Getting Started
Get up to speed with VantaPool in 5 minutes. Learn the basics and start tracking institutional swap activity.
What is VantaPool?
VantaPool tracks institutional equity swap positions across 5,000+ US stocks and ETFs, updated daily. These positions represent billions in institutional exposure that hedge funds and large traders don't directly own but control through swap contracts.
While options flow data has become mainstream, equity swaps remain largely invisible to retail traders—until now. VantaPool gives you the same positioning intelligence that was previously only available to institutional desks, helping you spot where the smart money is accumulating or exiting before it shows up in price action.
Key Terms
Equity Swaps
Contracts where institutions gain exposure to stocks without directly owning shares. Common types include total return swaps and price return swaps. These positions are typically hidden from retail traders until reported.
Notional
The dollar value of a swap contract. For example, a $10M notional swap on AAPL represents $10M worth of exposure to Apple stock.
Net Notional
The net change in positioning. Calculated as new contracts plus increased positions minus terminated contracts and decreased positions. Positive values indicate net buying, negative indicates net selling.
Notional Exposure
The total dollar value across all active swap contracts for a stock or sector. This represents the aggregate institutional positioning.
Cost Basis
The weighted average price at which swap contracts were initiated. Compare this to current price to understand if positions are profitable.
Expiration Date
When a swap contract matures and must be closed or rolled. Large expiration clusters can create predictable flows as institutions reposition.
Platform Highlights
Overview Dashboard
Get a market-wide view of institutional swap activity. See aggregate exposure, net positioning, and ADV percentages at a glance. Track sector rotation and identify daily leaders with the largest inflows and outflows. The SPY chart overlays buy/sell notional against price to reveal accumulation and distribution patterns.
Leaders
Sort stocks by the biggest positioning changes across multiple categories and timeframes. Tables show both absolute and market-cap adjusted metrics, helping you spot stocks with unusually large institutional interest relative to their size. Compare daily, weekly, and monthly flows to separate noise from persistent trends.
Compare
Analyze up to 4 stocks side-by-side with customizable time ranges (1M, 3M, 1Y) and metric views (net, buy, sell, expired). Dual charts show both cumulative notional and daily delta, making it easy to identify relative strength, divergences, and correlation patterns between stocks.
Stock Pages
Deep dive into individual names with four specialized views: Overview shows key metrics and recent activity. Recent displays 30-day transaction detail with order clustering analysis. Expiration reveals upcoming maturity dates and their potential impact. Historical provides long-term trend analysis with cost basis tracking.
Ready to Dive In?
Head to the Dashboard to start exploring, or check out our comprehensive Guide for detailed documentation on every feature.