Research Guides: Finance: Getting Started

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This guide is designed for new researchers who need to find articles, sources, and get started with research in topics related to business and finance.

Getting Started

Start with:

S&P Capital IQ (with access to Aftermarket Research)
Standard & Poor's Capital IQ is a resource for financial data, analytics, and research. The web-based platform combines deep information on public and private companies, markets, and people worldwide with robust tools for analysis, idea generation, and workflow management. Capital IQ includes access to Aftermarket Research, an extensive collection of embargoed analyst research reports, offering coverage across more than 1,800 research providers including 30 million+ reports (current & historical back to 1995).
Guest users not affiliated with the University, please contact busref@umn.edu ahead of your visit to arrange for login access.
An Excel plugin feature provides powerful analytic capability.
UMN affiliated users will create an individual account through a self-registration process. Follow the steps after selecting from the link above. To use the Excel plug-in feature, please log in to the Virtual Private Network (VPN). Information on VPN is available at Virtual Private Network (VPN).
Faculty who wish to use this tool for a class may request a batch class registration. Please contact Mary Schoenborn (hawki003@umn.edu) to request this access.
PitchBook
Use PitchBook to search thousands of private equity and venture capital deals by hundreds of criteria. Establish benchmarks, find real time data on deals, identify and analyze comparables, and search investor details.
Each user must create a personal account while on campus using their valid @umn.edu e-mail address. Individual accounts must be reset every year on June 30th. Detailed instructions on how to create a personal account are available at: libguides.umn.edu/pitchbook

Walk in users please contact busref@umn.edu ahead of your visit to arrange for login access. Walk-in Guest Users login in at: https://www.pitchbook.com

Downloads set at 10/day and 25/month per user; resets monthly. All data and content available in PitchBook except Morningstar equity research

Faculty requiring larger data downloads may contact the library for assistance. Forward Pitchbook faculty download requests busref@umn.edu.
Mergent Online (Business)
Profiles of public corporations around the world that includes summaries, company histories, property, financials, subsdiaries, joint ventures, long term, press release and historical annual reports.
Bizminer
Find industry financial analysis benchmarks of business and industry market trends, including market analysis reports at the national and local levels down to the zip code.

Then try any of the following:

Factiva
Search millions of newspapers, business magazines, and newswires with international and foreign language coverage with all editions of the Wall Street Journal. Financial information for publicly traded companies, stocks, funds, currencies, and common market indexes. Limited to 7 simultaneous users.
Wall Street Journal (WSJ.COM) This link opens in a new window
Get WSJ.com subscription through the library. Sign up for a personal account at the link above. Access to the articles, photographs, charts, podcasts, videos and other premium content available on the WSJ.COM website back to the 2010. Mobile app access is included in the subscription.
Access available only for University of Minnesota Twin Cities students, faculty, and staff. No guest access available. Each user must set up a personal account to save articles, create alerts, download apps, and use other features. Once a personal account is created, you can access WSJ.COM from anywhere.
Financial Times (FT.com)
News, analysis and comment from the Financial Times, a leading global business publication. Current students, faculty, and staff must register and create personal accounts using University of Minnesota e-mail addresses at the link above.
Once registered, you can use your account to log in to FT.com from anywhere on any device by clicking on the "Sign in" link in the upper right-hand corner.

Guest access for non-affiliated users is available at the CD-ROM workstation (computer ID: ULWILB-CRT8W52) located in the Smart Commons area of Wilson Library basement.

Also check out:

Bloomberg Professional
News and analytics for over 129 countries and 250 exchanges for the financial services industry. Offerings include 24-hour historical and 15-minute delayed securities pricing, news, data, and analysis on companies, markets and economies. Access is only available from terminals in Wilson or Walter libraries. See details below.

Bloomberg Professional desktop is available in Wilson Library (West Bank Campus), and laptops in Walter Library (for use in the Toaster). See access instructions below.
Using Bloomberg Professional in Wilson Library. Direct specific questions to the Libraries business specialists: busref@umn.edu.
Using Bloomberg Professional laptops in Walter Library (for use in the Toaster)
Key Business Ratios
Database covering the critical areas of business performance --solvency, efficiency and profitability to help you to assess how a business is doing compared to an industry or a competitor.
Web of Science
A comprehensive interdisciplinary collection of journal article citations. Subjects generally covered are within science and technology, arts and humanities, and social sciences. View this tutorial to learn how to go from a general idea to a very precise set of results of journal articles and scholarly materials.

Last Updated: Aug 8, 2023 3:21 PM

Resources for: Finance