Finance & Investment Research

Bloomberg terminals are located here: 

• 4 terminals in the Business Library located in Fertitta Hall (JFF)
• 1 in the Accounting Library (ACC)
• 2 in JKP - on the 2nd floor (computer lab at the north end), and 3rd floor (Room 300)
• 3 in Bridge Hall for Investment Studies students only (2nd floor)

Terminal use is limited to current USC students, staff and faculty. Non-USC patrons and alumni are not allowed access.

USC students outside of Marshall may only use the terminals located in the Business Library. Non-Marshall students can request a daily guest password from the Circulation desk. This password allows access to the computers; simply click the Bloomberg icon and login using the username and password listed at the base of the monitors.

Note that the Bloomberg Market Concepts course is is available through the Bloomberg terminal by typing ​​​BMC<GO>

Getting Started with Bloomberg

Functions Cheat Sheets

Datastream is a global financial database which contains current and historical data on stocks, indices, bonds, funds, futures, options, interest rates, commodities, and economic indicators.

Data is derived from national governments, central banks, the International Monetary Fund, OECD, major investment houses, stock exchanges, and a team of researchers.

Datastream is limited to Marshall students, faculty and staff and is provided through LSEG Workspace. 

SDC Platinum is a historical financial transactions database that provides detailed data on new issues, M&A, bonds, syndicated loans, private equity, project finance, poison pills and more. 

SDC Platinum is limited to Marshall students, faculty and staff and is provided through LSEG Workspace. 

Virtual Lab access to SDC has been discontinued.

Wharton Research Data Services (WRDS) is a collection of databases designed for standardized quantitative analysis. See current and available third party datasets here.

Undergraduate students may acquire a Day Pass by entering their USC email under 'Connect to WRDS'.  

Graduate students and faculty are eligible to register for personal accounts here, which allows for saving data on the WRDS server.

Note that WRDS suspends access for all students during the summer.

Getting Started with WRDS

FactSet is a financial markets data platform that provides global company and industry data, analytical tools and data feeds.  It is used by financial professionals worldwide. Request an account with your USC email. ​​Within 7-10 business days you will receive an email with directions to setup your account.

FactSet Web is issued by default for all undergraduate students.

Graduate students and those involved with the Marshall Student Investment Fund can have access to the desktop application if needed.

All other desktop requests are determined by FactSet on a case-by-case basis.

Getting Started with Factset

Capital IQ
Used for analysis of public companies, investable industries and financial markets. Contains financial news, market insights, company performance and industry data. Use the screener to search its large database for companies, equities, business developments, people, and other criteria. 

• If you are accessing remotely, you must download and use the VPN
• If you are on campus, you must use Secure Wireless, not Guest
• Once on the main page, register with your USC email under 'New User' at upper right
• If you receive an error message logging in, contact Support at: support.ciq@spglobal.com

To download the Excel plug-in, go to My Capital IQ/Downloads. This allows you to build and manipulate financial models and spreadsheets by accessing company financials, estimates, market data, transactions, ownership, and fixed income data, directly within Excel. 

Capital IQ Pro
Pro contains many of the same public company financials modeling as Capital IQ, plus industry data across sectors including banks, insurance, energy, metals and media. USC also subscribes to the ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) product which provides company scores as well as data visualization and analytical features. 

• Follow instructions for Capital IQ re: VPN or on campus wireless
• ​​​​​​​Once on the main page, register by going to New User Sign Up/S&P Capital IQ Pro New User Sign Up
• If you receive an error message or have trouble accessing data, contact Support at: support.capiqpro@spglobal.com

Getting Started with CapIQ