the search bar to look up these companies.
2. Search for a mutual fund, ETF, or variable annuity: Click on the company's filings, and you’ll find tools that can direct you to look for mutual funds. There’s also a mutual tool that you can find.
3. Search for form types: We can search for the different forms here. It shows you the filings in chronological order. One example is the 10k, which is the annual report.
4. Financial information: It provides annual and quarterly reports, as well as new and current reports. The reports are also dated chronologically. Each report provides relevant information.
   • Edgar also shows if that company has any executive compensation. It states who has been compensated and why, which can help determine a company's reliability.
5. Insider transaction: The insider transaction would describe the holdings and equity that pertain to the company's equity. Corporate insiders are officers or shareholders with more than ten percent of the company.
6. Beneficial ownership interest: This means that if we have a person or group of interest owning more than 5 percent of the company ownership, they would have to disclose their holdings.
7. Public offerings: This information consents a company to register and sell securities to the public. This company must have a registration statement.

With all of these features, it’s no wonder many people want to use the platform. It offers so much information that you can access.

For example, if you need to know who the shareholder who owns a significant portion of a company is, you can search the site for that company. On the sidebar, there should be a beneficial ownership interest option.

This would help you look at who has access to a large part of the company and what stakes they have.

The PDS system is perfect if you want more definite and accurate filings. It’s also ideal for many who want to know who their competition is and how they're doing.

It is a perfect tool for anyone in finance who wants to research a company or holding or for anyone who would like to invest.

Free Resources

To continue learning and advancing your career, check out these additional helpful WSO resources:

• Prospectus
• Proxy Statement
• SEC Filings
• SEC Form 6-K
• Where to Find SEC Filings