This glossary defines vocabulary used across our public guides and methodology. It is for education only—not investment advice.
Filing types
Form 10-K
Annual report with audited financial statements and risk disclosures. Useful for fundamentals; not a timing signal for trades.
Form 10-Q
Quarterly interim report with unaudited financials. Bridges year-end 10-Ks; still lags real time.
Form 8-K
Current report for material events (earnings, leadership changes, agreements). Read the specific item; timing varies.
Form 13F
A quarterly SEC filing by institutional investment managers above a reporting threshold, listing many long U.S. equity positions held at quarter end. It is a snapshot, not a complete trade log.
Form 4
A filing reporting changes in beneficial ownership by corporate insiders (officers, directors, large shareholders). Transaction type is encoded with letter codes.
Schedule 13D / 13G
Beneficial ownership reports when stakes cross thresholds. Different intent and timing than quarterly 13F holdings lists.
EDGAR
The SEC’s electronic system where public company filings are published. InsightMeter normalizes data that originates from EDGAR and related feeds.
Filing amendment
A corrected or updated filing (often suffix /A). Always check whether your data source shows the latest version.
Reporting lag
The delay between an economic event and when the public can see it in a filing. 13F lag is measured in weeks after quarter end; Form 4 is typically within two business days but still after execution.
Quarter-end vs. filing date
13F economic exposure is as of quarter end; the public sees it only after the filing deadline. Do not confuse the two dates.
Derivatives & hedges (13F limits)
Many 13F tables emphasize long equity positions; options and shorts elsewhere may not appear the way headlines imply.
Insider activity
10b5-1 plan
A pre-arranged trading plan that can schedule insider sales or purchases. Activity under a plan may be less informative about fresh private insight at the trade date.
Open-market purchase (code P)
A Form 4 code indicating a purchase in the open market or private transaction, often studied because it can reflect discretionary cash allocation.
Insider alpha (contextual)
On InsightMeter, a summary statistic describing historical price behavior after certain insider filings under defined rules. It is descriptive, not predictive.
Forecasts & scoring
Hit rate / accuracy score
The share of tracked predictions that met a directional definition over a stated horizon. Meaningless without knowing the horizon, universe, and benchmark.
Measurement horizon
The fixed window after a prediction (or filing) used to judge outcomes—for example 30, 90, or 180 trading days from a defined anchor date.
Survivorship bias
When failed predictions, delisted tickers, or discontinued sources are dropped from a track record, making past performance look better than a full-history view.
Benchmark
The reference used to judge a forecast—absolute return, sector ETF excess return, or another index. Different benchmarks change the story.
Testable claim sentence
A prediction rewritten with asset, direction, horizon, and benchmark before any score is computed.
Cherry-picking
Choosing horizons or samples after seeing outcomes. Invalidates casual hit-rate comparisons.
Backtest (dashboard)
A historical summary under user-selected filters and published rules—not a guarantee of future tradable profits.
InsightMeter usage
Free vs. Pro data access
Free accounts may see limited or summarized tables; Pro unlocks broader history and detail. Public guides explain concepts regardless of tier.