Thursday, September 5, 2024

 In our latest Q&A interview with Calcbench users, we chat with Colin Morrison, CFA, who works as a credit analyst at Customers Bank in its specialty finance division. Morrison learned about Calcbench through his CFA Institute membership, and currently uses Calcbench outside of his job at Customers Bank. 


How did you start using Calcbench? 

My friends and I went to the CFA Institute’s website to learn about the benefits of being a CFA Institute member. We were also looking to see what data was available through the CFA Institute’s website, and happened upon Calcbench. 


As a hobby, I’m learning to code in Python. I’m currently a beginner-to-intermediate coder, but hope that as I progress in my coding skills I will eventually be able to integrate Python into my work.


I recently started using Calcbench’s API. 


How easy is it to use the Calcbench API? 

I am currently downloading information into a Jupyter notebook. This is my first attempt at trying to get financial information in a systematic way and it took a little time for the initial setup. Lots of trial and error, and I had to go to Github for help — but once I understood the flow, I was able to extract a lot more data. 


What I like about Calcbench is the standardization of metrics, and the API’s responsiveness. I am able to easily pull massive amounts of data. I also like Calcbench’s service. If I find an issue and report it, the next morning it’s fixed. 


In the future, how are you planning to use the API? 

Right now I am just pulling fundamental data and displaying it. I am having a lot of fun learning what the API can do and playing around with the data. Eventually I would like to pull information into a discounted cash flow model and perform my own analysis. I am also interested in building my own application and would like to use Calcbench to power the data. 


How can Calcbench improve the API? 

Given my level of coding, sometimes I get an error message. I then have to go to the Github page to resolve my issue. It would be great to remove the extra step of going to the Github page.



Do you see Calcbench as a valuable tool for the CFA Institute?

Calcbench is of high value for the CFA Institute members. I have been recommending it to friends and colleagues. The CFA is adding more Python programming to its curricula. It would be great to incorporate the Calcbench API into their training. 


Thanks!

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