Using Bloomberg Terminal For The First Time
On Monday, August 15th, 2022 I was invited to the University Of Delaware to tour the Geltzeiler Trading Center. The room itself was amazing. There were 32 student workstations, each equipped with dual monitors. I believe 15 of these workstations were equipped with Bloomberg Terminal. A Delaware student was kind enough to help me get started at one of the stations with Bloomberg.
Getting Started On Bloomberg Terminal
At first, the terminal felt quite overwhelming. There were a seemingly endless amount of possibilities and I did not know where to start. The student I was working with informed me that his professor said he has been using the platform for over 30 years and still believes he has explored less than 1% of the Terminal’s possibilities. Nonetheless, I gave it my best shot. I began researching a few equities that I have been interested in. As the hours passed quickly, I began exploring other exciting possibilities such as the economics and fixed income sections.
My Favorite Features On Bloomberg Terminal
It is sad knowing that I most likely did not use the Terminal to its full potential, however, there were several features, large and small, that piqued my interest. Below is a list of some of those features.
Equity Features On Bloomberg Terminal
- Relative Valuation – This feature made comparative company analysis easy. Bloomberg put together a list of companies very similar to the ones I was researching and provided a list of several of these company’s price multiples.
- Supply Chain Chart – This feature allowed me to view the current state of company’s largest suppliers and customers. Bloomberg puts together a list of these suppliers and customers and makes it easy to see some of their operating statistics. This feature also allowed you to easily switch to the company’s competitors to gauge how their supply chain management is.
- Fundamental Charting – This feature made it easy to measure the trend of company’s operating and financial metrics. I just clicked on information from company’s financial statements, or other statistics, and Bloomberg graphed the progression of these metrics. With this feature, you can also compare these graphs to that of other companies.
- Company & Industry News – Bloomberg made finding the latest current events, specific to companies and industries, easy. You could get up-to-the second articles on any company and industry. Bloomberg also makes it easy to find reports written by investment banks and other research firms.
Economic & Other Features On Bloomberg Terminal
- Yield Curve – Finding a reliable, up-to-date yield curve on the internet is not always the easiest or quickest venture. However, Bloomberg made it both easy and quick to find the yield curve.
- Mapping Feature – Perhaps the feature I was most impressed by was the mapping feature. Bloomberg provides a map of Earth and provides an extensive list of data to place on the map. This data includes but is not limited to weather, natural disasters, shipments, COVID-19 cases, and retail stores.
- Economic Graphs – There was countless economic indicators I could choose from to view a graph of.
In Conclusion
As I write this, I feel as though I am not truly giving justice to the Bloomberg Terminal. It boggles my mind to think about the endless possibilities this platform presents users. That being said, of the few things I was able to explore, I was incredibly impressed and my expectations were blown away. It is a shame that the Bloomberg Terminal comes with such a hefty price tag. At Boyko Wealth, it is our belief that this level of information should be accessible to all curious investors.