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Elizabeth was an equity research analyst on both the buyside and sellside before transitioning to freelancing where she specializes in market research and valuation.
The only thing I sometimes miss about being tied to a big investment bank is the data. Tapping on those yellow and green Bloomberg terminal keys was such a sweet joy I didn’t know I’d miss. Typing in “EE
When you become a freelance consultant, you need to be a bit more creative. Unless you spring for a Bloomberg terminal at a price of over $25,000, you have to figure out where else you can get the data. We polled our Toptal Finance consultants and found out some of their best free Bloomberg terminal alternatives.
Just like the mosaic theory, you’ll have to piece together the sources that are the highest quality for your needs; however, we think this list of free Bloomberg terminal alternatives provides a good starting point. On a positive note, by using these resources instead of a Bloomberg terminal, you’ll never need to struggle with the dreaded B-Unit device to log in.
See our picks below of the best free, high-quality resources for finance consultants. Drop a note in the comments section at the end of this post with any gems we may have left off the list.
Market sizing tip: Sometimes you can offer to buy just a portion of a market sizing report (or a table) for about 1/10th of the cost of the total report.
Hopefully, you’ve found our list of high-quality, free resources for finance consultants helpful in recreating a free Bloomberg terminal for yourself. If we’ve left any free (or low cost) Bloomberg terminal alternatives off, please let us know in the comments below.
A Bloomberg terminal allows direct access to Bloomberg’s data service which includes real-time financial data, analyst estimates, messaging, and trading capabilities.
The cost of a Bloomberg terminal is about $2,000 per month.
The terminal’s main benefits are the high quality, speed, and breadth of its financial data, coupled with its ability to serve as a Bloomberg trading platform. Essentially, it’s a stock market terminal that gives you access to the best of Bloomberg anywhere you can set it up.
It’s very convenient and guarantees high-quality data, but given the number of lower-cost Bloomberg terminal alternatives becoming available, it’s becoming less of a necessity.
Located in Annapolis, MD, United States
Member since August 21, 2017
Elizabeth was an equity research analyst on both the buyside and sellside before transitioning to freelancing where she specializes in market research and valuation.
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