Effective use f WRDS Ntes prepared by Pamela Petersn Drake Cntents What is WRDS?... 1 Wh has access t WRDS?... 1 Hw d I lg-in t WRDS?... 2 What is available in WRDS?... 3 Hw d I retrieve the data frm WRDS?... 5 What is Cmpustat?... 7 What is CRSP?... 8 What databases are available t JMU users?... 9 What data is where?... 10 References... 11 What is WRDS? WRDS is the web-based interface t finance research databases, prduced by Whartn Research Data Services. Originating in 1993 as a device t assist faculty members, WRDS has grwn t ver 200 institutinal subscribers. The subscriptin t WRDS prvides access t bth subscribed databases and free databases. WRDS hsts and manages the databases, which is cnvenient in the case f mst university cmputer systems that have been decentralized and, in mst cases, PC-based. In additin, WRDS prvides sample prgrams, nline manuals, and immediate updating f databases. Wh has access t WRDS? The access t WRDS is limited t faculty and, t a limited extent, students at the subscribing institutin. This means that users have a respnsibility t maintain the security f their access s that nn-authrized persns d nt use the database. Users cannt permit faculty at ther institutins even c-authrs -- access t the database. In the case f c-authring, the WRDS license des nt permit c-authrs at ther, nn-subscribing universities t access the WRDS database. Students can use the database fr class purpses thrugh a class accunt in which the students share ne accunt and the accunt expires at the end f the semester. A faculty member leaving a subscribing institutin and taking a psitin at a nn-subscribing institutin n lnger has access t the database and can nly use the data used in a prject begun and drawn while at the subscribing institutin. A dctral student leaving a subscribing institutin and taking a psitin at a nn-subscribing institutin can nly use the data fr a prject begun and drawn while at the subscribing institutin. WRDS cannt be used fr cnsulting purpses, whether paid r nn-paid cnsulting.
Hw d I lg-in t WRDS? WRDS is available at wrds.whartn.upenn.edu: members lgin accunt request If yu d nt yet have access, yu wuld use the accunt request link t request an accunt which yu will receive thrugh email after registering. If yu already have a WRDS accunt, yu wuld use the members lgin link. Lgging in requires the Username and Passwrd: Effective Use f WRDS Page 2 f 11
What is available in WRDS? After lgging in, yu are presented with the main page that lists the databases in which yur institutin subscribes, alng with the free databases: Because databases ften have subsets f data that may r may nt be subscribed t, click n the My Permissins link t see which data is available. Fr example, by scrlling dwn t the sectin n Cmpustat, yu can see specifically which Cmpustat databases are available by checking the Permissins clumn fr Subscribed: Effective Use f WRDS Page 3 f 11
Returning t the main page and chsing the link f a specific database (fr example Cmpustat) prduces the pening page fr that describes the database and prvides links t the databases, updates, and tls: Selecting a link in the left-hand side menu prduces the query page, which prvides data selectin criteria in bth drp-dwn selectin bxes r numerical input. 1 1 Please nte that just because a link is available, it des nt mean that that data r tl is available t yur institutin. Check My Permissins fr the specific subscribed service. Effective Use f WRDS Page 4 f 11
Similar links and queries are prvided fr all subscribed databases. Hw d I retrieve the data frm WRDS? Once yu identify the database and data that yu want, yu will need t cmplete a query t generate the dataset that yu can dwnlad. Suppse yu wish t prduce a dataset ready fr a SAS analysis cnsisting f the ttal assets f all cmpanies in the Cmpustat database during the perid 1995-2006 that have: 1. Psitive earnings befre extrardinary items, and 2. A junk bnd rating. The query The query begins with Step One and prceeds t further refining selectin criteria, depending n the particular database. In Cmpustat, the steps fr the search are the fllwing: Step One: Date Range Specify that yu want annual data and the years 1995-2006. Step Tw: Search Specify that yu want the entire database searched. Specify that yu want earnings befre extrardinary items (DATA118) greater than $0 (> 0) and bnd rating (DATA 280) wrse than investment grade (> 12). Step Three: Variables Specify the cmpany descriptrs yu want (e.g., cmpany name and fiscal year end). Specify that yu want ttal assets (DATA6). Step Fur: Output Specify the utput frmat as a SAS dataset, s that it can be read directly int SAS. The data Yu specifies the utput frmat in the last step f the query, e.g.,: Effective Use f WRDS Page 5 f 11
Yu can then dwnlad and save yur data using the link t the utput file. There are several ptins fr the type f utput: 1. Fixed-width 2. Cmma-delimited text 3. Tab-delimited text 4. dbase file 5. SAS dataset 6. SAS transprt file 7. HTML table 8. Stat dataset 9. SPSS dataset After cmpleting the last step, yu submit the request using the link. A Data Request Summary windw will pp-up. Befre the jb is cmpleted, yu will have a link that allws yu t cancel the jb. Once the jb is cmpleted, the Cancel Jb link disappears, replaced by the link t access the data. If yu typed in yur email address in the screen abve, yu wuld als receive an email with the data link when the utput is available. Using the data Suppse yu specify the utput frmat is a SAS dataset. And suppse that when yu dwnlad the file frm Effective Use f WRDS Page 6 f 11
