Charles River IMS vs. FactSet Workstation

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Charles River IMS
Score 9.0 out of 10
N/A
The Charles River Investment Management Solution (Charles River IMS) automates front and middle office processes for buy-side firms. The solution helps enable accurate and timely investment decision support for institutional and wealth managers, alternative investment firms, insurers and asset owners. Charles River IMS helps clients streamline operations, reduce risk, and improve reliability.N/A
FactSet Workstation
Score 8.5 out of 10
N/A
The FactSet Workstation is a dynamic platform designed to empower financial professionals with seamless data access, advanced analytics, and technology. Integrating over 800 data sources across asset classes and markets, it consolidates crucial insights and elevates decision-making. Its AI-powered tools include smart search and chat features. The workstation simplifies complex workflows, enabling users to uncover insights quickly and improve collaboration. From research and portfolio…N/A
Pricing
Charles River IMSFactSet Workstation
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
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Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Charles River IMSFactSet Workstation
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoYes
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeRequired
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Charles River IMSFactSet Workstation
Features
Charles River IMSFactSet Workstation
Financial Research
Comparison of Financial Research features of Product A and Product B
Charles River IMS
-
Ratings
FactSet Workstation
6.8
12 Ratings
8% below category average
Private Company Data00 Ratings4.79 Ratings
Industry-Specific Information00 Ratings6.712 Ratings
Independent Research Access00 Ratings6.711 Ratings
M&A Analysis00 Ratings6.99 Ratings
Supply Chain Data00 Ratings6.87 Ratings
ESG Data00 Ratings6.78 Ratings
Macroeconomic News00 Ratings7.912 Ratings
Search Tools00 Ratings7.812 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Charles River IMSFactSet Workstation
Small Businesses

No answers on this topic

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Medium-sized Companies

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S&P Capital IQ
S&P Capital IQ
Score 7.9 out of 10
Enterprises

No answers on this topic

S&P Capital IQ
S&P Capital IQ
Score 7.9 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Charles River IMSFactSet Workstation
Likelihood to Recommend
10.0
(1 ratings)
8.0
(16 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(2 ratings)
Usability
-
(0 ratings)
7.4
(12 ratings)
Support Rating
-
(0 ratings)
7.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
Charles River IMSFactSet Workstation
Likelihood to Recommend
State Street
If your are large asset management company focused mostly on interest rate products and you are large institutional trader your way is the use of Charles River Portfolio Management & Risk Analytics account which is most reputable custodian institution which offers superior tool for bonds trading - Charles River IMS. Charles River Portfolio Management & Risk Analytics is focused on large bond traders, so is not offered for small hedge funds. It is not appropriate if you are small account holder and focused more on stock market offerings, margin trading and less focused on custodian reputation. There is no separate risk module for trading group risk management.
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FactSet
FactSet works for all my IR needs. I do not see a function for which I use it for that it would be less appropriate. I believe that the tool's efforts towards becoming more integrated with AI are strong and that in time the Mercury offering will be just as competitive as some of the other AI offerings out there today such as AlphaSense
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Pros
State Street
  • Focused on bonds
  • Risk approache based on counterparties risk measurement
  • Buid in scenario strategies and testing
  • CDS are available for trading (exlusive offering)
  • Portfolio construction
  • Yield analytics
  • Exotics: SWAPs, SWAPtions
  • Sophisticated options analytics
  • Currency forwards (exclusive offering)
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FactSet
  • Easy/clear UI for navigation
  • Easily find and sort through financial filings to get to the data
  • Document search functionality seems to be improving consistently with more robust features
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Cons
State Street
  • Equities - microstructure to consider detection of iceberg orders
  • Build in algos for large trades execution
  • Corporate or Banking level platform - not focused on mid sized business
  • SAP connectivity
  • Only Charles River Portfolio Management & Risk Analytics accounts
  • No trading group accounts capabilities
  • Needs arbitrage trading algo: spread, statistical, merger for stocks
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FactSet
  • The user interface on stock monitor needs work - sometimes I wish to clone the same fields to another tab/watchlist and it appears the best way to do so is recreate it form scratch
  • transcript to be more timely and more accurate
  • on the consensus financial forecast tab, have more segment breakouts like Visible Alpha
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Likelihood to Renew
State Street
No answers on this topic
FactSet
We need the FactSet data and capabilities to complete 75% of the financial analyses that we complete for both internal and external purposes. It is invaluable and I am not aware of any other provider that would be able to fill this gap that FactSet does
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Usability
State Street
No answers on this topic
FactSet
It does everything I need. It is pretty user friendly and easy to work with whatever technology interface I am using (desk top, notebook, tablet, or mobile phone). I am able to get work done whether I am in the office, at home, or traveling. The user up time is very good. They are rarely doing maintenance when I need to use the platform
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Support Rating
State Street
No answers on this topic
FactSet
I think the data delivery could be improved, but it's a good data set.
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Alternatives Considered
State Street
Charles River Portfolio Management & Risk Analytics is a state of the art company which owns state of the art products Charles River Portfolio Management & Risk Analytics. If you are considering long term value, capital preservation strategy and pension funds management that is the right choice if holdien one account versus several to get systematic diversification. You can run even department of banks treasury with use of Charles River Portfolio Management & Risk Analytics. So good but focused on large investors needs and diversification focus.
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FactSet
Product is magnitudes more affordable and provides 80% of the functionality that Bloomberg has and is working to build out the remaining. The workstation is more user friendly than bloomberg but still not perfect. Not as robust as a Bloomberg Terminal and doesn't have the chat/trading features.
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Return on Investment
State Street
  • Neutral. We are in system migration process.
  • We expect to get our P&L less volatile (+/- 5%). More international bonds in a mix
  • Top custodian is our first priority
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FactSet
  • hard to quantify, bc i havent brought any new business bc of it, so the ROI would be 0%. I use other systems for proposals.
  • However, I use it for everyday work and equity/fi analysis and portfolio construction research at ticker level, and that part works 100%.
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ScreenShots

FactSet Workstation Screenshots

Screenshot of PM Hub, which simplifies portfolio management with tools for building, analyzing, and simulating trades for multi-asset class portfolios and exposures. Users can monitor positions in real time with customizable views, ensure compliance, and execute trades through its integration. Link IRN data to foster deeper collaboration between research analysts and portfolio managers.Screenshot of FactSet Internal Research Notes (IRN), which streamlines research with one connected platform. These can be used to organize, share, and analyze everything from market trends to individual securities. Its AI tools help to boost collaboration, enhance workflows, and drive smarter investment decisions.Screenshot of some of the available information which can used to analyze performance, risk, and attribution across multi-asset portfolios. This integrates portfolio, market, and proprietary data into a single platform to streamline workflows, adapt to market changes, and make confident decisions. From stress testing and scenario analysis to AI-driven insights, FactSet provides tools to strengthen portfolio resilience, uncover drivers of performance, and foster collaboration with customizable reports and data sharing.Screenshot of a display of all accounts in one personalized dashboard. Viewers can analyze top positions, spot trends with proprietary signals, and track market-moving events. Access summary stats like total market value and asset allocation across an entire book or by household and strategy.Screenshot of FactSet’s proprietary news, which delivers real-time, focused market insights across regions like the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. From stocks to sectors to broad markets, StreetAccount simplifies updates to cut through the clutter. This critical news is available anytime via the Workstation, web, email, app, or API.Screenshot of one of FactSet's unique datasets, Geographic Revenue (GeoRev), used to quickly understand a company's revenue exposure in countries impacted by geopolitical, macroeconomic, and market risk through a highly structured and normalized display of companies' revenues by geography.