Factset or Capital IQ

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I use Capital IQ and was just wondering if anyone uses Factset and if they like it and what some of the differences are.
 
I think it is over $25K a year, I am not exactly sure I don’t handle the billing on it.
 
I use Factset at work and I’ve done a trial on Capital IQ. Functionally, there aren’t any huge differences. The obvious big difference is that Factset is program-based, not browser based, so there is a bit of an advantage toward Cap IQ as far as access goes, but I think Factset is a bit easier to navigate. Data content seemed slightly better on CapIQ because they have some industry specific metrics. Both work well with excel, but CapIQ looked like it automatically updated cells with their formulas when the sheet is opened. Unless I just never figured out how to turn it off during my trial, this was potentially a big problem.
I’m pretty sure CapIQ is a lot cheaper, but I’m just an analyst so I don’t know about specific pricing. Overall, if I had to switch to CapIQ I’d be indifferent, short of the time and frustration I would spend converting. Did you have any more specific questions about them?
 
is Factset good for pulling fixed income data such as yields, credit spreads, etc.? and does anyone use Compustat database, to throw in the comparison?
 
I had Factset in my previous job and thought it was great. I’ve never used Capital IQ.
Thompson 1A is horrible in comparison to Factset in terms of interface. In fact Thompson 1A is horrible full stop. An ugly, buggy mess.
 
One thing I don’t like about Factset is that there are a ton of formulas in their formula database, but finding the right one can sometimes feel like finding a needle in a haystack. What I mean by that is that, for example, there could be 5 different formulas for LTM EBITDA, and 3 of them return #N/A, and the other two give you different results.
As for fixed income, I have very little experience in this realm, so take what I say lightly. Factset seemed okay at providing the various debt issues for each company, and would provide maturities and coupon rates. Yields seemed hard to come by, and credit spreads… not really available. I looked for a way to determine corporate credit spreads for a model around last year (before Factset switched their research database provider) and came up empty. Maybe I’ll take some time to explore it a little deeper, I just haven’t done too much with FI.
 
Can we agree that the Capital IQ commercials on CNBC are absolutely horrible?
 
eganalyst Wrote:
——————————————————-
> One thing I don’t like about Factset is that there
> are a ton of formulas in their formula database,
> but finding the right one can sometimes feel like
> finding a needle in a haystack. What I mean by
> that is that, for example, there could be 5
> different formulas for LTM EBITDA, and 3 of them
> return #N/A, and the other two give you different
> results.
>
I never trusted Facstet for things like EBITDA. I just pulled the inputs and solved using the formula I wanted.
 
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