IDEA Replaces EDGAR
The SEC announced today that IDEA, or Interactive Data Electronic Applications, will be the successor to the EDGAR database. The EDGAR database, which stood for Electronic Data Gathering Analysis & Retrieval, was an antiquated system investors could use to look up company filings and other pertinent financial data. If you wanted a government required form from a company, EDGAR was the fastest way to look up that information. EDGAR was slow to use with interface difficulties, difficulties that IDEA seeks to fix and build on.
“IDEA will ensure that the SEC continues to stay ahead of the needs of investors,” said Chairman Cox. “This new SEC resource powered by interactive data will give investors far faster, more accurate, and more meaningful information about the companies and mutual funds they own. IDEA’s launch represents a fundamental change in the way the SEC collects and publishes company and fund information – and in the way that investors will be able to use it.”