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ID Fields Necessary to Correctly Create Branch Structure

Many firms have adopted a more detailed way to organize their internal data by Branch instead of by Firm. Years ago ISS - Institutional Shareholder Services created an ID to be able to identify each branch of each firm across the country. This ID is called Discovery Physical Branch ID and is the unique ID used for the BD Branch and RIA Branch Datasets.

The Discovery Physical Branch ID is derived by ISS - Institutional Shareholder Services. It is structed as follows: F(FirmCRD)A(PhysicalAddressID). The Firm CRD is the unique industry-wide value for the Firm. The Physical Address ID is the unique ID given to each office building using only the address1 value, across the entire dataset. When you combine the two IDs a unique ID is created. Every firm’s HQ location becomes their “Parent Physical Branch ID” which is located in the Branch datasets. This allows for the Branches to be placed under a Parent/HQ Account. The Firm datasets also have the Parent/HQ Physical Branch ID available so each Parent record can have the unique ID and correctly match up to the Branch Accounts under it.

Example:

Merrill Lynch

Headquarter: Discovery Physical Branch ID: F7691A203695

Branch ID: 1 Deforrest Ave. Summit, NJ - Discovery Physical Branch ID: F7691A214096

Branch Parent ID: Discovery Physical Branch ID: F7691A203695

If you require assistance reorganizing your data into a branch structure, ISS - Institutional Shareholder Services can help by leveraging the MarketLink Cleanse product. A cleansing project can provide DD Physical Branch IDs to match to current Branches and HQs as well as provide any net-new Branches or HQs necessary to correctly organize the Contact records internally in your CRM/Data Warehouse.

To learn more, contact DD_datalinksupport@issgovernance.com.