An associate pulls a target company's last three 10-Ks, screens precedent deals in a commercial database, and starts a model. Before a single number is typed, the exam expects you to know which filing holds which fact, who must report ownership, and how an inventory choice quietly reshuffles the income statement.
Your raw material is information, and it arrives from five channels. Commercial and proprietary databases (subscription terminals and your firm's internal deal archive) supply pricing, issuance, and transaction history. Regulatory sources (the SEC's public filing system) give you audited financials and ownership data. Company internet sites carry investor presentations and press releases. Media supplies news and rumor that must be verified. Internal firm resources include past pitch books, models, and the syndicate desk's market color.
Collect financial, performance, issuance, and transaction data from all five, then reconcile. A figure that appears in a press release but not the 10-Q is unverified until the filing confirms it.
A core analyst task is tracking recent securities offerings and M&A deals. These precedent transactions anchor valuation.
Common mistakes
- Calling the 8-K window 4 calendar days or 10 days. It is 4 business days from the triggering event. The 10-day figure belongs to nothing here; do not confuse it with the old 13D deadline.
- Mixing up 13D and 13G by threshold instead of intent. Both trigger above 5%. The distinguishing factor is control intent (13D) versus passive holding (13G), not the size of the stake.
- Setting the Form 13F threshold wrong. It is $100 million in 13(f) securities, filed within 45 days of quarter-end, not $10 million and not annually.
Bottom line
- Form 10-K is the audited annual report; Form 10-Q is the unaudited quarterly report (Rules 13a-13/15d-13); Form 8-K reports material events within 4 business days (Rules 13a-11/15d-11)
- Schedule 13D is filed by an investor crossing 5% with control intent; Schedule 13G is the short-form for passive or qualified institutional holders (Rule 13d-1)
- Form 13F is filed by institutional investment managers with at least $100 million in 13(f) securities, within 45 days after each quarter-end (Rule 13f-1)
- Section 16 insiders are directors, officers, and beneficial owners of more than 10% of an equity class (Rule 16a-1 defines the terms)
Exam shortcut
Match the form to the cadence: 10-K is annual and audited, 10-Q is quarterly and unaudited, 8-K is event-driven within 4 business days. If a question stresses "audited," the answer is the 10-K. Ownership ladder by number: above 5% triggers 13D/13G, above 10% makes you a Section 16 insider, and $100 million triggers Form 13F. Pick the threshold the fact pattern crosses.
The full lesson (about 2,841 words, 19 min read) adds 2 worked examples, all 6 common mistakes, a self-check, free in the app.
Learning objectives
- A1
- A2
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