---
title: "SymbolsList"
description: "A SymbolsList is a named group of instruments that Fincanva's market data maintains as one unit — sectors, countries, currencies and similar groupings."
canonical_url: "https://fincanva.com/docs/data-methodology/symbolslist"
last_updated: "2026-07-25"
md_url: "https://fincanva.com/docs/data-methodology/symbolslist.md"
---

# SymbolsList

A SymbolsList is a named group of [instruments](/docs/getting-started/instrument) that Fincanva's market data maintains as a single unit, so a set of tickers that belong together can be referred to by one name instead of listed one by one. The curated groups cover recurring cuts of the market — sectors, countries, currencies, industries, commodities, fixed income, real estate and a few others. A SymbolsList is a data-layer grouping rather than a control you build: the lists ship with Fincanva's market data and refresh with it.

**Also seen as:** symbols list, named ticker group

## What is inside a SymbolsList?

A SymbolsList holds a name and its member instruments, and nothing else — no weights, no rules, no dates. Members are referenced by their [permanent instrument identifier](/docs/data-methodology/permanent-instrument-identifier) rather than by ticker symbol, so a list keeps the same membership when one of its members is renamed. Sizes vary widely: some lists hold under ten instruments, others several dozen. Not everything in the catalogue is holdable, though — some entries are reference-only series — so see [Tradable and Not tradable](/docs/data-methodology/tradable-and-not-tradable) for that distinction.

## How is a SymbolsList different from a universe or an index list?

The three are separate ideas that all describe a set of instruments.

| Concept | What defines the set | Does it carry history? |
|---|---|---|
| SymbolsList | A curated group that ships with Fincanva's market data, referred to by name | No — membership is current only |
| [Universe](/docs/getting-started/universe) | Your own filters (country, exchange, index, sector, asset type) | No — it is resolved for the run you are setting up |
| [Index list](/docs/data-methodology/index-lists-and-point-in-time-constituents) | Membership of a real market index | Yes — membership is recorded as of each historical date |

So a SymbolsList is the simplest of the three: a stable, named bundle of tickers with no history attached to the grouping itself. If you need to know who belonged to a group *on a past date*, that is an index list, not a SymbolsList.

## Defaults in Fincanva

- SymbolsLists ship with Fincanva's market data and refresh with it; they are not created or edited by you.
- A list stores its members by their permanent instrument identifier, so a ticker rename never drops a member.
- Membership is current, not point-in-time: a SymbolsList records the group as it stands, with no record of when a member joined or left.
- SymbolsLists are part of the data layer and are not surfaced as a pickable control in the app today. The term is documented here because docs and Learn material use it.

## Worked example

"Sectors" is one of the shipped lists: rather than naming one instrument per sector every time a sector-by-sector comparison is needed, the group is referred to by its list name and resolves to its members. If one of those members is renamed — its ticker changes while the company continues — the list still resolves to exactly the same instruments, because membership is stored by permanent instrument identifier and not by the ticker symbol that changed. A list built by hand from ticker strings would quietly lose that member instead.