Financially Fit readers, meet EDGAR.  You should get very well acquainted with EDGAR, because EDGAR is here to make you money.

EDGAR is the acronym for electronic data gathering and retrieval. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requires all entities that offer securities to the general public to make periodic filings to the SEC electronically – this is done through EDGAR. EDGAR can be accessed through the SEC site at http://www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml.

Specific company filings can be accessed by typing in a stock ticker or the company's name at http://www.sec.gov/edgar/searchedgar/companysearch.html.  The site provides all company filings going back for a period of 10 years.

Key filings include: 

Form 10-K: annual report every public firm files with the SEC within 75 days of the firm's year-end.

Form 10-Q: quarterly report every company files within 45 days of its quarter-end.

Form 20-F: annual and transition report of foreign issuers.

Form 8-K: disclosure of a non-recurring material event, such as a merger, acquisition, sale of a division, bankruptcy, executive resignation or litigation. 
Form S-1, SB-1 and F-1: General Registration Statements -All companies issuing new shares to the public, whether through an initial public offering (IPO) or secondary offering must file disclosure statements with the SEC detailing the business and its prospects.  
Form 4: Insider (management or directors) purchases or sales of shares within two business days of transaction.

Form 144: Intention to sell form that

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