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MMPA 2025-24M Integrated Case Competition

Research Guide for MMPA Case Competitions

FACTSET: THE BASICS

 

FactSet is a database that offers:

  • close-to-real-time and historical public company, industry, market and economic data;
  • charting and portfolio management applications; and
  • private company and venture capital investment information.

FactSet is installed on all FLC workstations and can be accessed in-person without an individual account. Alternatively, students can request an individual FactSet account for off-campus use.

An individual FactSet account will grant access to two versions:

  • FactSet Web: This version works with all operating systems (Mac, PC or Chromebook) and offers access to all of the content found in the FLC Workstation version except for the Excel templates.
  • FactSet Workstation:  This version must be downloaded to your computer and only works with Windows-based computers (PCs).  It includes Excel templates that are not available in the Web version.

For more information on how to access and get started with FactSet, visit one of Quick Start guides: FactSet Personal Device Access or  FactSet Workstation Access 

To request a FactSet account for web access or installation on your own PC, please email utm.lkcflc@utoronto.ca 

FACTSET: COMPANY RESEARCH

When you have logged into FactSet, you will see a menu at the top of the screen that looks like this:

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Click on the 'Company/Security' tab and enter the name of the company you are researching in the search box on the left.  FactSet will auto-suggest matches for your company name.

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The left-hand vertical menu links to different kinds of information about a company.

The Overviews set of options includes:

  • Snapshot: overview of company
  • Entity structure: parent & subsidiary relationships
  • Comps: peer companies for comparison or relative valuation
  • Supply Chain: supplier, customer and partner relationships
  • RBICs: visualization of how a company generates its revenue (revenue streams)
  • GeoRev: revenue exposure by country or region

The Charts set of options encompasses:

  • Price data
  • Valuation data

The News, Research and Filings set of options includes:

  • Events and transcripts: investor presentations and earnings call transcripts (you can find useful intelligence about a company here)
  • Filings: Current and historical corporate filings organized by type - easier to use than SEDAR or EDGAR
NOTE:  FactSet offers limited news and research - please use other databases listed in the guide to find news about a company OR analyst and research reports.

The Financials set of options includes:

  • Key items: Snapshot financial data
  • Industry metrics: Not available for all companies, depending on sector
  • Statement data, downloadable into Excel
    • Statement data will appear by default in a standardized format, i.e. normalized to support peer-to-peer comparisons; select the 'As-Reported' option to see financials as released by the company.
    • Statement data will also appear by default in a summary format, i.e. highlighting key items; use the menu on the right-hand side above the statement table to change from 'Summary' to 'Full statement' to see all items reported.
  • Segment History
  • Ratio Analysis

The Transactions set of options includes:

  • M&A Summary, with links to individual transaction summaries
  • PE/VC activity