I noticed that I can search for terms like “Microsoft” or the symbol “MSFT” in the Alpaca dashboard. But is it also possible to search using the ISIN (International Security Identification Number)? Ideally, I would like to search for “US5949181045” as it seems to be unique.
is it also possible to search using the ISIN (International Security Identification Number)?
Unfortunately, Alpaca doesn’t support search or display of assets by anything but ticker symbol or an internal asset_id. Why? ln a word ‘licensing’. The various identifiers such as ISINs and CUSIPs require a licensing fee to display.
However, that’s not the exact reason. For the typical retail traders an ISIN or CUSIP number isn’t easy to work with. Why? These numbers reference a specific securities offering, they do not reference, for example ‘the common stock issued by AAPL’. Many corporate actions change the underlying security while keeping the overarching symbol. Every time, for example, there is a reverse stock split a new security is issued with a new ISIN and CUSIP. The symbol remains the same but the ISIN and CUSIP change. Keeping track of all those changes and mappings can be a challenge.
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