How to overcome Bloomberg’s Download Limit

For professionals in finance, Bloomberg is a recognised name that provides insights into financial markets and market data through its "terminal," typically accompanied by its signature black keyboard. The Bloomberg terminal is a versatile portal built to cater to the majority of banks, funds, and corporations. However, as with many data platforms, when it comes to an unintended use case used by a minority, there can be a catch.

In this case, when renewable energy investors, infrastructure funds, credit funds and their financial advisors need to pull large amounts of data regularly to update their complex analysis, Bloomberg enforces strict download restrictions. You might be wondering why these restrictions are in place and how you can best work around them without bending the rules. Let's break it down

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What Are Bloomberg's Download Limits?

Bloomberg's daily API limit is 500,000 hits/per day. A "hit" is defined as one request for a single security/field pairing. The limit is reset at midnight each day. In addition, limits apply on pulling data directly into Excel as well.

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The Reason Behind Bloomberg's Download Limits

While initially perceived as an inconvenience, Bloomberg's download limits play a pivotal role in ensuring both quality and security:

1 - Protect Their Unique Data: Bloomberg has valuable information built over years. The limits prevent mass data copying, which protects Bloomberg's value.

2 - Maintaining System Reliability: Too many users downloading a lot at once could slow down or crash Bloomberg's system. Limits prevent this.

3 - Stop Automated Data Grabs: Some use automated tools to pull out tons of data quickly. This can cause system issues and unauthorized data sharing. Limits deter this.

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Ways to Work Around the Limits Legally

If you're looking for unlimited data access, there are some solutions:

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1 - Use Bloomberg alternatives like BlueGamma: BlueGamma is trusted financial market data platform with unlimited data downloads in a simple interface. They're able to do this as they cater for a specific type of customer, i.e. a fund or advisor that is looking for macro and financing assumptions

2 - Upgrade Your Subscription: Bloomberg offers a range of subscription tiers. The higher ones typically allow for increased download capacities but it gets expensive very quickly. So, if your data requirements are consistently high, it might be time to think about an upgrade.

3 - Download in Batches: If you can afford to wait a bit for your data, consider downloading in intervals. By spacing out your data retrieval, you can ensure you won't hit any imposed daily or monthly caps.

4 - Be Specific in Data Requests: Instead of broadly pulling chunks of data, fine-tune your requests. Use the tools Bloomberg provides to pinpoint precisely what you require. This approach not only conserves your download quota but also makes your data analysis more streamlined.

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BlueGamma — An Unrestricted Alternative

Looking for a more flexible source of financial market and derivative data?

With easy access to macro and financing assumptions, BlueGamma can provide EURIBOR, SOFR, SONIA & JIBAR curves, swap rates, discount factors, inflation forecasts, FX, forward curves, and more.

For those investing in long term projects like infrastructure, we understand the need for regular modelling updates and ensure you can access the data from anywhere at anytime.

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Unlike Bloomberg's "one-person-at-a-time" model, BlueGamma is designed for teamwork. Multiple team members can access and share data simultaneously, promoting efficient collaboration and faster decision-making.

Our platform is intuitive and user-friendly, eliminating the need for specialized, costly operators. Save both time and money while empowering your team to navigate financial data seamlessly.

Bloomberg's download restrictions, while sometimes seen as a hurdle, exist for genuine reasons. If you're looking for a more flexible alternative to Bloomberg, start trial with BlueGamma.