Symbologies & Identifiers
ISIN, FIGI, CUSIP, SEDOL, LEI, MIC — the IDs behind every tick.
Market data work is identifier work: one Apple share is 037833100 in one database, US0378331005 in another, and AAPL on a third screen. This track maps the full identifier landscape, from issuance-level IDs like ISIN, CUSIP, SEDOL, and FIGI through entity-level LEIs and venue-level MICs to vendor symbols, so you can join datasets across sources without silent mismatches.
Why Identifiers Matter
Security Identifiers
ISIN
ISINs are twelve-character ISO 6166 keys whose nine-character NSIN is allocated by national numbering agencies.
CUSIP
CUSIP is the nine-character US and Canada identifier, built from a six-character issuer, two-character issue, and check digit.
SEDOL
SEDOLs are seven-character London-issued codes that embed directly into GB and IE ISINs as the nine-character NSIN.
FIGI & OpenFIGI
FIGIs are Bloomberg open twelve-character identifiers, requestable at market and composite level through the free OpenFIGI API.
Entities, Venues & Codes
LEI
LEIs are twenty-character ISO 17442 entity codes mandated for EMIR and MiFID reporting, issued through the GLEIF federation.
RIC & Vendor Symbols
Vendor symbols like RICs and Bloomberg tickers are display conventions, not stable keys, so desks maintain explicit symbology maps.
MIC & ISO Market Codes
MICs are four-letter ISO 10383 venue codes, cousins of ISO 4217 currency codes and ISO 20022 messages.