Anyone looking to cut costs without compromising on the quality offered like on the Bloomberg Terminal, there are various affordable alternatives. These alternatives offer the same features but at an affordable rate.
By description, Bloomberg Terminal is computer software that offers users easy and ready access to various professional services. The services comprise real-time financial information about businesses and access to different markets including Equity, Currency, Commodities, and much more.
Users in over 120 countries can utilize the Bloomberg Terminal services. The software is compatible with Excel which helps to gain better insight into data. All you need to do is to download its data to Excel spreadsheets. In conjunction with that, users get an opportunity to enjoy seamless access to the software using a smartphone, computer, or a web-based application.
Bloomberg Terminal is offered as a service but it does not come free. A charge is set for its subscribers every month or yearly. The annual fee may be as high as $22,500 for every user just to have this tool installed on their system and gain access to its features. Thus, the wealthy investors are the key users of this software and anyone who wishes to pay less to have a chance of using a public facility can join in.
Benefits of Bloomberg Terminal
There are many pros associated with using the Bloomberg Terminal particularly when it is extensively compared with its competitors. They include:
Extensive Value
You will be paying thousands of dollars for a tool that will offer immense value. Bloomberg Terminal has become a tool for institutional investors, portfolio managers, and many others to rely on to monitor and trade the financial markets. The tool has set a huge standard for the others that are also customized to the financial data, market, messaging, news, etc.
Reliability
This tool can be relied upon in many ways. It never needs trading firms to retrain their workers to make the most of the tool. Additionally, this tool has limited or no downtime which means that there is a lot of ease in navigation for the new and old users of the platform.
Capabilities
There are multiple features available for subscribers to use from this software. Some features that come with the Bloomberg Terminal tool are News about the current financial market. Moreover, the subscribers gain access to trade and monitor Derivatives, Equities, and many other markets.
Live Chat
Some of the users may also come to appreciate the live chat feature that is integrated into this tool. With the Bloomberg Terminal, users can send messages to one another. It is a feature that has facilitated many Wall Street deals.
Connectivity
There exist API connectivity features designed to enable programmers to link applications according to different languages like C#, Java, Matlab, among many others. Additionally, a user may also utilize Microsoft Applications including Excel and MS Powerpoint. And with the case of Excel, its spreadsheets offer a more simplified and readily executable view of data.
Support
The users of this software have confirmed that the service provides remarkable and reliable customer support. In that connection, the potential users can look forward to the Bloomberg experts who have been trained to handle different issues to respond to any issues that may arise. These users may also take it a notch higher by having a representative over to help them through the installation process of the software.
Virtual Access
The Bloomberg Terminal software can be accessed from a Mac or a computer. That access can be done from any place at home or in the office. Hence, you will just need access to your account from any device that you like.
Shortcomings of the Bloomberg Terminal
There are several cons associated with the Bloomberg Terminal software including:
High Cost
The wealthy investors are the major users of the tool and with excellent reasons. For at least $20,000 per user every year, it proves to be quite expensive for the retail investors. Thus, it is quite a pricey software.
Upgrades
Many people have realized that Bloomberg has not been rapid in making various upgrades that are meant to support the newer hardware. Users always need to wait for long till these updates are made to support their new hardware devices or fall back on the older models. A good example of such a delay is found in the export compatibility needed for 64-bit computers.
Limited Shared Features
It is possible to share the Bloomberg Terminal products although the benefits gained from it are incomparable to what a sole user of the Terminal gets. For example, a user may also lack capabilities to customize the tool because they are sharing with other users.
Alternatives to the Bloomberg Terminal
Several alternatives operate the same as Bloomberg Terminal.
Eikon
Refinitiv Eikon is a name that comes alongside Bloomberg Terminal since they are each other’s biggest competitor. Thomson Reuters’ Eikon has a large market share of around 25% which is quite bigger than the other alternatives that compete with Bloomberg Terminal.
Features
Eikon offers data and news feeds in real-time. This platform supports various asset classes like Metals, Equities, Fixed income, Commodities, Agriculture, Energy, and FX. The sectors that it covers include Corporate treasury, Hedge funds, Wealth management, and Private Equity. Also, the platform provides a Macro Vitals apps that let users learn more about the effects of COVID-19.
This software runs seamlessly on any computer that has 8GB RAM and 5GB free disk space. Also, it functions properly on a computer with a 4GB RAM and 1.6GB free disk space. It is supported by Windows 7, 8, 8.1, or 10 computers. Eikon is also supported on mobile devices.
