Listed only for equity funds, the share change entry indicates the change in the number of shares of each stock from the previously reported portfolio. If the change column shows a -7,000 figure for one of the portfolio's stocks, that means the fund's manager sold 7,000 shares of that stock since the previous portfolio was reported. Similarly, a 2,000 change figure means that management added 2,000 shares of that stock to the portfolio. Both the current and previous portfolio dates are listed in the top-right corner of the Complete Holdings screen.
Note: To accurately reflect the change in shares of a stock or principal value of a bond, the Share Change is the same across a fund’s shares.
Benefit
The change column can provide clues about management strategy. If there are significant changes, both positive and negative, throughout the column, readers can assume that the fund trades very frequently and may attempt to move in and out of holdings to achieve short-term results. Large changes may also result, however, from recent shifts in management, objective, or outlook. Smaller changes may denote a buy-and-hold strategy.