Standard & Poor's Dictionary of Financial Terms

VI RGI NI A B. MORRI S ANd KENNETH M.
MORRI S
AGI Allocation Blue Chip Stock
Debt Security Futures
Liquidity Margin NAV Prime Rate

Salary Reduction Plans
Sallie Mae Strike Price
Tax Exempt Warrant
Yield Zero-coupon Bond
2007 by Lightbulb Press, Inc. All Rights Reserved. www.lightbulbpress.com
A ......................................................... 4
B........................................................ 16
C ........................................................ 28
D ....................................................... 50
E ........................................................ 64
F ........................................................ 75
G ....................................................... 88
H ....................................................... 94
I ....................................................... 100
J ...................................................... 111
K ..................................................... 112
L ...................................................... 113
M .................................................... 122
N ..................................................... 134
O ..................................................... 142
P ...................................................... 149
Q ..................................................... 165
R ..................................................... 167
S ...................................................... 180
T ...................................................... 201
U ..................................................... 210
V ..................................................... 215
W .................................................... 218
X-Y ................................................ 222
Z ..................................................... 223
Acronyms .................................. 224
VIRGINIA B. MORRIS
KENNETH M. MORRIS
ead a fnancial article on the Web, skim the
investment section of a newspaper or magazine, or check
the days events on Wall Street, and chances are youll come
across a term or two that youve heard before but dont quite
understandas well as others that are completely new to you.
Words and phrases like ETFs, market caps, hybrid mortgages,
bond swaps, coinsurance, yield curves, and total return are
just some of the terms that can leave you perplexed and
perhaps a little intimidated.
Being comfortable with these and other fnancial terms is not
only important for understanding the state of the economy and
the events that are continually unfolding in the capital markets.
The terms are even more important for making sound invest-
ment decisions, managing your personal fnances intelligently,
and planning for a range of fnancial goals, from paying for a
childs college education to living a comfortable retirement.
Ironically, the defnitions of investment and personal fnance
terms that youll fnd in many dictionaries are often so cryptic
and impersonal that they beg for clearer explanations. Thats
why, in creating our Dictionary of Financial Terms, weve used
the straightforward language and practical examples that have
made other Lightbulb guides so popular. Beyond defning what
a word means, we try to explain what it means to youas an
investor, as a credit user, as someone saving for retirement.
This new edition of the Dictionary of Financial Terms contains
nearly 1,300 words, including many updated defnitions and a
host of new terms that track the ever-changing landscape of
personal fnance and the investment markets. We hope that
you fnd the dictionary helpful and that it will provide the key
to unlocking the mysteries of the world of money and investing.
Virginia B. Morris
Kenneth M. Morris
R
4
Accelerated death benefit
Accelerated death benefit
If your life insurance policy has an
accelerated death benefit (ADB), you
may qualify to use a portion of the death
benefit to pay for certain healthcare
expenses, such as the costs of a terminal
illness or long-term care, while youre
still alive.
Using the ADB, you take cash advances
from the policy, reducing the death
benefit by up to a fixed percentage. The
balance is paid to your beneficiaries on
your death.
While an accelerated death benefit
can help ease current financial burdens,
including this option in your policy
increases the cost of coverage. And, if
you do take money out, it reduces what
your beneficiaries receive.
Account balance
Your account balance is the amount of
money you have in one of your financial
accounts. For example, your bank account
balance refers to the amount of money in
your bank accounts.
Your account balance can also be the
amount of money outstanding on one of
your financial accounts. Your credit card
balance, for example, refers to the amount
of money you owe a credit card company.
With your 401(k), your account
balance, also called your accrued benefit,
is the amount your 401(k) account is
worth on a date that its valued. For
example, if the value of your account on
December 31 is $250,000, thats your
account balance.
A
A
You use your 401(k) account balance
to figure how much you must withdraw
from your plan each year, once you start
taking required distributions after you
turn 70. Specifically, you divide the
account balance at the end of your plans
fiscal year by a divisor based on your life
expectancy to determine the amount you
must take during the next fiscal year.
Accredited investor
An accredited investor is a person or
institution that the Securities and
Exchange Commission (SEC) defines as
being qualified to invest in unregistered
securities, such as privately held corpora-
tions, private equity investments, and
hedge funds.
The qualification is based on the value
of the investors assets, or in the case of
an individual, annual income.
Specifically, to be an accredited
investor you must have a net worth of
at least $1 million or a current annual
income of at least $200,000 with the
anticipation youll earn at least that much
next year. If youre married, that amount
is increased to $300,000.
