No, only FactSet users. S&P has GICs changes coming up and keeping the mapping is becoming a burden.
GICS to RBICS it’s also a very rough approximation. For example GICS(BIOTECH) maps to RBICS(BIOPHARMANONSYS,BIOPHARMASYS,OUTSOURCEDDRUG,HCARESVCEDIV). There are other uglier mappings, but don’t recall them now. You can see them for yourself now in the spreadsheet.
We were surprised how many GICS calls are still in use for FactSet users. We’ll see if we can postpone. But eventually the band-aid will need to be ripped off!
One thing that would make it easier to migrate would be to put the actual p123 code in the spreadsheet, example:
for GICS 3510 to RBICS: 3515 (except 35152010, 35152020, 35152025, 35152030, 35152035, 35152515), 3520
Put this in the spreadsheet:
RBICS(3515,3520) & (RBICS(35152010, 35152020, 35152025, 35152030, 35152035, 35152515)=0)
Assuming I did that correctly!
Then can copy and paste the above line into existing ports…
When you have a moment, could you please describe what the transition is going to be like for subscribers who are using S&P data only?
For example, I am assuming that discontinued codes will still be in the database and must be used for backtesting, and that new codes and changes will begin as of March 17th. But is that correct?
Is it possible to say when p123 will post its updated help information and detail?
As I recall, p123 did a really good job handling the last set of GICS changes.
The upcoming GICS changes will be incorporated as they have in the past for S&P users. We’re only ending support for the GICS function for FactSet users as it requires upkeep whenever GICS or RBICS changes are made.
I used the Ranking System Search (or click the search bar, then Advanced Research Search, then select Components followed by Ranking System). Make sure your name is in the Author field and enter “GICS” into the “Factors Contain” field.
The issue I am running into with GICS to RBICS conversion is that the mappings are often not 1 to 1.
Eg., I want to remove all lending businesess from my universe. When I exclude RBICS 303010, it excludes financial software businesses like V, MA, FISV, COIN, FIS, GPN, etc. on the other hand it excludes AXP, ALLY, CACC, SYF etc like i want it to
So essentially if i want to exclude business that do any kind of lending, I should exclude anything with IntInc > 0? And how do i do do that? By adding rule that IntInc = NA?
I have hundreds of systems that are affected by this change and I hope that it goes smoothly.
However, I have no way to test it out until the plug is actually pulled. What happens then? Is it hard to reactivate the beta site for this change to see what happens? Also, I am concerned about the timing. The plug is scheduled to be pulled on March 17, which is Friday. That does not give us a lot of time to troubleshoot fix problems if they come up. Furthermore, if they do come up, is anyone going to be available over the weekend to fix it, if the issue is on the P123 side?
Wouldn’t it make more sense to schedule this on a Tuesday, so that we can iron out the issues during working days before the next Monday comes along?
After further discussion, we will be making the minimal necessary changes to account for the upcoming change. The GICS function will continue to exist, but as of Friday, it will be deprecated and unsupported. New GICS codes may not be supported.
We highly recommend reviewing GICS function usages and migrating them to appropriate RBICS expressions. Portfolio123 mappings are and always have been best-effort mappings, and, as such, the GICS function may give unexpected result. On top of that, mapping data will not be reviewed for accuracy upon future GICS or RBICS changes, such as the RBICS changes scheduled for July 30th.
The major change to note for Friday is that GICS(6010) will change from RBICS(REALESTATE) & !RBICS(HOMEBUILDMANUF.XX1, REITDIV, REITMORTG) to RBICS(REITEQUITY) because the definition of GICS 6010 is being changed from Real Estate to Equity REITs, so we recommend priority given to formulas referencing GICS 6010 directly.