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Structured data investor survey 2023
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Background
Objectives and Methodology
Objectives
- Understand how XBRL data is being used by investors in practice, and how this compares to their use of other sources of structured data
- Identify the barriers to wider usage and opportunities for improving access and efficiency
Methodology
- Commissioned a specialist research provider, CoreData Research, to conduct a survey with their proprietary panel of investors
- Survey ran from 30 August – 29 September 2023
- 7 demographics questions and 23 main questions
Sample
160 investment professionals
| UK (n=86) | Non-UK (n=74) | |
|---|---|---|
| Buy side (n=60) | 31 | 29 |
| Sell-side (n=100) | 55 | 45 |
Screening criteria
Respondents were only allowed to complete the survey if they:
- used company-level financial or ESG data at least quarterly;
- had a buy-side or sell-side role;
- were involved in investing in UK companies in an investing or asset allocation role; and
- had more than 2 years of experience in the financial sector.
Survey findings
Survey structure
This diagram outlines the structure of the survey findings, categorised into three main sections with their respective sub-topics.
1. Investor data sources * Desired characteristics of data sources * Use of different data sources
2. XBRL data * If using XBRL data, how? * If not using XBRL data, why not?
3. Future opportunities * What could be improved to increase data usage? * What areas of reporting would be useful to get tagged? * Impact of AI developments
1. Investor data sources
In choosing data sources, what are the most important features you consider?
Bar charts showing the top 5 most important features for Financial data sources and ESG data sources, based on the percentage of respondents who rated them as 'Extremely important' or 'Very important'.
Financial data sources (top 5 features) * Availability of historical data: 84% * Data is audited/assured: 82% * Prompt data availability: 74% * Coverage of non-UK companies: 69% * Standardised data format across companies: 63%
ESG data sources (top 5 features) * Data is audited/assured: 67% * Availability of historical data: 66% * Traceable to original disclosures: 64% * Standardised data format across companies: 62% * Coverage of non-UK companies: 61%
% Important (Extremely important + Very important)
From which sources do you get company-level financial data?
Bar chart showing the percentage of respondents who obtain company-level financial data from various sources (multiple answers allowed).
- Commercial data aggregator services: 81%
- PDFs from company websites: 78%
- Spreadsheets from company websites: 63%
- Structured data from reports in XBRL format: 36%
- Other: 6%
- Multiple answers were allowed.
- There was a higher take-up of XBRL data among sell-side professionals (48%) than buy-side professionals (15%).
- Data aggregators' services may be based on XBRL data as well – the survey results do not capture this indirect usage.
- 89% of those using PDFs extracted the data manually (copy-paste).
2. XBRL data
If you use XBRL data, how?
Stacked bar chart showing the frequency of XBRL data use in respondents' roles, as a percentage of respondents who use XBRL data.
- Always: 1%
- Frequently: 25%
- Occasionally: 58%
- Rarely: 16%
From which sources do you use structured data in XBRL format?
Bar chart showing the percentage of respondents who use XBRL data, indicating their sources for structured data (multiple answers allowed).
- Individual company websites: 77%
- UK Companies House (UK listed and private company data): 43%
- US SEC EDGAR (US listed company data): 42%
- An EU regulator or stock exchange (EU listed company data): 32%
- Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) National Storage Mechanism (UK listed company data): 30%
If you do not use XBRL data, why?
Pie chart illustrating the familiarity with XBRL or similar terminologies among non-users of XBRL data.
- XBRL data users (financial and ESG data): 38%
- Non-users unfamiliar with structured data terminologies: 19%
- Non-users familiar with structured data terminologies: 43%
Among the non-users who are familiar with XBRL:
- 83% Are unaware that in the UK, companies' annual reports are freely accessible in XBRL format from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Companies House
Primary challenges of using XBRL (Top 3)
Bar chart showing the top three primary challenges of using XBRL among non-XBRL users who are familiar with XBRL (multiple answers allowed).
- Unsure how to work with XBRL data: 70%
- Unsure where to find the data: 40%
- Not aware of the benefits or relevance of XBRL data: 37%
3. Future opportunities
How to increase XBRL data usage
Bar chart showing what governments, regulators, or standard-setters could do to increase the usage of XBRL-tagged data (Top 5 factors, based on the percentage of respondents familiar with XBRL, multiple answers allowed).
- Supervise and enforce tagged data quality: 44%
- Provide a central global repository for XBRL data: 41%
- Provide APIs that can easily interact with other software: 38%
- Ensure international comparability of the data: 38%
- Provide training on XBRL data and its uses: 37%
What other factors could support data usage?
Bar chart showing other factors that could support XBRL data usage, based on the percentage of respondents familiar with XBRL (multiple answers allowed).
- Assistance with integrating XBRL data into our current systems: 49%
- Data aggregators making XBRL data available through their existing platforms: 49%
- More commercial analysis and visualisation tools tailored for XBRL data: 44%
In which areas of corporate reporting could tagging be useful?
Dot plot chart illustrating the top 5 priority areas for tagging in corporate reporting, based on multiple answers.
The chart displays percentage ratings for different reporting areas: * Corporate actions: Approximately 45% * Interim/half year reports: Approximately 40% * IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards Reporting: Approximately 35% * Net Zero Transition plans: Approximately 30% * Green Taxonomy Reporting: Approximately 15%
- Top priorities include new environmental-related reporting.
- Importance of historical data availability (see slide 7) would support 'digital from the start' approach for these areas.
- Areas to which respondents assigned a relatively low priority included: non-EU/UK GAAP financial reporting, diversity and inclusion reporting and cybersecurity disclosures.
Impact of AI developments
Which statement best describes your opinion:
Diverging bar chart showing respondents' opinions on the impact of AI developments on structured data in XBRL format, broken down by agreement with two opposing statements.
(A) "Structured data in XBRL format will become obsolete due to developments in AI.” * Strongly agree with A: 2% * Agree with A: 23% * Agree with neither: 31% * Agree with B: 31% * Strongly agree with B: 12%
(B) "Structured data in XBRL format will remain valuable, regardless of developments in AI.”
The percentages represent respondents who are familiar with XBRL.
Investors' sentiments around future opportunities of XBRL data
Grouped bar chart comparing Sell-side and Buy-side investors' sentiments regarding future opportunities of XBRL data, showing the percentage who 'Strongly agree' or 'Agree' with various statements.
- The use of structured data formats such as XBRL in investment decision-making will become more prevalent in the future.
- Sell-side: 66%
- Buy-side: 72%
- Integrating data in XBRL format into our investment process is/ could be straightforward for us.
- Sell-side: 51%
- Buy-side: 50%
- Our organisation is concerned about the initial cost of transitioning to structured data in XBRL format from other data sources.
- Sell-side: 54%
- Buy-side: 43%
- Our company is increasingly adopting the use of digitally structured data in XBRL format.
- Sell-side: 47%
- Buy-side: 30%
Key takeaways
As investor use of XBRL data grows, data quality becomes even more important
Improving access to and usability of the data is key
There is an investor demand for more areas of corporate reporting to be tagged, including ESG reporting
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