Center for Research in Security Prices

What Center for Research in Security Prices does

The Center for Research in Security Prices (CRSP) is a Chicago-based financial data and index provider founded in 1960 at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. It maintains one of the longest continuous U.S. equity market databases, with daily stock data on NYSE-listed companies dating to December 31, 1925, and operates the PERMNO permanent identifier system that enables longitudinal security tracking through corporate actions such as mergers, delistings, and spin-offs — a capability that CUSIP-based databases structurally lack. CRSP sells two distinct product families to institutional customers: CRSP Market Indexes (a comprehensive suite of U.S. equity market-cap-weighted benchmarks from Mega Cap to Micro Cap, with Value, Growth, Sector, and ESG variants, now rebranding to Morningstar Indexes) and CRSP Research Data Products (the CRSP US Stock Databases, a Historical Indexes Database, a CRSP/Compustat Merged Database, a Survivor-Bias-Free US Mutual Fund Database, a U.S. Treasury Database, and a CRSP/Ziman Real Estate Database).

CRSP's revenue model is institutional subscription licensing with no consumer channel. Index licenses are sold to asset managers (Vanguard, BlackRock, and State Street are named customers, with over $3 trillion in linked AUM), while research data products are licensed to academic institutions, government agencies, and commercial research firms. Distribution is direct enterprise sales supplemented by a Snowflake Marketplace channel, with no public pricing. The company's competitive position rests on data depth (70+ years of survivorship-bias-free daily data), identifier architecture (PERMNO), and embedded benchmark adoption in flagship index funds including the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund. On February 2, 2026, CRSP was acquired by Morningstar, Inc. for $365 million and is now a wholly-owned subsidiary operating from Morningstar's Chicago headquarters; CRSP Market Indexes are being rebranded to Morningstar Indexes effective July 28, 2026, and a June 2026 exclusive licensing deal with CME Group extends the benchmark into listed derivatives.

Name

Center for Research in Security Prices

Legal name

Center for Research in Security Prices, LLC

Website

https://crsp.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1960

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

CRSP, founded in 1960 at the University of Chicago, provides U.S. equity market indexes (now rebranding to Morningstar Indexes) and survivorship-bias-free historical financial databases to academic, government, and asset management institutions, with over $3 trillion in assets benchmarked to its indexes.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

CRSP provides research-quality historical and current U.S. financial market data products and a comprehensive suite of U.S. equity market capitalization-weighted indexes. Its offerings include stock databases, mutual fund databases, Treasury databases, real estate databases, and indexes spanning Mega Cap to Micro Cap segments, with over $3 trillion in assets benchmarked to its indexes. The PERMNO permanent identifier system enables longitudinal tracking of securities through corporate actions.

Product overview

The Center for Research in Security Prices (CRSP) operates as a dual-product organization offering market indexes and research-quality financial data. The CRSP Market Indexes (now rebranding to Morningstar Indexes) provide a comprehensive suite of market capitalization-weighted U.S. equity indexes spanning from Mega Cap to Micro Cap segments, along with Value, Growth, Sector, and ESG variants. These indexes, which blend academic research with industry practice, underpin over $3 trillion in benchmarked assets and serve as the foundation for major Vanguard index funds. The CRSP Research Data Products division provides historical and current security-level market data going back to 1925, including stock databases, mutual fund databases, Treasury data, and real estate databases. A key differentiator is the PERMNO permanent identifier system that enables longitudinal tracking of securities across corporate actions. CRSP was acquired by Morningstar in February 2026 and is transitioning its indexes to the Morningstar brand while maintaining operations as a distinct data and index provider.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CRSP Market Indexes: Equity market indexes including CRSP US Total Market Index, CRSP US Mega Cap Index, CRSP US Large Cap Index, CRSP US Mid Cap Index, CRSP US Small Cap Index, and various Value, Growth, Sector, and ESG indexes. Over $3 trillion in assets are benchmarked to these indexes.
• CRSP Research Data Products