WRDS by right-clicking n the utput file link yu place it in the directry c:\research\wrds and specify a file name f cmpustat. The saved file will then have a full name f cmpustat.sas7bdat, with sas7bdat indicating that this is a SAS dataset. Yu wuld then read it in t SAS with the fllwing cmmands: Libname sasdata 'c:\research\wrds\'; Data x2; set sasdata.cmpustat; What is Cmpustat? Cmpustat is a prduct f Standard & Pr s, a divisin f McGraw-Hill Cmpanies, Inc. The key Cmpustat databases are the fllwing: Bank File: Financial statement data fr leading U.S. banking institutins. Available in bth the annual and the quarterly frmats. Canadian File: Financial statement data fr majr Canadian industrial cmpanies, reprted in Canadian currency. Industrial Cmpustat: Financial statement data fr industrial cmpanies. There are three files that cmprise the Industrial Cmpustat, where these files can be btained separately r merged tgether: Primary, Secndary and Tertiary. These files are available in either annual r quarterly frmats. Price, Dividends and Earnings: Market infrmatin n all f the Cmpustat industrial cmpanies, alng with industry indexes and cmpsites. These databases are drawn, primarily, frm cmpanies reprted financial statements, with financial data cnverted t fit a cmmn frmat. The annual data prvides bth reprted and restated financial statement data. The quarterly data is restated data nly. Cmpustat ffers financial, statistical, and market infrmatin cvering industrial and nn-industrial crpratins. Financial statement data prvided cnsists f selected balance sheet, incme statement, and statement f changes in financial psitin items. The Annual Industrial files are available in either the annual frmat (ver 390 financial statement items, plus ftnte infrmatin, frm as early as 1950), and quarterly frmat (frm as early as 1962 with ver 270 financial data items, plus ftnte infrmatin). Individual cmpanies are identified by: The first six digits f the CUSIP number (CNUM). Standard and Pr s Identifier (GVKEY) The ticker symbl (SMBL) The cmpany name (CONAME) Cmpanies are classified in Cmpustat with the fllwing variables: The SIC (Standard Industrial Classificatin) cde (DNUM). The Nrth American Industrial Classificatin System (NAICS). The Glbal Industry Classificatin Standard (GICS) Stck exchanges (part f ZLIST) Cmpustat files (File Identificatin cde) (e.g., Primary Industrial). S&P Majr Index Cde (part f ZLIST) Because the data in the Industrial, Bank and Canadian files are based n reprted financial statement data, the data is identified based n fiscal year end data. The fiscal year des nt necessarily crrespnd t calendar years, s care must be taken when crdinating financial statement and market data. Effective Use f WRDS Page 7 f 11
12,000 Cmpanies n Cmpustat Annual Industrial Database as f September 14, 2007 Number f cmpanies with data 10,000 8,000 6,000 All ther year ends June fiscal year end December fiscal year end 4,000 2,000 0 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 Accunting year What is CRSP? The CRSP databases are develped by the University f Chicag s Center fr Research in Security Prices. The CRSP data bases include daily and mnthly prices and returns n NYSE, AMSE and Nasdaq traded stcks, as well as returns n indexes. In additin, CRSP prvides infrmatin n a stck s: Issuer s industry classificatin (i.e., SIC cde) Bid and ask prices Shares utstanding Delisting infrmatin, if applicable Distributin infrmatin (e.g., cash dividends) Nasdaq infrmatin, if applicable Nt every security has a return fr each day r mnth frm the beginning f the file; the first day r mnth (BEGRET), with the first pssible day r mnth being indicated as 1 (fr the daily returns file, 1 = July 2, 1962, fr the mnthly returns file, 1 = December, 1925). CRSP maintains the histrical return infrmatin fr securities that have stpped trading (e.g. fr bankruptcy, merger, etc., as indicated in the cde DLSTDT). The timing f the last available return infrmatin fr a security is indicated by a variable (ENDRET). Securities are identified tw ways: 1. By eight-digit CUSIP number assigned by Standard and Pr's, where the first six digits identify the issuer and the last tw digits identify the security f the issuer; r 2. By PERMNO, a five-digit permanent number scheme that CRSP uses t uniquely identify a security -- thugh CUSIP numbers may change, given certain circumstances, the PERMNO remains the same thrughut a security's histry. The CUSIP number is useful when yu need t match data frm different data sets because mst financial data bases identify firms r securities by CUSIP number. But since CUSIP numbers may change ver time (thugh this is seldm), the PERMNO is useful in keeping track f securities and their price, dividend, and return histries. Effective Use f WRDS Page 8 f 11
What databases are available t JMU users? Acquired by JMU Cmpustat Back data Bank Industrial PDE Segments back data CRSP Daily stcks Mnthly stcks Cmpustat/CRSP merged Free thrugh WRDS Bank regulatry (financial accunting infrmatin fr bank hlding cmpanies, savings banks, and S&Ls) Blckhlders Database (1996-2001) CBOE Vlatility index Center fr Internatinal Securities and Derivatives Markets (CISFM) data n hedge funds, CTAs and CPOs Dw Jnes Averages & Ttal Return Indexes Fama-French prtflis and factrs, as well as the Pastr-Stambaugh Liquidity and Sadka liquidity measures FDIC Call Reprts Currency Optins and Implied Vlatility (Philadelphia Exchange) SEC s Disclsure f Order Executin and Ruting Statistics Trace (Nasdaq OTC bnd market prices) Effective Use f WRDS Page 9 f 11
What data is where? Cmpustat Bank Annual Data item Balance sheet data Bnd pri ces Cash dividends Ftntes t financial statements Incme statement data Index level Index return Industrial classificatin cde Order executin Statement f cash flws data Stck dividends and stck splits Stck prices Cmpustat Industrial Annual Cmpustat Industrial Quarterly Cmpustat Pricedividends-earnings CRSP Dw Jnes Averages and Ttal Return Indexes FDIC Call Reprt Disclsure f Order Executin TRACE Effective Use f WRDS Page 10 f 11
References 1. Standard & Pr s Cmpustat 2. Center fr Research in Security Prices 3. Data Descriptin Guide, Center fr Research in Security Prices 4. CCM: The CRSP/Cmpustat Merged Database Effective Use f WRDS Page 11 f 11