Hi, I'm looking to hear your guys' opinion on working with Factset in PE (IB also relevant), in particular for spreading comps.
From my experience of having used it for a few years now, I find it to be quite poor.
- The Excel add-in is glitchy. Refreshing formulas occasionally makes Excel crash. The sidebar keeps popping up in different places. And, for some reason, Excel windows that contain active Factset formulas constantly refresh in the background and pop up in front of whatever screen you are looking (drives me crazy)
- Wide inconsistency in figures depending on what exact data item you selected. No single source of truth.
- Support is mostly useless (if you want something done well, do it yourself).
Anyone with fixes for these issues? Are CapitalIQ or other providers any better?
Any guidance is greatly appreciated.
Based on the most helpful WSO content, Factset seems to have mixed reviews when it comes to its use in PE and IB, particularly for spreading comps. Here are some key points to consider:
Technical Issues: Many users have reported frustrations with Factset's Excel add-in. Common complaints include glitches, frequent crashes when refreshing formulas, and the sidebar behaving unpredictably. Additionally, the constant refreshing of Excel windows containing active Factset formulas can be disruptive.
Data Inconsistencies: A significant drawback is the inconsistency in figures depending on the specific data item selected. This lack of a "single source of truth" can make it challenging to rely on Factset for accurate and consistent data.
Support Quality: Factset's support has been described as subpar, with users often feeling that they need to resolve issues on their own rather than relying on customer service.
Alternatives: CapitalIQ is frequently mentioned as a potential alternative. While it also has its own set of limitations, many professionals in PE and IB find it to be more reliable for spreading comps and accessing consistent data. Exploring other providers like Bloomberg Terminal or Refinitiv Eikon might also be worth considering, depending on your firm's budget and specific needs.
If you're facing persistent issues with Factset, it might be worth discussing with your team or firm about transitioning to a different platform or supplementing Factset with another tool to address its shortcomings.
Sources: Confessions of a former second year IB Analyst, Worse than IB?, Is IB not as attractive anymore?, Worse than IB?, It's getting ugly out there - Baly to cut 13 stock teams
Yeah okay, thanks for basically regurgitating what I just said, AI genius
Anything is better than that stupid CapIQ Pro Excel plugin
Gotta use the legacy one haha. The Pro is crap
I hope alphasense builds a similar plugin. FactSet is just dinosaur software, although I’ve haven’t had some of those specific issues I think it mostly tolerable for public company work if the excel isn’t too large. 2 hour update times definitely suck though - any newcomer that can fix that will have many happy customers.
Despite all its flaws it’s still the best option for a plugin on the market by a wide margin, most of that is data moat - way better exp than capiq
Bloomberg may be more efficient if you’re not using factset for other purposes like allocation analysis. It is easy to learn. Have not touched factset in years, found it user friendly and intuitive, but it was a different lens. If you’re doing comps then Bloomberg would likely be the most efficient especially if you’re looking to get data pulled into excel rapidly.
My experience with factset excel add on was not bad - used it mainly for pulling prices and a few other details. However, I have observed in my career frequent problems with excel add ons are frequently user error - not always but majority of the time.
Most firms don’t hand out egregiously expensive Bloomberg licenses
A shared terminal is an option. It would be an extra computer but if the need for efficiency is actually there it would be affordable - particularly vs hiring another person. You could set up a few templates and it could pull the data in a well formatted manner that could be saved down in a shared location. Then everyone could use it for whatever their need is across the office. Ultimately, a terminal is overkill in terms of what the need is but it is fast.
FactSet is honestly not great and has not gotten any better in the last 5-7 years... agree with the dinosaur comment. The refresh times are insane.
That said, there's just not a lot of competition. Bloomberg is extraordinarily expensive and less intuitive, CapIQ isn't great.
FactSet stock has gotten railed this year over AI fears and I'd love to see someone build something better.
Hi,
I actually run a small M&A boutique in France and went through the same comparison recently, tested Factset, CapIQ, Pitchbook, and Refinitiv before finally subscribing to Refinitiv.
Honestly, it’s been a huge improvement so far:
• Client support is good and responsive
• Excel integration is smooth with everything refreshes cleanly, and it’s much more stable overall
• The Deal Screener is great for comparable transactions. It’s not as deep as Mergermarket in terms of deal coverage, but still very solid and easy to use
Overall, Refinitiv strikes the right balance between functionality and reliability, definitely worth checking out
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