Products and services

• CRSP Market Indexes A comprehensive suite of U.S. equity market capitalization-weighted indexes covering the entire market from Mega Cap to Micro Cap segments, including Value, Growth, Sector, and ESG variants. These indexes serve as benchmarks for over $3 trillion in U.S. equities and underpin major Vanguard index funds.
• CRSP US Stock Databases Comprehensive historical U.S. stock database covering securities from 1925 to present, including all NYSE-listed companies. Features PERMNO permanent identifiers for longitudinal tracking across corporate actions, name changes, mergers, and delistings. Used by academic institutions, commercial research firms, and government agencies.
• CRSP Historical Indexes Database Historical index composition and returns data enabling backtesting and historical analysis of CRSP Market Indexes.
• CRSP/Compustat Merged Database Combined database merging CRSP's security-level market data with Compustat's company-level accounting data, linked via PERMNO and GVKey identifiers for comprehensive financial analysis.
• CRSP Survivor-Bias-Free US Mutual Fund Database Mutual fund database that includes both surviving and defunct funds, enabling unbiased performance research without survivorship bias.
• CRSP US Treasury Database Comprehensive database of U.S. Treasury securities including historical pricing and characteristics data.
• CRSP/Ziman Real Estate Database Real estate investment trust (REIT) database providing property-level and security-level data for commercial real estate analysis.

Quantifiable outcome

• $3 trillion+ in assets under management benchmarked to CRSP indexes
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and strategic.

• CME GroupmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 June 2026Morningstar and CME Group entered into a multi-year licensing agreement for exclusive index derivatives licensing. This partnership enables CME Group to offer derivatives products based on Morningstar indexes, which include the former CRSP Market Indexes.
• VanguardcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 2 February 2026Morningstar announced an agreement with Vanguard confirming the continued use of CRSP indexes to underpin Vanguard funds including the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund. This partnership extends CRSP's reach as the leading benchmark for U.S. retirement plans.
• MorningstarcoreOthers · 2 February 2026Morningstar completed acquisition of CRSP from the University of Chicago for $365 million. CRSP Market Indexes are being rebranded to Morningstar Indexes. The integration unites two trusted sources of market insight and solidifies Morningstar's position as a top-tier global index provider.
• SnowflakestrategicTechnology or IntegrationCRSP Research Data Products are now available on Snowflake Marketplace, enabling instant access to decades of comprehensive financial data through Snowflake's data cloud platform.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• ICE (Intercontinental Exchange): Exchange operator and data/index provider through ICE Data Services and the NYSE Indexes family. Comparable as an integrated exchange-and-index incumbent with adjacent fixed-income and commodity data assets.
• LSEG (Refinitiv): Acquired Refinitiv and now bundles Lipper fund data, World-Check, and index/data services. Overlaps with CRSP's mutual fund and reference-data businesses and competes for the same institutional data budget.
• Morningstar: CRSP's parent company and broader data/index incumbent. Comparable as a portfolio analytics, fund data, and now index provider (Morningstar Indexes post-rebrand) — strategically a parent but functionally the broader platform CRSP now operates inside.
• Bloomberg: Global financial data, analytics, and indices provider. Overlaps with CRSP on reference data and is launching/expanding proprietary Bloomberg indices — a broader incumbent with deeper enterprise distribution.

Direct peers

• FactSet: Financial data and analytics platform tightly integrated with CRSP via PERMNO linkages. Competes for the same portfolio analytics and reference-data budget at buy-side institutions.
• MSCI: Global index provider (MSCI World, MSCI EM) and risk/analytics data vendor. Directly comparable as a fee-licensed index franchise competing for the same asset-manager benchmark budgets, with a broader international and ESG reach.
• S&P Global Market Intelligence (Compustat): Owns Compustat, which CRSP/Compustat Merged Database links to via PERMNO-GVKey. Direct peer in fundamental/accounting data for U.S. equities and a co-architect of CRSP's flagship merged product.
• S&P Dow Jones Indices: Operator of S&P 500 and Dow Jones benchmarks, plus the CRSP-linked Compustat business. Closest direct competitor in U.S. large-cap benchmarking and the dominant incumbent in flagship U.S. equity indexes.
• FTSE Russell (London Stock Exchange Group): Index provider (Russell 2000, FTSE 100) operating under LSEG. Direct competitor in U.S. small-cap and broad-market indexing, overlapping with CRSP US Small Cap and Total Market Index franchises.

Emerging players

• Wilshire: Smaller index and analytics provider (Wilshire 5000) focused on U.S. equities. Comparable niche competitor to CRSP's broad-market index franchise with a smaller scale and more specialized client base.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/center-for-research-in-security-prices-crsp
• Xx.com/CRSPData

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

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