VOL. XCIV, NO. 247

★ FINANCIAL TOOLS & SERVICES DIRECTORY ★

PRICE: 5 CENTS

Tuesday, October 28, 2025

Tool Comparison

FOIAsearch vs SEDAR+ (CSA Public Filings — Canada) comparison

Compare pricing, supported platforms, categories, and standout capabilities to decide which tool fits your workflow.

Quick takeaways

FOIAsearch adds Watchlist, and Flags coverage that SEDAR+ (CSA Public Filings — Canada) skips.

SEDAR+ (CSA Public Filings — Canada) includes IPO, Secondary Offerings, News, and Education categories that FOIAsearch omits.

In depth comparison

FOIAsearch logo

FOIAsearch

foiasearch.com

Free SEC‑FOIA log search with investor‑oriented alerts. Tracks FOIA requests filed with the SEC (post‑Oct 1, 2019), highlights requests denied under Exemption 7(A) (B7A)—a known signal of ongoing enforcement activity—and offers alerts for portfolio tickers and issuer‑relations (‘IR Watch’) plus monthly Prominent Reporter Alerts. Built by Edwin Dorsey (The Bear Cave).

Platforms

Web

Pricing

FreeSubscription

Quick highlights

  • Unified search of SEC FOIA Logs with lists for ‘All Requests’ and ‘B7A Exempt Requests’.
  • ‘Protect My Portfolio’ email alerts on FOIA activity tied to saved companies/tickers.
  • ‘IR Watch’ alerts when hedge funds, research firms, or reporters FOIA your company (IR use‑case).
  • Monthly ‘Prominent Reporter Alerts’ to see what journalists are requesting before stories publish.
  • B7A (FOIA Exemption 7(A)) call‑outs; academic work shows B7A denials are predictive of ongoing/future SEC investigations.

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SEDAR+ (CSA Public Filings — Canada) logo

SEDAR+ (CSA Public Filings — Canada)

sedarplus.ca

Official Canadian public‑filings system operated by the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA). Public users can search issuer profiles and disclosure documents (financial statements, MD&A, prospectuses, material change reports, etc.), as well as CSA lists such as Reporting Issuers, Cease Trade Orders, and the Disciplined List. Advanced search supports ‘Document content’ full‑text queries. Search results can be exported to CSV; individual filings download as PDFs. Ticker lookup is not the primary key—use issuer/fund profile name or profile number.

Platforms

Web

Pricing

Free

Quick highlights

  • Public search across profiles (companies, investment funds, fund groups) and documents; includes lists for Reporting Issuers, Cease Trade Orders, and Disciplined List.
  • Advanced filters: profile name/number, filing category & type (e.g., Annual/Interim MD&A, financials, prospectuses), submitted date ranges, and ‘Document content’ full‑text search.
  • One‑click download of selected filings as PDFs; export entire document search result set to CSV for offline analysis.
  • Issuer/fund profile pages with tabs for filings and profile details.
  • Help Centre and system status pages maintained by CSA; service generally available 24/7 with periodic maintenance windows.

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Where they differ

FOIAsearch

Distinct strengths include:

  • Unified search of SEC FOIA Logs with lists for ‘All Requests’ and ‘B7A Exempt Requests’.
  • ‘Protect My Portfolio’ email alerts on FOIA activity tied to saved companies/tickers.
  • ‘IR Watch’ alerts when hedge funds, research firms, or reporters FOIA your company (IR use‑case).
  • Monthly ‘Prominent Reporter Alerts’ to see what journalists are requesting before stories publish.

SEDAR+ (CSA Public Filings — Canada)

Distinct strengths include:

  • Public search across profiles (companies, investment funds, fund groups) and documents; includes lists for Reporting Issuers, Cease Trade Orders, and Disciplined List.
  • Advanced filters: profile name/number, filing category & type (e.g., Annual/Interim MD&A, financials, prospectuses), submitted date ranges, and ‘Document content’ full‑text search.
  • One‑click download of selected filings as PDFs; export entire document search result set to CSV for offline analysis.
  • Issuer/fund profile pages with tabs for filings and profile details.

