Database Guide: FactSet

The Factset Screening application is a versatile tool for creating highly customized sets of different classes of securities and for analyzing those sets by selecting and applying user-defined criteria.

The Screening app includes three modules: Universal Screening, Idea Screening, and Screen On.

• Universal screening – offers screening capabilities of the entire FactSet universe conveniently grouped by investment concepts: Equity, ETF, Debt, Activism/Governance, and Holders.
  In a specialized FactSet subset Activism/Governance users can screen companies based on corporate governance and shareholder activity criteria, such as corporate takeover defense strategies (poison pill), shareholders proxy proposals, proxy fights and other shareholders activism actions. The scope of companies’ coverage includes:
  • Corporate Governance covers all companies incorporated in the United States and publicly traded in the US but incorporated in select Caribbean countries
  • Shareholder Rights Plan (Poison Pill) includes all US and Canadian companies and also non-US companies that presently or in the past had the shareholder rights plan
  • Corporate Activism coverage includes:
    • All proxy fights against US incorporates companies since 2001
    • All proxy fights against companies in the UK, Australia, and Canada since 2014
    • All disclosed activism against US incorporated companies by any activist since 2006

• The other two modules focus on more specific types of screening and contain some overlap.

  • Idea Screening – offers capabilities for screening the entire companies’ universe by multiple criteria such as financial metrics, market data performance, etc. Alternative is to use the Companies section of the Screen On module.
  • Screen On – a tool to screen by specialized screen options:
    • Companies - an AI assisted method based on the principle of “similarity”, e.g. for each selected user-defined criteria, FactSet generated a list of ‘similar” companies.
    • Transactions – screening for companies or for transactions by applying refined search criteria to all types of companies’ corporate activity, M&A, PE, etc., across the entire FactSet companies' universe.
    • Asset, Deep Sector – in these two slightly overlapping datasets, users can analyze assets and assets management in specialized industries, such as banks (US, Australian, Canadian), Credit Unions, Insurance companies, Power & Utilities companies, and Real Estate Properties.

FactSet offers an interface for running screens. The search is standardized across the platform and basically includes the following steps:

1. Selecting screen criteria in the criteria pane.
2. Viewing results in the results pane.
3. Customizing reports by selecting data items to display as report’s columns.
4. Downloading or printing results by selecting an appropriate icon.

The Universal Screening module offers some additional screening options.

• Start a new search from scratch by selecting a respective Starter Screen
• Choose a pre-built report displayed on each category Home page. When using the pre-built template, you can still customize both screen criteria and report’s format

To exit the current screen and start a new one, click the Start Page icon in the top right corner.
For detailed instructions on running Screening app, refer to FactSet Online Assistant help:

• Universal Screening
• Idea Screening
• Screen On

Run reports directly in Excel using historical wizard FactSet Sidebar.
NOTE: You can run search on maximum of 25 securities at a time.

Confirm that FactSet Excel Add-In is enabled and the FactSet tab is displayed on Excel top access toolbar.
To download FactSet Add-In in Excel, select: File > Options > Add-Ins > FactSet Office COM Add-In. (For any problems with installation, contact GSB Library)

1. Login to FactSet; open Excel.
2. Click FactSet tab on top bar.
3. Click Insert Formula icon or Show Hide Sidebar icon on top icon bar. This will open the wizard, FactSet Sidebar. Click the Insert tab.
4. In Identifier field of FactSet Sidebar, select securities by either or a combination of the following methods:
   • Use Search box to find identifiers one by one by name, ticker, or other identifier symbol.
   • Click the Identifier Lookup icon to select individual identifiers or by selecting a custom identifier list saved in FactSet Personal folder.(See How to Create a Custom List of Identifiers section of this guide under Finding Identifiers tab.)
   • Click the icon to select identifiers from Excel file by cell reference
5. In the Data Item section of FactSet Sidebar, search for data items, one at a time, using a keyword search or by browsing data categories. For explanation of data content, click the data item and then click Definition.
6. In the Inputs section of FactSet Sidebar, refine your selection by available parameters, such as time period, reporting basis, frequency, etc. Each data item has its own set of pertaining parameters. NOTE: As you select a data item and its values, you get a preview of results. The preview helps to see data availability and layout format.
7. Place cursor in the cell where the report should start.
8. On Insert bar, open the drop-down list to specify display format by choosing from the following options: Orientation (horizontal or vertical), Dates, Company Names, Item Descriptions. (FactSet remembers your latest selection - may skip this step if no changes needed.)
9. Click Insert.
10. Repeat steps 5-9 for other data items for the same set of identifiers.

View FactSet Basic Search in Excel Add-In video tutorial

Identifier Lookup – use to upload custom portfolios from Personal folder or to create a list of identifiers directly in Excel.

Filing Wizard – use to download individual sections of company's filings or the whole documents directly in Excel.

Quick Report or Template Library – use to create reports from pre-loaded templates for identifiers in different financial categories.

ActiveGraph – use to build custom charts from scratch or by using charts' templates.

Launch FactSet – use to launch FactSet after opening Excel.

Click Help icon dropdown and select a help topic from the list.