FIGI, PermID, and Wikidata are three distinct identifiers used to tag entities, instruments, and organisations in structured data systems. In a news data context, they appear pre-attached to articles alongside LEI codes, connecting news coverage directly to the financial and analytical systems that consume it.
Each identifier serves a different purpose and originates from a different part of the data ecosystem. Understanding what each one covers helps data and integration teams confirm that a news feed connects to their existing systems without a separate mapping step.
What is a FIGI?
A FIGI (Financial Instrument Global Identifier) is a 12-character alphanumeric code that identifies a specific financial instrument — a share class, bond, option, or other tradeable security — rather than the company that issued it.
Bloomberg developed FIGIs, and the Object Management Group (OMG) now administers them as an open standard. They identify instruments consistently across exchanges, data vendors, and jurisdictions, solving the problem that the same security may carry different ticker symbols or codes depending on which system or exchange references it.
In news data, FIGI tags connect an article about a company’s share price movement, bond issuance, or earnings release to the specific instrument being reported on, not just the issuing entity. For investment and trading platforms, this means news coverage can be routed directly to the relevant instrument in a portfolio without a ticker-matching step.
LEI data is structured around two components: Level 1 data, which identifies the entity (legal name, registered address, jurisdiction), and Level 2 data, which identifies ownership relationships; who owns whom. This makes the LEI system useful not just for transaction reporting but for understanding corporate structure and beneficial ownership.
What is a PermID?
A PermID (Permanent Identifier) is an open identifier developed by Refinitiv (now part of LSEG) that covers a broad range of entity types: organisations, instruments, quotes, funds, and people. Unlike LEI, which is limited to legal entities, or FIGI, which is limited to financial instruments, PermID is designed to identify any entity type within the Refinitiv data ecosystem.
LSEG assigns and maintains PermIDs, and they are publicly accessible via permid.org. They are particularly useful for organisations that use Refinitiv-connected systems, as PermID provides a direct bridge between news data and Refinitiv’s broader data infrastructure.
In a news feed, PermID tags allow articles to connect to the full range of entity types a Refinitiv user might be tracking, not just the legal entity (LEI) or the instrument (FIGI), but the broader organisational record including related quotes, filings, and corporate actions.
What is a Wikidata ID?
A Wikidata ID is an open identifier assigned by Wikidata, the free, collaboratively maintained knowledge base operated by the Wikimedia Foundation. Every entity in Wikidata — a company, person, place, or concept — is assigned a unique Q-number (for example, Q312 for Apple Inc.).
Wikidata IDs are particularly useful for cross-language entity disambiguation. Because Wikidata maintains records across hundreds of languages, a Wikidata ID provides a language-agnostic reference point for the same entity regardless of how its name appears in different scripts or languages. For news data covering non-English sources, this matters: a company mentioned in Japanese, Arabic, and English can be resolved to the same Wikidata entity regardless of transliteration or naming convention.
Wikidata IDs also connect entities to a rich knowledge graph — sector classifications, geographic data, corporate relationships, and historical records — that can enrich downstream analytical workflows without additional data sourcing.
How do these identifiers work together in a news feed?
In a structured news feed, all four identifiers – LEI, FIGI, PermID, and Wikidata – may be attached to the same article, each serving a different resolution purpose:
- LEI identifies the legal entity (the company as a regulated counterparty).
- FIGI identifies the financial instrument (the specific security being reported on).
- PermID connects to the Refinitiv data ecosystem (the broader organisational record).
- Wikidata ID resolves the entity across languages and connects to the open knowledge graph.
For a compliance platform, the LEI is the primary identifier. For a trading system, the FIGI may matter more. For a research or intelligence platform operating across languages, the Wikidata ID is often the most useful anchor.
A feed that pre-attaches all four removes the need for downstream systems to run their own entity resolution against each identifier type separately.
Opoint pre-attaches LEI, FIGI, PermID, and Wikidata identifiers to every article at the point of indexing, across 250,000+ sources in 135 languages.
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FAQ
Is FIGI a free and open standard?
What is the difference between PermID and LEI?
LEI is a regulatory standard managed by GLEIF and covers legal entities only. PermID is a proprietary-but-open identifier maintained by LSEG that covers a broader range of entity types, including organisations, instruments, quotes, and people. PermID is most useful for organisations already operating within the Refinitiv/LSEG data ecosystem. For cross-jurisdictional regulatory compliance, LEI is the standard identifier.
Why does Wikidata matter for non-English news data?
Wikidata maintains entity records across hundreds of languages, which means a Wikidata ID provides a stable, language-agnostic reference point for an entity regardless of how its name appears in different scripts or transliterations. For news feeds covering non-English sources, this is the most reliable way to confirm that a company mentioned in Japanese, Arabic, or Serbian is the same entity as the one in your English-language database.
Do I need all four identifiers in a news feed?
It depends on your use case. Compliance platforms typically prioritise LEI. Trading and investment platforms typically prioritise FIGI. Refinitiv-connected systems benefit most from PermID. Research and intelligence platforms operating across languages get the most value from Wikidata IDs. A feed that pre-attaches all four gives each downstream system what it needs without requiring separate enrichment steps.
