Have you ever wished you could look over the shoulders of Wall Street's best and brightest? Thanks to the SEC's ownership disclosure rule, it is possible for anyone to watch the most successful traders and investors in the market. This SEC rule requires anyone who acquires more than 10% of a company to disclose the number of shares they hold, the price they purchased at, and even their investment objectives. This rule applies to everyone from the successful activist hedge fund Pirate Capital to Warren Buffet himself! Let's take a look at how you can track some of today's top money managers...

The first step is finding an investor worth watching. Now, the downside of this rule is that these investors do not reveal ownership until their holdings reach 10%, so it is important to seek out those that care about the long-term, not those interested in making a quick buck (because they have already averaged in at much better prices while not disclosing ownership). One of the most popular groups to watch are activist hedge funds, like Pirate Capital or Steel Partners. These groups vigorously take over companies and work to unlock shareholder value by turning around the company, forcing share buybacks, forcing dividend payments, or selling off the company in pieces. This has resulted in 20% - 30% annual returns for Pirate Capital, and similar returns for Steel Partners. Often times savvy individual investors can catch a free ride on these forced liquidation events and dividends. Obviously the second most popular group to watch are market savvy individuals like Warren Buffet, and their companies.

There are several types of filings to keep an eye on:

• 13D-G will let you view when the investor acquires more than 10% of a company and also the investor's investment objectives.
  
• Form 4 will let you know each time the investor trades in the companies they own (more than 10%).
• 13F will show you a holdings report for the investor along with the amount, value, and voting power of the shares they hold.

In addition to this required content, these filings can also include things such as letters to management, letters to the board of directors, shareholder demands, calls for a proxy vote, and other material that can be of enormous interest to opportunistic investors. Therefore, it is always important to read any attached exhibits.

To keep up to date with all of these filings, SECFilings.com allows you to subscribe to instant e-mail alerts. Simply add the companies, funds, and investors of interest and instantly receive notice when they file paperwork with the SEC!