Data Feed
Although a data feed is convenient, the reasons for not subscribing are as follows:
- Data Feeds are not cheap.
- The services are slightly orientated towards the UK. So if a security has both a GBP price and a USD price then the software will generally choose the GBP price. This makes it less useful for users outside the UK.
- If the clients invest in only a small number of securities, it is not too time consuming to update the securities manually.
There are two data feeds that run with Trust Accounts:
- The Exshare data feed is supplied by Interactive Data (formerly FT Interactive Data) and is bought directly from them. The contact for prices and information is David Gilbert on telephone number +44 (0)20 7825 8000.
- The Telekurs data feed is supplied by Telekurs, a Swiss company, and is bought directly from them. The contact for prices and information is Tamsin Hobley on telephone number +44 (0)20 7550 5000.
Both products supply:
- Security code and name
- Prices
- Security history, e.g. dividends, stock dividends, bonuses and rights issues
- Details of Name Changes
- Complex capital events, such as takeovers and de-mergers
There are two forms of the Exshare feed, the Standard feed and the Enhanced feed. The Enhanced feed includes complex capital events; the Standard feed does not. Complex capital events are always included in the Telekurs feed. The coverage is explained in more detail below.
The prices of both data feeds are based on the “service level” (see below) and the number of concurrent users of Trust Accounts, like CCH’s own licensing system. In addition the Exshare feed costs more if you subscribe to the Enhanced feed.
Both data feeds are tailored for CCH. They are the same for SecTAX and Trust Accounts, but cannot be read by the products of other suppliers, even if the other supplier also supports the ‘Exshare data feed’ or ‘the Telekurs data feed’.
Service Levels
For both products you can buy different service levels or “bands”. There are 4 service levels available. Higher bands contain more securities. For Telekurs they are called:
Band A – UK Only
Includes UK debt, equities and unit trusts.
Band B – UK plus World Select
Band A + components of 26 world indices, incl. DJ Stoxx 50, FTSE Eurotop 100, S&P 100, Nikkei 300.
Band C - European
Band A + components of 4 European indices. Note that band C is smaller than band B.
Band D - World
Band B plus a wider selection of world indices. This covers about 50,000 securities.
On Exshare the equivalent bands are called L, M, N and P. The Exshare band L is roughly equivalent to the old ‘Extel books’, now called the Securities Taxation CD Service. It covers about 20,000 securities, about the same number as in Telekurs band A. The remaining Exshare bands are larger than their Telekurs equivalents. The largest is Exshare band P which is a huge service covering about 200,000 securities and is much bigger than Telekurs’ band D service.
Differences Between the Data Feeds
There are significant differences between the two data feeds.
Installation
The Exshare data is read directly by Trust Accounts. So there is no separate installation involved.
The Telekurs data is read by a separate software package called the Telekurs software. Usually this software is installed on just one workstation.
Method of Delivery
The Exshare Standard feed is supplied monthly on CD with a 13th CD supplied for 5th April. This feed is easy to load. The user copies a file off the CD and then loads the data using the Data Feed option within Trust Accounts. The process is simple enough to be performed by an operator. The Exshare Enhanced feed works in the same way except that the monthly file is delivered from an FTP site.
The Telekurs feed is downloaded weekly from an FTP site. There are 5 file types to download. For each file type there are multiple files. The user downloads the files that have not been downloaded in previous runs. The files are unzipped and the Data Feed option within Trust Accounts is run. There is a program that automates this process (TKGET.EXE) but it is sensitive to the environment in which it runs and some users do not use it. Running the Telekurs Data Feed is more complex than running the Exshare feed and more errors can arise, e.g. time-outs. So CCH recommend that it is run by IT personnel.
An advantage of downloading data from an FTP site is that the securities data is available more quickly. The Exshare CD usually arrives about 8 days after the month end. The Telekurs data can be downloaded the next day. So some users choose Telekurs because they produce monthly accounts that are required shortly after the month end.
Security code
The Exshare data feed can be configured to use either the SEDOL code or the ISIN code as the main code identifying securities.
The Telekurs data feed only supports ISIN codes.
The advantage of using SEDOLs is that they may be printed on source documentation such as brokers’ valuations and contract notes. So using SEDOLs can make posting easier. The disadvantage is that there is a charge payable to the London Stock Exchange for using them. This was discussed in more detail in the previous topic.
Security tax status details
The Exshare service comes from the UK and contains data about the UK tax status of securities. The Telekurs service comes from Switzerland and contains no data about the UK tax status. For instance, when a dividend is announced, Exshare supplies both the net amount and the UK tax credit. On Telekurs only the net amount is supplied and the Telekurs software calculates the tax credit. There may be a problem if the software cannot determine correctly if a payment should have a tax credit.
Another example is that the Telekurs data contains no information about whether a stock is chargeable to UK CGT. The Telekurs software assumes that all government bonds are exempt from CGT and that all corporate bonds are chargeable. But this is incorrect for Qualifying Corporate Bonds. The Exshare service supplies this data.
So the Exshare service is more reliable for the UK tax status of securities.
Prices
The Exshare data feed supplies monthly prices plus an extra one for 5th April.
The Telekurs data feed supplies weekly prices plus an extra one for 5th April. Some users, who produce monthly accounts, have requested monthly prices on Telekurs as well as the weekly ones. This service is available as an extra chargeable option called the Telekurs “+Plus” service.
Security History
The Exshare data feed includes dividends, stock dividends, accumulation unit dividends, interest payments, bonuses, rights issues and equalisation payments. Details of complex capital events (CCEs) such as takeovers and demergers are only available if the user subscribes to a more expensive version of the data feed called the Enhanced Feed. But even with the Standard Feed, it does include a notification that CCEs have taken place, but without the detail. The user can then run a report, the Corporate Actions Report, which lists the securities which a) are held by at least one client on the system and for which b) a CCE has taken place. The details of the CCE are then obtained from another source and entered manually against the security.
The Telekurs data feed includes the same details as the Exshare service except that accumulation unit dividends and equalisation payments are not included, whereas details of CCEs are included as standard. A Telekurs user can run the Complex Capital Events Report. This is like the Corporate Actions Report but shows the details of the CCEs rather than just the notifications that a CCE has taken place.
At the time of writing (June 2006) neither the Telekurs nor the Exshare service is reliable enough for CCEs to dispense with an external source such as Interactive Data’s Securities Taxation Service.
Shorter Securities List
Some users prefer to keep just the securities they use on their securities list. This reduces the chances of error in selecting securities when several securities have very similar names. With the Exshare feed these users add securities manually filling in just the security code, the name and the currency. When the Exshare feed is next run the other details are completed from the feed.
With the Telekurs feed this is not practical and users must keep all securities supplied on the feed on their securities list.
Period Covered
The Telekurs data goes back to 2001, but it is not reliable before April 2003. Weekly prices are available only from the last 5th April. Before that there are only annual prices for each 5th April. When subscribing to the Exshare feed users can decide how far back they want the data to go. The more data required, the more expensive it is. Most users take the Exshare data from the last 5th April, or the one before. Note that some users request CGT data back to 1982. This is not available from either source. Users requiring this should subscribe to Interactive Data's Securities Taxation Service and re-key events as required into Trust Accounts.
Conclusion
The main advantage of the Telekurs service is that it is available more quickly than Exshare. It also currently has better data on complex capital events. The main advantages of Exshare are that it is easier to load and more reliable for UK tax status data. Prices may also be different, but CCH cannot offer advice on this as they are set by the suppliers.