Data sources and refresh cadence

SignalFin pulls data from several specialized providers. Each source is chosen for a specific job, and each has trade-offs in coverage, latency, and accuracy that affect what you see in the platform.

This page lists every data source we use, what it provides, how often it refreshes, and the limitations to be aware of.

Holdings and account data

SnapTrade

Holdings, transactions, and account balances come from SnapTrade — a regulated provider that maintains read-only connections to your brokerage accounts. SnapTrade is OAuth-based, which means we never see your brokerage credentials.

• What it provides: positions, cost basis, transaction history, account balances, dividend payments.
• Refresh cadence: on connection, then every 24 hours, or on demand from the dashboard.
• Coverage: Robinhood, Fidelity, Charles Schwab, E*TRADE, Webull, Interactive Brokers, Tradier, Alpaca, and more. The full list is in your account's connection flow.
• Permissions: read-only. SignalFin cannot place trades, move money, or change account settings under any circumstance.

Limitations of holdings data

• Cost basis reflects what your brokerage reports. For long-held positions or positions transferred between brokerages, cost basis may be inaccurate or missing entirely. SignalFin displays what is available and flags positions where cost basis is unknown.
• Settled vs unsettled trades may be reflected differently across brokerages. Refreshes capture whatever the brokerage considers current.
• Options and complex instruments have varying levels of detail depending on the brokerage. Some brokers return rich option-chain data; others return only the underlying summary.

Market data

Prices and quotes

Real-time and historical price data comes from a market data provider with consolidated coverage of US equities, ETFs, and major indices.

• Real-time prices: 15-minute delayed by default. This is standard for retail-tier market data and is sufficient for the analysis SignalFin performs. Delayed data is clearly labeled in the interface.
• End-of-day prices: updated nightly after market close for portfolio valuation purposes.
• Historical prices: daily resolution back at least 10 years for most US-listed securities.
• Pre-market and after-hours: not currently surfaced. SignalFin focuses on regular-session analysis.

Limitations of price data

• We do not provide trading-grade quotes. If you need to make a trade, use your brokerage's real-time quotes, not SignalFin's.
• Splits and dividends are adjusted in historical data, but corporate actions can take 24–48 hours to fully reflect.
• Thinly traded securities may show stale prices between actual trades.

Sector classification

GICS

Sector classification uses the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS) — the same taxonomy used by S&P and MSCI for index construction. This is the institutional reference standard.

• 11 sectors: Information Technology, Financials, Health Care, Consumer Discretionary, Communication Services, Industrials, Consumer Staples, Energy, Utilities, Real Estate, Materials.
• Refresh cadence: classifications are reviewed quarterly to capture any GICS reclassifications (these are infrequent — companies rarely change sectors).
• ETF decomposition: when you hold an ETF, its underlying sector exposure is computed and rolled up into your portfolio concentration calculations. A portfolio of S&P 500 ETFs is not flagged as concentrated in any sector.

Limitations of sector data

• Conglomerates are classified by their primary business. A diversified holding company is treated as a single sector position.
• Private placements and unusual securities may not have a GICS classification. These are grouped under “Other” and excluded from sector concentration calculations.
• Crypto and digital assets are not GICS-classified and are surfaced separately.

Fundamentals and corporate data

Earnings dates, dividend history, market cap, and basic financial statement data come from a fundamentals provider with daily updates.

• Earnings calendar: upcoming and historical earnings announcements with consensus estimates where available. Updated daily.
• Dividends: declared, ex-dividend, record, and pay dates. Historical dividend data back at least 10 years.
• Market cap and shares outstanding: updated daily based on closing prices and most recent share count filings.

Limitations of fundamental data

• Estimates are consensus figures from sell-side analysts and reflect their views, not SignalFin's.
• Earnings reschedules can take 24 hours to update in our system.
• Some smaller companies have limited or no analyst coverage. Estimate fields will be empty rather than guessed.

News and catalysts

News headlines and catalyst detection use an aggregated newswire feed that covers major financial publications and SEC filings.

• Refresh cadence: headlines are pulled in near real-time, with categorization and ranking applied within seconds.
• Coverage: US-listed equities have the strongest coverage. International coverage varies by ticker.
• Filtering: we filter to material news and catalysts relevant to a position. Press releases and routine filings are de-prioritized.

Limitations of news data

• News categorization is automated and occasionally imperfect. A headline may be tagged to the wrong ticker if multiple companies share a name.
• We do not surface social media or unverified sources. Reddit, Twitter, and similar platforms are not part of the news feed.

What SignalFin does not store

Worth being explicit about, since data sources implies data storage:

• Brokerage credentials. Connections are OAuth-based via SnapTrade. We never see, transmit, or store your brokerage username or password.
• Bank account information. SignalFin does not connect to banks. We work only with brokerage accounts.
• Tax documents. We do not pull or store tax forms (1099, K-1, etc.). For tax data, refer to your brokerage.
• Personally identifiable information beyond what's needed for an account. See the Privacy Policy for the full data inventory.

Refresh summary

If a data source is wrong

Data errors happen — wrong cost basis, missing positions, mis-classified sectors, stale prices. If something looks off in your portfolio:

1. Check your brokerage directly. SignalFin reflects what your brokerage reports — if the brokerage data is wrong, it will be wrong here too.
2. Manually refresh from the dashboard to pull the latest data.
3. If the issue persists, email support with the ticker and details. We can investigate at the source.