FIGI (Financial Instrument Global Identifier) is a standardized identifier used to uniquely reference financial instruments across global markets. It is designed to be consistent, permanent, and market-agnostic, making it suitable for identifying instruments across exchanges, asset classes, and data providers.
At Twelve Data, FIGI is supported at multiple levels to accommodate different use cases, ranging from exchange-specific listings to issuer-level equity analysis.
What is a FIGI?
A FIGI uniquely identifies a specific traded instrument, such as a stock listed on a particular exchange in a specific currency.
Key characteristics:
Identifies a single listing
Exchange and currency specific
Permanent (does not change even if a ticker changes)
Suitable for precise, venue-level market data requests
Example:
Apple Inc. common stock listed on NASDAQ (USD) has its own FIGI
The same Apple shares listed on XETRA (EUR) have a different FIGI
Use FIGI when you want:
Exact data for a specific listing on a specific exchange.
Composite FIGI
A Composite FIGI represents the same instrument aggregated across all exchanges where it trades.
Instead of referencing one listing, the composite FIGI groups all venue-specific listings of the same instrument into a single identifier.
Key characteristics:
Aggregates multiple exchange listings
Still refers to the same instrument
Useful for cross-venue consolidation
Example:
Apple Inc. common stock trades on NASDAQ, XETRA, and other venues
Each listing has its own FIGI
All of these listings map to one Composite FIGI
Use Composite FIGI when you want:
Consolidated pricing or volume
Cross-exchange coverage
Instrument-level analysis without choosing a specific venue
Share Class FIGI
A Share Class FIGI identifies a class of equity issued by a company, independent of where it trades.
It abstracts away exchanges, currencies, and listings, focusing instead on the economic rights of the shares.
Key characteristics:
Groups all listings of the same share class
Exchange-agnostic and currency-agnostic
Distinguishes between different equity classes (e.g., Class A vs. Class B, common vs. preferred)
Example:
Alphabet Inc. has Class A (GOOGL) and Class C (GOOG) shares
Each class has:
Multiple listings
Multiple instrument-level FIGIs
Each class is represented by its own Share Class FIGI
Use Share Class FIGI when you want:
Issuer-level equity analysis
Normalization across venues and currencies
To differentiate between multiple share classes of the same issuer
Summary
FIGI identifiers form a natural hierarchy, from broad to specific:
Share Class FIGI
└── Composite FIGI
└── Instrument FIGI
Share Class FIGI: “What type of shares are these?”
Composite FIGI: “Where is this same instrument traded?”
Instrument FIGI: “What is this exact listing?”