If you’re looking for an investment strategy that pays off in the long term, it’s hard to beat the strategy of super-investor Warren Buffett. Buffett’s company, Berkshire Hathaway. has a historical record of beating the S&P 500. Some studies show that a hypothetical portfolio that mimics Berkshire’s investments at the beginning of the following month after they are publicly disclosed also earn a return over the S&P 500 Index.

Want some of that action? This article will show you how to use often-ignored Securities and Exchange Commission filing: Form 13F to build a fund like Buffett.

Passive Investing, Aggressive Returns

Most people like the idea of passive investing. or a buy-and-hold strategy. With today’s complicated financial markets, who wants to actively manage a portfolio? But, unless you’re a financial whiz or willing to pay big bucks to a financial whiz, your options are reduced to mutual funds, ETFs or index funds. right? Wrong.

While mutual funds, ETFs and index funds can provide good gains, they come at a cost: fees. And if you’re hoping to beat the market, don’t count on it. Investments like a spider exchange-traded fund (SPDR ETF) are never able to beat the S&P 500 because they track it. So, how can you put your portfolio on autopilot without fees or performance limitations? Why not ride the coattails of a successful investor?

Coattail investing is the term investors use to describe the strategy of mimicking the trades of celebrity super-investors like Warren Buffett, George Soros and Kirk Kerkorian. Of all the super-investors out there, most coattail investors probably follow Warren Buffett, and for good reason: his picks have grown Berkshire Hathaway into the ultimate blue chip company. And with 75% returns in the last five years, Berkshire investors are hardly questioning the investment decisions Buffett and company are making. But you should be. It’s no coincidence that Berkshire Hathaway’s investments have bested the market in the last 27 out of 31 years .

The next section will show you how to read Form 13F and how to use quarterly comparisons to catch Buffett’s big moves while avoiding huge brokerage fees.

What Stocks Does Buffett Own?

You can’t start mimicking Buffett’s plays without knowing what they are, but believe it or not, those picks are accessible to everyone thanks to the SEC. The Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 states that all institutional investment managers who handle more than $100 million are required to file their holdings each quarter. This means that if you know where to look, you can have access to some of the best-managed portfolios in the world — for free!

One of the easiest ways to find a 13F is by heading to the SEC’s Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval (EDGAR) site and doing a search under the company name.