Feature-by-feature breakdown

AttributeFOIAsearchSEDAR+ (CSA Public Filings — Canada)
Categories

Which research workflows each platform targets

Shared: Alerts, Regulatory Filings Monitoring

Unique: Watchlist, Flags

Shared: Alerts, Regulatory Filings Monitoring

Unique: IPO, Secondary Offerings, News, Education

Asset types

Supported asset classes and universes

Stocks

Stocks, ETFs, Mutual Funds, Closed-End Funds, Bonds, Funds, Real Estate

Experience levels

Who each product is built for

Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced

Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced

Platforms

Where you can access the product

Web

Web

Pricing

High-level pricing models

Free, Subscription

Free

Key features

Core capabilities called out by each vendor

Unique

  • Unified search of SEC FOIA Logs with lists for ‘All Requests’ and ‘B7A Exempt Requests’.
  • ‘Protect My Portfolio’ email alerts on FOIA activity tied to saved companies/tickers.
  • ‘IR Watch’ alerts when hedge funds, research firms, or reporters FOIA your company (IR use‑case).
  • Monthly ‘Prominent Reporter Alerts’ to see what journalists are requesting before stories publish.
  • B7A (FOIA Exemption 7(A)) call‑outs; academic work shows B7A denials are predictive of ongoing/future SEC investigations.
  • Covers SEC FOIA requests filed after Oct 1, 2019; links back to the official SEC FOIA Logs page for provenance.

Unique

  • Public search across profiles (companies, investment funds, fund groups) and documents; includes lists for Reporting Issuers, Cease Trade Orders, and Disciplined List.
  • Advanced filters: profile name/number, filing category & type (e.g., Annual/Interim MD&A, financials, prospectuses), submitted date ranges, and ‘Document content’ full‑text search.
  • One‑click download of selected filings as PDFs; export entire document search result set to CSV for offline analysis.
  • Issuer/fund profile pages with tabs for filings and profile details.
  • Help Centre and system status pages maintained by CSA; service generally available 24/7 with periodic maintenance windows.
Tested

Verified by hands-on testing inside Find My Moat

Not yet

Not yet

Editor pick

Featured inside curated shortlists

Standard listing

Standard listing

Frequently Asked Questions

Which workflows do FOIAsearch and SEDAR+ (CSA Public Filings — Canada) both support?

Both platforms cover Alerts, and Regulatory Filings Monitoring workflows, so you can research those use cases in either tool before digging into the feature differences below.

Do FOIAsearch and SEDAR+ (CSA Public Filings — Canada) require subscriptions?

Both FOIAsearch and SEDAR+ (CSA Public Filings — Canada) keep freemium access with optional paid upgrades, so you can trial each platform before committing.

How can you access FOIAsearch and SEDAR+ (CSA Public Filings — Canada)?

Both FOIAsearch and SEDAR+ (CSA Public Filings — Canada) prioritize web or desktop access. Investors wanting a mobile-first workflow may need to rely on responsive web views.

What unique strengths set the two platforms apart?

FOIAsearch differentiates itself with Unified search of SEC FOIA Logs with lists for ‘All Requests’ and ‘B7A Exempt Requests’., ‘Protect My Portfolio’ email alerts on FOIA activity tied to saved companies/tickers., and ‘IR Watch’ alerts when hedge funds, research firms, or reporters FOIA your company (IR use‑case)., whereas SEDAR+ (CSA Public Filings — Canada) stands out for Public search across profiles (companies, investment funds, fund groups) and documents; includes lists for Reporting Issuers, Cease Trade Orders, and Disciplined List., Advanced filters: profile name/number, filing category & type (e.g., Annual/Interim MD&A, financials, prospectuses), submitted date ranges, and ‘Document content’ full‑text search., and One‑click download of selected filings as PDFs; export entire document search result set to CSV for offline analysis..

Keep exploring

Curation & Accuracy

This directory blends AI‑assisted discovery with human curation. Entries are reviewed, edited, and organized with the goal of expanding coverage and sharpening quality over time. Your feedback helps steer improvements (because no single human can capture everything all at once).

Details change. Pricing, features, and availability may be incomplete or out of date. Treat listings as a starting point and verify on the provider’s site before making decisions. If you spot an error or a gap, send a quick note and I’ll adjust.