The TTR Sector Classification (TTRSC) system is a business sector taxonomy developed and maintained by TTR to classify privately held and publicly traded companies worldwide. TTRSC empowers users to identify, analyze, and monitor the performance of business sectors across local and global markets.

All entities found in the TTR platform are classified using TTRSC, a three-tiered hierarchical sector classification system comprised of 11 Sector Groups, 53 Sectors and 393 Subsectors.

Verticals

In addition to the three-tiered hierarchy classification system, TTRSC is complemented by a parallel system of Verticals and Sub-verticals. Verticals are used to classify emerging disciplines, fields and activities that span multiple subsectors, like 3D printing, B2B, SaaS, robotics and mobility. TTR has created 48 Verticals, a few of which have Sub-verticals to allow greater specificity.

To illustrate the difference between the TTRSC and Verticals, Uber is classified under TTRSC Subsector '40.02.10 Logistics, Last Mile Delivery & Navigation Software' as well as the TTR Verticals 'Mobility', 'Ridesharing' and 'Consumer Software (B2C)'.

Background

TTR began developing TTRSC in 2019 leveraging a multidisciplinary team focused on building a comprehensive, well-structured classification system. The first version of TTRSC was released in mid-2021 and the team is committed to updating it regularly to accommodate new subsectors and verticals as they emerge.

Millions of companies in TTR's database have already been mapped and reclassified using TTRSC, which allows for a much higher degree of granularity than most alternative classification systems, empowering TTR subscribers and TTRSC licensees to track and analyze Mergers & Acquisition, Private Equity or Fixed Income transactions within specific subsectors, sectors, sector groups and verticals and sub-verticals.

The 11 TTRSC Sector Groups

The TTRSC classification system is comprised of 11 Sector Groups:

TTRSC Numbering System

The hierarchy of TTRSC is structured with a simple six-digit coding system to allow for logical differentiation between tiers. The first two digits designate the Sector Group; the second two digits, the Sector; and the last two digits, the Subsector, as illustrated below:

Subsector Definitions and Examples

Each TTRSC Subsector is defined in the Help Center section and accompanied by a list of well-known examples to help users correctly classify entities using the TTRSC system.

Updates to the Classification Structure

Markets evolve fast, and TTRSC must keep pace by adapting quickly the TTRSC system to emerging trends, subsectors and verticals. Our TTRSC task force regularly reviews and updates the TTRSC structure, incorporating valuable feedback from clients and our research and business intelligence team.

Mapping TTRSC to Other Classification Systems

One of the key advantages of using TTRSC is that it can be mapped to virtually any major classification system in use around the world, making integration of company datasets from third-party sources fast and easy. Mapping between TTR and the classification systems illustrated in the diagram below is now live:

Mapping TTRSC to SASB SICS

One of the most important classification systems to emerge in recent years is the Value Reporting Foundation's Sustainable Accounting Standards Board (SASB) standard, Sustainable Industry Classification System (SICS), which guides the disclosure of financially-material sustainability information. Ensuring seamless mapping to SASB SICS was a critical feature implemented in the development of TRSC.

TTRSC is Multilingual

TTRSC was developed in English, but Portuguese and Spanish versions are in the pipeline. Translation to other languages will be carried out according to the demand. If there's a specific language you'd like us to prioritize, please let us know by emailing customers@ttrdata.com.

Entities Eligible for Classification Using TTRSC

Any privately held or publicly traded company in the world can be classified using the TTRSC system, including state-owned enterprises, public services and NGOs.

Primary and Secondary Activities

Each entity can have only one TTRSC Subsector designated as its Primary Activity, which, in most cases, corresponds to its primary source of revenue, drawn, whenever possible from the company's annual reports and financial statements. Entities can have any number of Secondary Activities, depending on its lines of business.

TTRSC: A Living Classification System

TTR analysts review thousands of transactions each year and are constantly reviewing the entities in our database to ensure their Primary and Secondary activities are correctly mapped to TTRSC. We also review and update entities whenever we obtain annual reports that include a breakdown of revenue sources.

The TTRSC system is accessible to subscribers across TTR products and is also available for licensing to any entity that wishes to leverage our proprietary classification system to meet their specific needs.

Entities such as banks, law firms, asset managers often adopt outdated or complex classification systems that make work flows cumbersome and hinder responsiveness to market trends. Thanks to the "TTRSC Mappings" detailed above, TTR clients can now seamlessly integrate TTRSC with their existing classification systems, or better yet, migrate completely to TTRSC.

TTRSC can be licensed for internal or commercial purposes:

Licensing TTRSC System + TTRSC Entities

In addition to licensing the TTRSC system, clients can also license our dataset, which includes millions of entities mapped to TTRSC and ready to integrate.

Supporting Migration to TTRSC

If a TTRSC client has a dataset that includes thousands of entities classified with SIC Codes, for example, adopting TTRSC to take advantage of a more granular and versatile classification system is effortless. This conversion can be done instantly using TTR's 'SIC Code > TTRSC' mappings. See section "Mapping TTRSC to Other Classification Systems" for available mappings.

TTRSC License Pricing and Conditions

Please contact us by email at customers@ttrdata.com for TTRSC license pricing and related conditions. Licensing TTRSC helps support the ongoing maintenance and improvement of the world’s best business classification system. Let’s keep making it better together!