Institutions are required to have
assets worth $5 million to qualify as
accredited investors. The underlying
principle is that investors with these
assets have the sophistication to under-
stand the risks involved in the investment
and can afford to lose the money should
the investment fail.
Accrued interest
Accrued interest is the interest that
accumulates on a fixed-income security
between one interest payment and
the next.
The amount is calculated by multi-
plying the coupon rate, also called
the nominal interest rate, times the
number of days since the previous
interest payment.
Interest on most bonds and
fixed-income securities is paid twice a
year. On corporate and municipal bonds,
interest is calculated on 30-day months
and a 360-day year. For government
bonds, interest is calculated on actual
days and a 365-day year.
2007 by Lightbulb Press, Inc. All Rights Reserved. www.lightbulbpress.com 2007 by Lightbulb Press, Inc. All Rights Reserved. www.lightbulbpress.com
B
When you buy a bond or other fixed-
income security, you pay the bonds price
plus the accrued interest and receive the
full amount of the next interest payment,
which reimburses you for the accrued
interest payment you made when you
purchased the bond. Similarly, when you
sell a bond, you receive the price of the
bond, plus the amount of interest that
has accrued since you received the last
interest payment.
On a zero-coupon bond, interest
accrues over the term of the bond but
is paid in a lump sum when you redeem
the bond for face value. However, unless
you hold the bond in a tax-deferred or
tax-exempt account, you owe income tax
each year on the amount of interest that
the government calculates you would
have received, had it been paid.
Accumulation period
The accumulation period refers to the
time during which your retirement
savings accumulate in a deferred annuity.
Because annuities are federal income
tax deferred, all earnings are reinvested
to increase the base on which future
earnings accumulate, so you have the
benefit of compounding.
When you buy a deferred fixed
annuity contract, the company issuing
the contract promises a fixed rate of
return during the accumulation period
regardless of whether market interest
rates move up or down.
With a deferred variable annuity,
the amount you accumulate depends
on the performance of the investment
alternatives, known as subaccounts or
separate account funds, which you select
from among those offered in the contract.
At the end of the accumulation period,
you can choose to annuitize, agree to
some other method of receiving income,
or roll over your account value into an
immediate annuity. The years in which
you receive annuity income are some-
times called the distribution period.
Actively managed fund
Accumulation unit
Accumulation units are the shares you
own in the separate account funds of a
variable annuity during the period youre
putting money into your annuity.
If you own the annuity in a 401(k) plan,
each time you make a contribution that
amount is added to one or more of the
separate account funds to buy additional
accumulation units.
The value of your annuity is figured by
multiplying the number of units you own
by the dollar value of each unit. During
the accumulation phase, that value
changes to reflect the changing perfor-
mance of the underlying investments in
the separate account funds.
Acquisition
If a company buys another company
outright, or accumulates enough shares
to take a controlling interest, the deal is
described as an acquisition.
The acquiring companys motive may
be to expand the scope of its products
and services, to make itself a major player
in its sector, or to fend off being taken
over itself.
To complete the deal, the acquirer
may be willing to pay a higher price per
share than the price at which the stock
is currently trading. That means share-
holders of the target company may realize
a substantial gain, so some investors are
always on the lookout for companies that
seem ripe for acquisition.
Sometimes acquisitions are described,
more bluntly, as takeovers and other
times, more diplomatically, as mergers.
Collectively, these activities are referred
to as mergers and acquisitions, or M&A,
to those in the business.
Actively managed fund
Managers of actively managed mutual
funds buy and sell investments to achieve
a particular goal, such as providing a
certain level of return or beating a
relevant benchmark.
As a result, they generally trade
much more frequently than managers of
passively managed funds whose goal is
to mirror the performance of the index
a fund tracks.
While actively managed funds may
provide stronger returns than index funds
in some years, they typically have higher
management and investment fees.
6
Activities of daily living
To live independently, you must be able
to handle certain essential functions,
called activities of daily living (ADLs).
These standard activities include eating,
dressing, bathing, moving from a sitting
to a standing position, taking medication,
and using the bathroom.
If you are unable to perform two or
more these ADLs, you generally qualify
to begin receiving benefits from your
long-term care insurance policy. Each
insurers list of ADLs may vary slightly,
but should always include bathing, as
that is often the first activity that a
person struggles with.
Cognitive impairments, such as those
that result from Alzheimers disease, are
not considered ADLs. A comprehensive
long-term care policy will use a different
test to determine when policyholders
suffering from these impairments qualify
to collect benefits.
