#Bloomberg terminal alternative software

ItвЂ™s as easy as finding the fund manager and sending him a chat, actually.Д«ecause you can basically message anyone, lots of people use the chat for networking purposes. And because trades are made through it, lots of intra-firm communication also goes on there too.ДЄs a result, even if a compelling competitor to Bloomberg arose, itвЂ™d be hard to switch because youвЂ™ve established so many relationships on this platform.ДЄ portfolio manager analyzing a stock might look at the funds holding large positions and send them chats to talk shop and compare notes on the position. Because so many OTC trades occur through the chat, itвЂ™s become invaluable for doing business. This IB feature is credited for creating stickiness among BloombergвЂ™s clients. This is essentially a Terminal-wide chat function that allows traders to chat with brokers, portfolio managers to talk with each other, or simply for intra-firm communication, perhaps to run something by compliance. One of the most valuable features for institutions is the TerminalвЂ™s Enterprise IB Chat. The Bloomberg Terminal Chat: Enterprise IB Chat It does the basics quite well too, like displaying quotes and charts. ThereвЂ™s countless neat features like this on the Terminal too. HereвЂ™s an example of what this feature looks like: You could definitely spend hours just playing around and seeing what type of exciting data you could uncover on this platform.ДЄnother example is the BMAP feature, which allows you to track shipments of commodities, forest fires that could affect agricultural yields, and that sort of thing.ДЄn energy trader might be interested in monitoring shipments of energy assets and overlay them with forecasted storms to get an idea of supply chain disruptions. There are plenty of cool features like the supply chain map too.

Now, this data could be found elsewhere, in SEC filings and whatnot, but a map like this gives you the information you need in seconds. A feature like SPLC comes in, where the companyвЂ™s largest suppliers and customers are listed in a map format. Still, the Terminal has all of AppleвЂ™s recent financial statements compiled into one screen for easy viewing and allows you to export it into an Excel sheet in one click.ДЄn analyst is probably interested in who AppleвЂ™s biggest suppliers and customers are. You can log onto SEC.gov and find the vast majority of the same information and start building a valuation model. The real value is the convenience of all of the data being in the right place and its ease of access.ДЇor example, letвЂ™s say youвЂ™re an equity analyst researching Apple ( AAPL). While thereвЂ™s plenty of proprietary data within the Bloomberg Terminal, the vast majority of it could be purchased separately from other vendors. The amount of data available to subscribers is so vast that even people whoвЂ™ve been using it for over a decade still have barely scratched the surface. The Bloomberg Terminal is the most in-depth research and trading platform for institutional investors.

#Bloomberg terminal alternative software

It still sounds pretty cool, like, вЂњyeah, let me check that quote on the terminal,вЂќ even though youвЂ™re just opening up software on your Windows computer just as a retail trader would load up thinkorswim. But, back in the 1980s, when Michael Bloomberg created the product, he sold them as individual computer systems called terminals, and the name stuck since then. Nowadays, itвЂ™s just a piece of Windows software. What is the Bloomberg Terminal?Дespite the name, the Bloomberg Terminal isnвЂ™t its own computer or piece of hardware. Note that I donвЂ™t have access to a Terminal myself IвЂ™m just aggregating information from various primary and secondary sources about the product. You probably know it from its famous black and orange color scheme and dated fonts, which gives it a distinctively old-school feel. The software is as ubiquitous on Wall Street trading desks today as it was back then.

This legendary piece of software was released in the 1980s and is the brainchild of former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg. When the average investor thinks about the software Wall Street uses, their mind usually turns to the Bloomberg Terminal.