---
title: "Universe facets"
description: "Universe facets are the fields that narrow a screener's universe before any metric filter runs: Country, Exchange, Asset subtype, Index, Sector, Currency."
canonical_url: "https://fincanva.com/docs/screeners/universe-facets"
last_updated: "2026-07-25"
md_url: "https://fincanva.com/docs/screeners/universe-facets.md"
---

# Universe facets

Universe facets are the fields a [screener](/docs/getting-started/screener) uses to narrow its [universe](/docs/getting-started/universe) before any metric filter runs: **Country**, **Exchange**, **Asset subtype**, **Index**, **Sector**, and **Currency**, all sitting under a single [**Asset type**](/docs/getting-started/asset-type). Each facet is a multi-select chip on the filter strip, and a facet with nothing selected reads **All**, which restricts nothing. Facets decide *which instruments a screener may consider*; they never test a metric, so they run ahead of every [metric filter](/docs/getting-started/filter) and set the pool the [match count](/docs/screeners/matches) is drawn from.

**Also seen as:** universe filters

## What each universe facet narrows

[Asset type](/docs/getting-started/asset-type) is chosen first, and it decides which facets exist below it — the facets for stocks are not the facets for exchange-traded products.

| Facet | Narrows the universe to | Available on |
|---|---|---|
| Asset type | Stocks, ETPs, or Crypto — exactly one at a time | always |
| Country | USA Domestic, Canadian, ADR, EU (stocks); USA, EU (ETPs) | Stocks, ETPs |
| Exchange | NYSE, NASDAQ, NYSE MKT, OTC, EU listed — plus NYSE ARCA and BATS for ETPs | Stocks, ETPs |
| Asset subtype | Common, Common (secondary), Preferred (stocks); ETF, ETN, ETC, CEF, ETD, ETMF, Unit (ETPs) | Stocks, ETPs |
| Index | NASDAQ 100, Dow 30, S&P 100, S&P 400, S&P 500, S&P 600, Russell 2000, STOXX 600 | Stocks |
| Sector | the eleven sectors, from Basic Materials to Utilities | Stocks |
| Currency | USD, EUR, GBP | ETPs |

Crypto exposes no facets at all: choosing it selects the whole crypto set with nothing further to narrow. The [asset-subtype](/docs/screeners/asset-subtypes) abbreviations have their own page, because ETF, ETN, ETC, CEF, ETD, and ETMF describe genuinely different instrument structures.

## What "All" on a facet means

**All** on a facet means "no restriction on this field" — every value passes, and the facet takes nothing out of the universe. Selecting *every* option in a facet has the same effect as All, because a facet only narrows anything when some, but not all, of its options are chosen. That is also why a facet you have opened up completely stops behaving like a restriction: its chip may still read a count, but nothing is being excluded.

## How Reset differs from Remove on a facet chip

**Reset** (the ↺ button inside the facet's list) returns that one facet to its **default** selection, which may itself be a restriction. **Remove** (the ✕ on the chip) clears the facet to **All** and drops the chip from the strip. The two therefore end in different places: on Country, Reset returns you to USA Domestic + Canadian + ADR, while Remove opens the screener to every country group. The ↺ button appears only while a facet is away from its default, so its presence is itself the signal that you have changed that field.

## Defaults in Fincanva

- Asset type starts on **Stocks**.
- For stocks, Country starts at **USA Domestic, Canadian, ADR** (EU off) and Asset subtype starts at **Common**; Exchange, Index, and Sector all start at **All**.
- For ETPs, Country starts at **USA**; Currency, Exchange, and Asset subtype all start at **All**.
- Switching asset type hides the other type's facets rather than deleting them — the app warns "Switching to `{target}` hides these universe filters: `{filters}`. You can restore them by switching back." — and switching back restores exactly what you had.
- Facets combine with AND, and with each other and the metric filters, so adding a facet can only lower the match count or leave it unchanged.

## Worked example

You want large US technology names listed on one exchange, expressed in three chips. Start from the stock defaults, then set **Country: USA Domestic** — one selection instead of the default three, so ADR and Canadian listings drop out. Add **Exchange: NYSE**, which moves that facet from All to a single venue and removes every NASDAQ, OTC, and EU-listed instrument. Add **Sector: Technology**, again from All to one value. The universe is now "US-domestic technology stocks listed on NYSE", and only then do metric filters such as `Market cap > $10B` start testing what is left. Press ✕ on the Exchange chip and it returns to All — every venue is back; press ↺ inside the Country facet instead and it returns to USA Domestic + Canadian + ADR, not to All.