A Window into the Past to Help Predict the Future - Global Financial Data
Jinfo Blog

By Perrin Kerravala

Abstract

Business researcher Perrin Kerravala reviews Global Financial Data Inc. (GFD), a provider of financial and economic time-series data widely used by investment firms and academic organisations. GFD is unique in being able to provide rare data, including time-series that are several hundred years old, and data extensions on current series. The product empowers users to obtain reliable information to conduct analyses of company or market performance over several business cycles.

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Introduction

When discussing providers of financial and economic information, most business researchers will immediately think of certain well-known vendors, such as Bloomberg and Thomson Reuters. While these ubiquitous providers do a great job of providing current and real-time information, they are noticeably lacking in deep historical information – often limited to when companies and stock exchanges started filing electronically.

For researchers and analysts who want a deeper understanding of the past, these typical archives are inadequate. Such researchers may well want to consider Global Financial Data Inc, a Californian company that specialises in rare and hard-to-find data on companies and financial markets, as well as the economic and demographic factors that affect them.

Practitioners Know Best

Global Financial Data Inc. (GFD) was founded in 1992 by a finance, economics & statistics professor from California State University, Dr Bryan Taylor. When Dr Taylor was doing research on financial markets in the early 1990s, he found most long-term data series to be incomplete.

Time-series information from electronic resources often only extended back a couple of decades – not enough to analyse performance over several business cycles. Deep historical information tended to be accessible in only highly inconvenient formats, such as old newspapers on microfilm, old monographs in rare book collections, and the like. Dr Taylor heard similar comments from other researchers in his field.

Longest Electronic Historical Time-Series

This salient market gap led to the creation of Global Financial Data Inc. Their mission is to collect and provide the longest history of time-series financial and economic data available. GFD has collected a vast amount of historical, print-only published data, subjected it to quality control and transcribed it into electronic form.

For example, GFD has pricing data on rice in China back to the year 1000 and French Francs/Great British Pound exchange rates back to 1751. Along with actual, reported historical information, GFD provides “extended” data on hundreds of time series, extending their availability back before their actual inception. For example, GFD provides monthly S&P 500 Composite Price Index data back to 1791 – even though the index inception was in 1957.

The product currently offers over 135,000 time series, and grows in size every year.

Global Financial Data’s clients include investment and wealth management firms, central and development banks, and academic institutions. Their clients have frequently remarked that GFD has enabled them to conduct better, deeper analyses than when using competitor products.

If you are a business researcher in the area of finance and economics, Global Financial Data is well worth consideration. I have been using similar products for 10 years, and have given my frank opinion of GFD in FreePint’s latest full product review. 

FreePint Subscribers can log in to view the articles in the series:

• Global Financial Data: Introduction and FreePint's View
• Global Financial Data: Sources, Content & Coverage
• Global Financial Data: Search Options
• Global Financial Data: Search Results & Outputs, User Interface & Special Functionality
• Global Financial Data: Customer Support, Licensing & Pricing

Full report (PDF) contains all of the above content, in a convenient package for reference and sharing:

• Product Review of Global Financial Data

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