Glossary term
Point-in-Time Data
Data recorded as it was known at the time, without future revisions.
Point-in-time data prevents lookahead bias. A backtest should only use the prices, fundamentals, index membership, sector labels, and analyst estimates that would have been available on the date of the trade.
Example: If a company joined the S&P 500 in 2024, a point-in-time backtest would not treat it as an S&P 500 member in 2020.