Pricing
Eikon is also quite expensive just like Bloomberg Terminal. Users may have to part with up to $20,000 to access all the tools that the platform provides. Nevertheless, there is a cheaper subscription of about $3,600 annually but for access to particular features.
FactSet
FactSet is created by FactSet Research Systems Inc, a US-based company founded in 1978. It is also an effective alternative to Bloomberg Terminal. It supports business advisory, portfolio management, and index services. Other services available on the platform include clients’ transition, implementation, support, and learning.
Features
Factset is installed with an Excel plugin whose primary aim is to support Excel macros. Also, it features scrubbed data that helps in cleansing other data. The latter is used to search for data that is hidden in footnotes to provide normalized non-GAAP data. This platform also shows the geographic index exposure based on indexes.
Some of these indexes include Germany DAX, NASDAQ composite, S&P 500, EURO STOXX, and many others. On the flip side, there is a range of products on the platform. A good example is portfolio analytics that features segments like Quantitative Research, Passive Investing, Risk Analytics, Regulatory Compliance, Performance Measurement & Attribution, and Client & Portfolio Reporting.
Pricing
Factset is quite affordable compared to Bloomberg Terminal. Its annual subscription goes for $12,000 after which a user can get adequate financial data from several sectors.
S&P Capital IQ
S&P Capital IQ is developed by the S&P Global Market Intelligence Company that was founded in 1998. It provides users with a range of financial data, research, and analytics. There are also more tools available to handle analysis, idea generation, and workflow management.
Features
Capital IQ is accessible from a web browser that takes away the need to guarantee that you have compatible hardware to run it. You can use any computer that you can access this web-based platform with. Capital IQ provides scrubbed data which is a feature that is evident on FactSet.
Scrubbed data is necessary for investment bankers and individuals operating in the same niche. The tool also offers deep pieces of information that will enable you to analyze a company’s performance. There are at least 5,000 data items and metrics centered on various industries.
According to this platform, it has profiled almost 62,000 public companies and over 4.4 million private companies. You can also expect to access data from several futures and commodities markets. The same case applies to macroeconomic data on inflation, employment, trade, currency, and much more.
Pricing
Besides the web-based interface, you can also expect a more affordable price compared to the Bloomberg Terminal. It charges an annual fee of $13,000 which is much lower than the Bloomberg Terminal.
Koyfin
Koyfin by description is a financial data and analytics platform that was launched in 2016. The platform lets users monitor market and stock trends. It exploited a major setback existing in the Bloomberg Terminal, the high price. Thus, the software is a free solution for investors seeking a more affordable alternative to the Bloomberg Terminal.
Features
Koyfin has an easy-to-use and intuitive user interface. Thus, you can use the platform to familiarize yourself with various features including My Dashboards, Financial Analysis, Advanced Graphing, and Macro Dashboards.
You can also access different financial markets like Mutual funds, stocks, currencies, ETFs, and commodities. There is also the latest news acquired from social media pages including the SEC’s website and Twitter. Thus, users can get the latest news from different markets.
Pricing
You do not have to pay anything to join the platform according to Koyfin since it is more focused on amassing users at the moment. All its features are freely accessible. But, it is working up fees for various features and these fees will be rolled out at a later date.
The platform adds that when the fees have been set. They will be considerably cheaper than what the competitors are providing for premium features.
Symphony
Symphony was unveiled in 2014 backed by Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, and other reputable names operating in the financial industry. Initially, the platform was a messaging service linked to many financial firms. Currently, it has expanded to a partnership that will see that the analytics, news, and other data provided on Thomson Reuters are published on Symphony.
Features
Symphony is supported and backed by financial experts. Thus, it has been designed with tools that meet the needs and specifications of businesses and individuals in the financial industry. The features set a formidable competition for the Bloomberg Terminal.
Also, you can send messages, share files, and automate trade flow in real-time. The messages and data is shared with high-level security while simultaneously accessing the relevant news about the financial markets.
Pricing
Symphony has an affordable subscription fee for small businesses charged every month. There are other plans tailored to enterprise clients. In general, the service is quite affordable compared to the Bloomberg Terminal.
The Takeaway
Bloomberg Terminal is an excellent software for anyone seeking to track the financial markets. Its range of tools makes it quite easy for individuals to trade and also monitor companies that they have invested in.
Although these tools are excellent, the high price makes it quite unaffordable for the small investors. Thus, the available alternatives to Bloomberg Terminal enable one to access similar features and pay significantly less.