Adjustable rate mortgage (ARM)
An adjustable rate mortgage is a long-
term loan you use to finance a real estate
purchase, typically a home.
Unlike a fixed-rate mortgage, where
the interest rate remains the same for
the term of the loan, the interest rate on
an ARM is adjusted, or changed, during
its term.
The initial rate on an ARM is usually
lower than the rate on a fixed-rate
mortgage for the same term, which means
it may be easier to qualify for an ARM.
You take the risk, however, that interest
rates may rise, increasing the cost of your
mortgage. Of course, its also possible
that the rates may drop, decreasing
your payments.
The rate adjustments, which are based
on changes in one of the publicly reported
indexes that reflect market rates, occur
at preset times, usually once a year but
sometimes less often. Typically, rate
changes on ARMs are capped both
annually and over the term of the loan,
which helps protect you in the case of
a rapid or sustained increase in
market rates.
However, certain ARMs allow
negative amortization, which means
additional interest could accumulate on
the outstanding balance if market rates
rise higher than the cap. That interest
would be due when the loan matured or
if you want to prepay.
Adjusted gross income (AGI)
Your AGI is your gross, or total, income
from taxable sources minus certain
deductions.
Income includes salary and other
employment income, interest and divi-
dends, and long- and short-term capital
gains and losses. Deductions include
unreimbursed business and medical
expenses, contributions to a deductible
individual retirement account (IRA), and
alimony you pay.
You figure your AGI on page one of
your federal tax return, and it serves as
the basis for calculating the income tax
you owe. Your modified AGI is used to
establish your eligibility for certain tax
or financial benefits, such as deducting
your IRA contribution or qualifying for
certain tax credits.
Advance-decline (A-D) line
The advance-decline line graphs the ratio
of stocks that have risen in valuethe
advancersto stocks that have fallen in
valuethe declinersover a particular
trading period.
The direction and steepness of the
A-D line gives you a general idea of the
direction of the market. For example, a
noticeable upward trend, which is created
when there are more advancers than
decliners, indicates a growing market.
A downward slope indicates a market
in retreat. At times, however, there may
be no clear trend in either direction.
Advancer
Stocks that have gained, or increased,
in value over a particular period are
described as advancers.
If more stocks advance than decline
or lose valueover the course of a
trading day, the financial press reports
that advancers led decliners. When
that occurs over a period of time, its
considered an indication that the stock
market is strong.
ADJUSTED GROSS INCOME
Gross income
Special deductions
ADJUSTED GROSS INCOME
Activities of daily living
7
Affinity fraud
Affinity fraud occurs when a dishonest
person plays on your affiliation with a
groupsuch as a house of worship, social
club, support group, charity, or veterans
groupas a way to win your confidence
in order to sell you something worthless
or trick you into handing over cash.
The scammer may actually be a
member of the group or may just pretend
to be.
Affinity fraud is one the most difficult
scams to protect yourself against because
being suspicious of colleagues can under-
mine the reason you belong to a group.
After-hours market
Securities, such as stocks and bonds, may
change hands on organized markets and
exchanges after regular business hours, in
what is known as the after-hours market.
These electronic transactions explain
why a security may open for trading at a
different price from the one it closed at
the day before.
Theres also trading in benchmark
indexes such as Standard & Poors
500 Index (S&P 500) and the Dow Jones
Industrial Average (DJIA) before US
stock markets open. The level of activity
and the direction the tradingup or
downis widely interpreted as an early
indicator of whats likely to happen in
the market during the day.
After-tax contribution
An after-tax contribution is money you
put into your 401(k) or other employer
sponsored retirement savings plan
either instead of or in addition to your
pretax contribution.
You make an after-tax contribution
if youve chosen to participate in a Roth
401(k) or similar tax-free plan rather
than a traditional tax-deferred 401(k).
However, if you make excess deferrals,
any earnings on the after-tax amount
accumulate tax deferred. The disadvan-
tage is that figuring the tax thats due on
your required distributions may be more
complicated than if you had made only
pretax contributions.
After-tax income
After-tax income, sometimes called
post-tax dollars, is the amount of income
you have left after federal income taxes
(plus state and local income taxes, if they
apply) have been withheld.
If you contribute to a nondeductible
individual retirement account (IRA), a
Roth IRA, or a 529 college savings plan,
purchase an annuity, or invest in a taxable
account, you are using after-tax income.
In contrast, if you contribute money to
an employer sponsored retirement plan
or flexible spending account, you are
investing pretax income.
Agency bond
Some federal agencies, including Ginnie
Mae (GNMA) and the Tennessee Valley
Authority (TVA), raise money by issuing
bonds and short-term discount notes for
sale to investors.
The money raised by selling these
debt securities is typically used to make
reduced-cost loans available to specific
groups, including home buyers, students,
or farmers.
Interest paid on the securities is
generally higher than youd earn on
Treasury issues, and the bonds are
considered nearly as safe from default.
In addition, the interest on somebut
not allof these securities is exempt
from certain income taxes.
Securities issued by former federal
agencies that are now public corpora-
tions, including mortgage-buyers Fannie
Mae and Freddie Mac, are also sometimes
described as agency bonds.
Agent
An agent is a person who acts on behalf
of another person or institution in a
transaction. For example, when you
direct your stockbroker to buy or sell
shares in your account, he or she is acting
as your agent in the trade.
Agents work for either a set fee or
a commission based on the size of the
transaction and the type of product,
or sometimes a combination of fee
and commission.
Depending on the work a particular
agent does, he or she may need to be
certified, licensed, or registered by
Agent
B
industry bodies or government regulators.
For instance, insurance agents must be
licensed in the state where they do
business, and stockbrokers must pass
licensing exams and be registered
with NASD.
In a real estate transaction, a real
estate agent represents the seller. That
person may also be called a real estate
broker or a Realtor if he or she is a
member of the National Association of
Realtors. A buyer may be represented
by a buyers agent.
Aggressive-growth fund
Aggressive-growth mutual funds buy stock
in companies that show rapid growth
potential, including start-up companies
and those in hot sectors.
While these funds and the companies
they invest in can increase significantly
in value, they are also among the most
volatile. Their values may rise much
higherand fall much lowerthan the
overall stock market or the mutual funds
that invest in the broader market.
All or none order (AON)
When a trading order is marked AON, the
broker who is handling the order must
either fill the whole order or not fill it
at all.
For example, if you want to buy 1,500
shares at $20 a share and only 1,000 are
available at that price, your order wont
be filled. However, the order will remain
active until you cancel it, and so may be
filled at some point in the future.
Alpha
A stocks alpha is an analysts estimate
of its potential price increase based on
the rate at which the companys earnings
are growing and other aspects of the
companys current performance.
For example, if a stock has an alpha
of 1.15, that means the analyst expects a
15% price increase in a year when stock
prices in general are flat
One investment strategy is to look
for stocks whose alphas are high, which
means the stocks are undervalued and
have the potential to provide a strong
return. A stocks alpha is different from
its beta, which estimates its price
volatility in relation to the market as
a whole.
Alternative minimum tax (AMT)
The alternative minimum tax (AMT) was
designed to ensure that all taxpayers pay
at least the minimum federal income tax
for their income level, no matter how
many deductions or credits they claim.
The AMT is actually an extra tax,
calculated separately and added to the
amount the taxpayer owes in regular
income tax. Some items that are usually
tax exempt become taxable and special
tax rates apply. For example, income on
certain tax-free bonds is taxable.
Increasing numbers of taxpayers trig-
ger the AMT if they deduct high state and
local taxes or mortgage interest expenses,
exercise a large number of stock options,
or have significant tax-exempt interest.
American Association of Individual
Investors (AAII)
The goal of this independent, nonprofit
organization is teaching individual
investors how to manage their
assets effectively.
Headquartered in Chicago, the AAII
offers publications, seminars, educational
programs, software and videos, and other
services and products to its members.
The AAII website (www.aaii.org) also
provides a wide range of information
about investing and personal finance.
American depositary receipt (ADR)
Shares of hundreds of major overseas-
based companies, including names such
as British Petroleum, Sony, and Toyota,
are traded as ADRs on US stock markets
in US dollars.
ADRs are actually receipts issued by
US banks that hold actual shares of the
companies stocks. They let you diversify
into international markets without having
to purchase shares on overseas exchanges
or through mutual funds.
Aggressive-growth fund
9
American depositary share (ADS)
When a company based overseas wants to
sell its shares in the US markets, it can
offer them through a US bank, which is
known as the depositary.
The depositary bank holds the issuing
companys shares, known as American
depositary shares (ADSs), and offers
them to investors as certificates known
as American depositary receipts (ADRs).
Each ADR represents a specific number
of ADSs.
ADRs are quoted in US dollars and
trade on US markets just like ordinary
shares. While hundreds are listed on
the major exchanges, the majority are
traded over the counter, usually because
theyre too small to meet exchange
listing requirements.
American Stock Exchange (AMEX)
The AMEX is the second-largest
floor-based stock exchange in the
United States after the New York Stock
Exchange (NYSE).
It operates an auction market in stocks
(including overseas stocks), exchange
traded funds, and derivatives, including
options on many NYSE-traded and
over-the-counter (OTC) stocks.
American-style option
A listed option that you can exercise at
any point between the day you purchase
it and its expiration date is called an
American-style option. All equity options
are American style, no matter where the
exchange on which they trade is located.
In contrast, you can exercise
European-style options only on the last
trading day before the expiration date,
not before. Index options listed on various
US exchanges may be either American-
or European-style options.
Amortization
Amortization is the gradual repayment
of a debt over a period of time, such as
monthly payments on a mortgage loan or
credit card balance.
To amortize a loan, your payments
must be large enough to pay not only
the interest that has accrued but also to
reduce the principal you owe. The word
amortize itself tells the story, since it
means to bring to death.
Analyst
A financial analyst tracks the perfor-
mance of companies and industries,
evaluates their potential value as invest-
ments, and makes recommendations on
specific securities.
When the most highly respected
analysts express a strong opinion about
a stock, there is often an immediate
impact on that stocks price as investors
rush to follow the advice.
Some analysts work for financial
institutions, such as mutual fund
companies, brokerage firms, and banks.
Others work for analytical services, such
as Value Line, Inc., Morningstar, Inc.,
Standard & Poors, or Moodys Investors
Service, or as independent evaluators.
Analysts commentaries also appear
regularly in the financial press, and on
radio, television, and the Internet.
Annual percentage rate (APR)
A loans annual percentage rate, or
APR, is what credit costs you each year,
expressed as a percentage of the
loan amount.
The APR, which is usually higher
than the nominal, or named, rate youre
quoted for a loan, includes most of a
loans up-front fees as well as the annual
interest rate.
You should use APR, which is a more
accurate picture of the cost of borrowing
than the interest rate alone, to compare
various loans youre considering.
Annual percentage yield (APY)
Annual percentage yield is the
amount you earn on an interest-bearing
investment in a year, expressed as a
percentage. For example, if you earn $60
on a $1,000 certificate of deposit (CD)
between January 1 and December 31,
your APY is 6%.
Annual percentage yield (APY)
1O
When the APY is the same as the
interest rate that is being paid on an
investment, you are earning simple
interest. But when the APY is higher
than the interest rate, the interest is
being compounded, which means you
are earning interest on your
accumulating interest.
Annual renewable term insurance
If your term life insurance is an annual
renewable policy, you can renew your
coverage each year without filling
out a new application or passing a
physical exam.
However, the premium, or the amount
you pay for the policy, isnt fixed, and
goes up each time you renew. Policies
with five- or ten-year terms may also be
renewable, with comparable increases in
their premiums.
Annual report
By law, each publicly held corporation
must provide its shareholders with an
annual report showing its income and
balance sheet.
In most cases, it contains not only
financial details but also a message
from the chairman, a description of the
companys operations, and an overview
of its achievements.
Most annual reports are glossy
affairs that also serve as marketing
pieces. Copies are generally available
from the companys investor relations
office, and annual reports may even
appear on the companys website.
The companys 10-K report is a more
comprehensive look at its finances.
Annuitant
An annuitant is a person who receives
income from an annuity. If you receive a
distribution from an annuity that you or
your employer buys with your 401(k)
assets, youre the annuitant.
Similarly, youre the annuitant if you
take distributions from a tax-deferred
individual retirement annuity or from
an individual annuity you buy with
after-tax income.
If your beneficiary receives annuity
income after your death, he or she be-
comes the annuitant. Its also possible
to buy an annuity naming someone other
than the buyera disabled child, for
exampleas annuitant.
Annuitization
Annuitization means that you convert
part or all of the money in a qualified
retirement plan or nonqualified annuity
contract into a stream of regular income
payments, either for your lifetime or the
lifetimes of you and your joint annuitant.
Once you choose to annuitize, the
payment schedule and the amount is
generally fixed and cant be altered.
If you have a qualified retirement plan,
such as a 401(k), you generally have three
major options when you retire. You can
annuitize, roll over the account balance
to an IRA, or take the money all at once
as a lump sum distribution.
If you have a nonqualified deferred
annuity, you have a choice of annuitizing,
taking a lump sum, setting up a systematic
withdrawal plan, or arranging some other
payout method that the contract allows.
Annuitize
When you annuitize, you choose to
convert the assets in your deferred
annuity or other retirement savings
account into a stream of regular income
payments that are guaranteed to last for
your lifetime or the combined lifetimes of
yourself and another person, called your
joint annuitant.
You typically annuitize when you
retire. But, if you own a nonqualified
annuity, you may begin receiving
income at 59 without risking an early
withdrawal penalty, or you can postpone
the decision to annuitize well beyond
normal retirement age.
One reason people may give for
choosing not to annuitize is that theyre
afraid if they die shortly after they begin
receiving payments, they will forfeit a
large portion of the annuitys value. To
avoid that situation, some people choose
to annuitize with whats called a period
Annual renewable term insurance
11
certain payout, guaranteeing that they
or their beneficiaries will receive income
for at least a minimum period, typically 5,
10, or 20 years.
You should be aware that the promise
to pay lifetime income is contingent on
the claims-paying ability of the company
providing the annuity contract. Thats
why youll want to check the ratings
that independent analysts give your
annuity company before you annuitize
your contract.
Annuity
Originally, an annuity simply meant an
annual payment. Thats why the retire-
ment income you receive from a defined
benefit plan each year, usually in monthly
installments, is called a pension annuity.
But an annuity is also an insurance
company product thats designed to allow
you to accumulate tax-deferred assets that
can be converted to a source of lifetime
annual income.
When a deferred annuity is offered
as part of a qualified plan, such as a
traditional 401(k), 403(b), or tax-deferred
annuity (TDA), you can contribute up to
the annual limit and typically begin to
take income from the annuity when
you retire.
You can also buy a nonqualified
deferred annuity contract on your own.
With nonqualified annuities, there are no
federal limits on annual contributions and
no required withdrawals, though you may
begin receiving income without penalty
when you turn 59.
An immediate annuity, in contrast, is
one you purchase with a lump sum when
you are ready to begin receiving income,
usually when you retire. The payouts
begin right away and the annuity
company promises the income will
last your lifetime.
With all types of annuities, the
guarantee of lifetime annuity income de-
pends on the claims-paying ability of the
company that sells the annuity contract.
Annuity principal
The annuity principal is the sum of money
you use to buy an annuity and the base on
which annuity earnings accumulate.
If youre buying a deferred annuity,
you may make a one-timeor single
premiumpurchase, or you may build
your annuity principal with a series of
regular or intermittent payments.
For example, if you own an annuity in
an employer-sponsored retirement plan,
you add to your principal each time you
defer some of your income into your
accounttypically every time youre paid.
When you buy an immediate annuity,
you commit your annuity principal as a
lump sum, and that amount is one of the
key factors that determines the amount
of your annuity income.
Annuity unit
Annuity units are the shares you own in
variable annuity subaccounts, also called
annuity funds or separate account funds,
during the period youre receiving income
from the annuity.
The number of your annuity units is
fixed at the time that you buy the income
annuity contract, or when you annuitize
your deferred variable annuity.
While the number of units does not
change, the value of each unit fluctuates
to reflect the performance of the under-
lying investments in the subaccount.
Thats why the income you receive from
a variable annuity may differ from month
to month.
Appreciation
When an asset such as stock, real
estate, or personal property increases
in value without any improvements or
modification having been made to it,
thats called appreciation.
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Some personal assets, such as fine
art or antiques, may appreciate over
time, while otherssuch as electronic
equipmentusually lose value,
or depreciate.
Certain investments also have the
potential to appreciate. A number of
factors can cause an asset to appreciate,
among them inflation, uniqueness, or
increased demand.
Approved charge
With traditional fee-for-service health
insurance, the insurance company sets
an approved or allowable amount for
each medical procedure or office visit.
If your bill exceeds the approved
charge, the difference between the
approved charge and the claim thats
submitted to the insurance company for
reimbursement is considered an excess
charge. You are responsible for that
amount in addition to a percentage of
the approved charge.
Medicare establishes approved charges
for medical procedures and office visits.
If you participate in Original Medicare,
theres a legal limit on what a doctor,
laboratory, or other medical provider can
charge in excess of the approved amount.
Arbitrage
Arbitrage is the technique of simulta-
neously buying at a lower price in one
market and selling at a higher price in
another market to make a profit on the
spread between the prices.
Although the price difference may be
very small, arbitrageurs, or arbs, typically
trade regularly and in huge volume, so
they can make sizable profits.
But the strategy, which depends on
split-second timing, can also backfire if
interest rates, prices, currency exchange
rates, or other factors move in ways the
arbitrageurs dont anticipate.
Arbitration
Arbitration is a way to resolve conflicts
between parties or individuals, and may
be considered a middle ground between
the more cooperative, informal nature
of mediation and the more expensive,
involved, and lengthy process of litigation.
Usually, when you open a brokerage
account, you sign an agreement to use
arbitration to resolve possible conflicts
with the firm and waive the right to sue
for damages in court.
Arbitration is binding, which means
you cant appeal the decision or try for a
different result by going to court. Most
investment-related arbitration claims are
handled by either NASD, the main self-
regulatory body that supervises brokers,
or the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
In arbitration, a trained impartial
arbitrator or panel of arbitrators reviews
the evidence, decides on the outcome,
and sets any award. While arbitration is
usually less expensive than litigation,
arbitration and attorney fees make it a
more expensive option than mediation.
Arithmetic index
An arithmetic index gives equal weight
to the percentage price change of each
stock thats included in the index.
In computing the index, the percent-
age changes of all the stocks are added,
and the total is divided by the number
of stocks. The percentage price changes
of large companies arent counted
more heavily, as they are in a market-
capitalization weighted index.
An arithmetic index is a more
accurate measure of total stock market
performance than an index that stresses
relatively few high-priced or large-
company stocks. However, some analysts
point out that it may also produce
higher total return figures than other
indexing methods.
The best known arithmetic index in
the United States is the one computed
by Value Line, Inc., which tracks the
approximately 1,700 stocks. Standard &
Poors also calculates an arithmetic
version of the S&P 500 index.
Ask
The ask price (a shortening of asked
price) is the price at which a market
maker or broker offers to sell a security
or commodity.
The price another market maker or
broker is willing to pay for that security
is called the bid price, and the difference
between the two prices is called
the spread.
Bid and ask prices are typically
reported to the media for commodities
and over-the-counter (OTC) transactions.
Approved charge
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In contrast, last, or closing, prices are
reported for exchange-traded and
national market securities.
With open-end mutual funds, the ask
price is the net asset value (NAV), or the
price you get if you sell, plus the sales
charge, if one applies.
Asset
Assets are everything you own that has
any monetary value, plus any money you
are owed.
They include money in bank accounts,
stocks, bonds, mutual funds, equity in real
estate, the value of your life insurance
policy, and any personal property that
people would pay to own.
When you figure your net worth, you
subtract the amount you owe, or your
liabilities, from your assets. Similarly, a
companys assets include the value of its
physical plant, its inventory, and less
tangible elements, such as its reputation.
Asset allocation
Asset allocation is a strategy, advocated
by modern portfolio theory, for reducing
risk in your investment portfolio in order
to maximize return.
Specifically, asset allocation means
dividing your assets among different
broad categories of investments, called
asset classes. Stock, bonds, and cash are
examples of asset classes, as are real
estate and derivatives such as options
and futures contracts.
Most financial services firms suggest
particular asset allocations for specific
groups of clients and fine-tune those
allocations for individual investors.
The asset allocation model
specifically the percentages of your
investment principal allocated to each
investment category youre usingthats
appropriate for you at any given time
depends on many factors, such as the
goals youre investing to achieve, how
much time you have to invest, your
tolerance for risk, the direction of
interest rates, and the market outlook.
Ideally, you adjust or rebalance your
portfolio from time to time to bring the
allocation back in line with the model
youve selected. Or, you might realign your
model as your financial goals, your time
frame, or the market situation changes.
Asset class
Different categories of investments
are described as asset classes. Stock,
bonds, and cashincluding cash
equivalentsare major asset classes.
So are real estate, derivative investments,
such as options and futures contracts,
and precious metals.
When you allocate the assets in your
investment portfolio, you decide what
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Asset class
14
proportion of its total value will be
invested in each of the different asset
classes youre including.
Asset management account (AMA)
All-in-one asset management accounts
provide the financial advantages of an
investment account combined with the
convenience of an interest-bearing
checking account.
AMAs generally offer check-writing
and ATM privileges, credit cards, direct
deposit, and automatic transfer between
accounts, as well as access to reduced-
rate loans and other perks. There are
usually annual fees and minimum
account requirements.
AMAs are offered by many brokerage
firms and mutual fund companies,
and are also known as central asset
accounts (CAAs) or cash management
accounts (CMAs).
Asset-backed bond
Asset-backed bonds, also known as asset-
backed securities, are secured by loans
or by money owed to a company for mer-
chandise or services purchased on credit.
