Finding stocks to buy is easy, right? It's just about listening to what the talking heads on mainstream news outlets talk about and load up. Clearly (I hope), I'm being funny. Whether you're trading stocks or looking to make your next big investment in the stock market, there's no substitute for good stock market research. Some people, including myself, like to follow the money to see if there are any good trade or investment ideas to take a stab at.

Now, I'm not talking about the latest round of penny stocks to buy that Redditors are clamoring over. This is more of a long-term outlook on potential stocks to buy. This month marked the latest look into what some of the top Wall Street hedge funds are doing with their capital and how they're allocating funds. For this, we look at 13F filings. If you're unfamiliar with this filing type, I'll explain.

What Is A 13F?

The Securities & Exchange Commission's Form 13F filing is a report submitted quarterly. It must be filed by institutional investment managers with $100 million in assets under management (AUM). This filing type shows the equity holdings and offers some information to the public, which some consider “smart money” or a way to “follow the money” of intelligent investments.

Follow The Money

Now, there are other way's to monitor money flow and “large” trades. You can look at Form 4s filed by insiders or 10% or larger shareholders. You can also look at 13G and 13D filings. These are filings to show “beneficial ownership," in which a beneficial owner includes a person “directly or indirectly sharing voting power or investment power.”

A 13D must be filed when a person or group acquired beneficial ownership of more than 5%. The SEC explained that “depending upon the facts and circumstances, the person or group of persons may be eligible to file the more abbreviated Schedule 13G in lieu of Schedule 13D.”

Top Stocks To Hold According To Wall Street Hedge Funds

Thanks to publicly available information, we can see where top Wall Street hedge funds are parking their money as of the quarterly reports ended March 31st. This article will look into five funds and their top 10 holdings with associated weighting.

1. Bridgewater Associates, LP

Founded by Ray Dalio, Bridgewater has become a notable name in the world of finance. Here's what the Bridgewater's top holdings were based on the weight in the fund:

2. Renaissance Technologies LLC

The quant trading firm founded by Jim Simons had made its splash in the industry. Thanks to recent 13F data, we now know what Renaissance Technologies' top holdings were during the first quarter of the year: 

3. TCI Fund Management LTD.

London-based fund TCI was founded by Chris Hohn and focuses on long-term investments in global companies. Last quarter's 13F wasn't as long as some of the others. But it did give insight into what the top holdings of TCI Fund Management were going into April:

4. Citadel Advisors LLC

Controversial hedge fund (at least with the “Apes”) Citadel Advisors submitted its 13F this week, revealing its positions. Here are the top holdings of Citadel Advisors according to its most recent 13F:

5. Millennium Management LLC

One of the older funds on this list, Millennium Management, has amassed billions in AUM. As of the latest 13F, here are Millennium Management's top holdings: