Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS)
On August 2, 1999, MSCI and S&P jointly launched the new Global Industry Classification Standard which is aimed at easing the investment research and management process for financial professionals worldwide.
Standard & Poor's Institutional Market Services will tentatively start providing this new industry classification system by June 2000 through Research Insight and the COMPUSTAT Database. Both, the new and old industry groups will be available side-by-side for a transition period allowing for a smooth conversion of your models from one to the other.
The new 8-digit code is subdivided into 4 tiers. All Sectors now have a two-digit identification code (leftmost 2 digits), all Industry Groups have a 4-digit identification code (leftmost 4 digits), all Industries have a 6-digit identification code (leftmost 6 digits), and all Sub-Industries use the full 8-digit identification code.
The following Excel file is an introduction to the new classification. It contains the company GVKEY, the company name, the current GICS code, the code description, and the index membership for the S&P 1500 companies.
Just click or right-click the link below to download the GICS Excel file.