For example, an asset-backed bond is
created when a securities firm bundles
debt, such as credit card or car loans, and
sells investors the right to receive the
payments made on those loans.
Assignment
Assignment occurs when someone who
has written, or sold, a listed option
receives a notice that the option has
been exercised and he or she must fulfill
the terms of the contract by buying the
underlying instrument if the option was a
put or selling the underlying instrument
if the option was a call.
Making the assignment is a two-step
process. When an option listed on a US
exchange is exercised, the Options
Clearing Corporation (OCC) notifies a
member broker-dealer firm with clients
who have sold options in that series
that one of those clients must meet the
obligation to buy or sell. The firm, in turn,
selects an individual client following its
particular methodology, such as chrono-
logical order of sale or random choice.
As the writer of an in-the-money
option, you should expect assignment,
unless you close out your position with an
offsetting contract. However, there is no
guarantee that you will realize a profit or
avoid a loss.
Assignment also means transferring
property you own, such as stock and
real estate, to someone else by using the
document thats appropriate to the type
of property. Similarly, property of a
financially troubled entity can be
assigned, or transferred, to a creditor
and sold to offset losses.
At-the-money
At-the-money is another way of saying at
the current price. Options whose exercise
price is the same or almost the same as
the current market price of the underlying
stock or futures contract are considered
at-the-money.
Auction market
Auction market trading, sometimes
known as open outcry, is the way the
major exchanges, such as the New York
Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the Chicago
Mercantile Exchange (CME), have
traditionally handled buying and selling.
Brokers acting for buyers compete
against each other on the exchange floor,
as brokers acting for sellers do, to get
the best price. While the trading can be
quite intense, it is orderly because the
participants adhere to exchange rules.
Audit
An audit is a professional, independent
examination of a companys financial
statements and accounting documents
following generally accepted accounting
principles (GAAP).
An IRS audit, in contrast, is an exami-
nation of a taxpayers return, usually to
question the accuracy or acceptability of
the information the return reports.
Audit committee
The corporate audit committee is the
liaison between the companys manage-
ment, the board of directors, internal
and external auditors, and any other
accounting experts advising the company
on audit issues.
Asset management account (AMA)
1B
In particular, the audit committee
is responsible for hiring and managing
external auditors. Since 2002, when
Congress passed the Sarbanes-Oxley
Act, implementing stringent financial
oversight regulations, the role of
the audit committee has become
increasingly important.
An audit committee is composed of a
subgroups from the corporations board
of directors. Members of the audit
committee must be independent, which
means they have no ties to the companys
management team.
In general, they cannot receive any
compensation, such as consulting or
advisory fees, except for a board of
directors fee. They may not be able to
own shares in the company or be affiliated
in any other way with the company. Nor
can they be affiliated with or have an in-
terest in the external auditing company.
Automatic enrollment
Your employer has the right to sign you up
for your companys 401(k) plan, in whats
known as an automatic enrollment. If you
dont want to participate, you must refuse,
in writing, to be part of the plan.
In an automatic enrollment, the
company determines the percentage of
earnings you contribute and how your
contribution is invested, choosing among
a number of potential alternatives. You
have the right to change either or both
of those choices if you stay in the plan.
Automatic exercise
If you hold a call option, automatic
exercise may occur if the contract is
in-the-money by a certain amount.
In this case, an in-the-money contract
is one where the strike pricethe price
at which you would purchase the under-
lying instrument if the contract were
exercisedis lower than the market
price of that instrument. Generally
speaking, exercising your option in this
situation would produce a profit on
the transaction.
Certain options may be subject to
automatic exercise authorized by the
Options Clearing Corporation (OCC)
unless you instruct them otherwise.
Your brokerage firm may also have an
automatic exercise policy.
Average
A stock market average is a mathe-
matical way of reporting the composite
change in prices of the stocks that the
average includes.
Each average is designed to reflect
the general movement of the broad
market or a certain segment of the
market and often serves as a benchmark
for the performance of individual stocks
in its sphere.
A true average adds the prices of the
stocks it covers and divides that amount
by the number of stocks.
However, many averages are weighted,
which usually means they count stocks
with the largest market capitalizations
more heavily than they do others.
Weighting reflects the impact that the
stocks of the biggest companies have
on the markets and on the economy
in general.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average
(DJIA), which tracks the performance
of 30 large-company stocks, is the most
widely followed market average in the
United States.
Average annual yield
Average annual yield is the average yearly
income on an investment, expressed as
a percentage.
You can calculate the average
annual yield by adding all the income
you received on an investment and
dividing that amount by the number of
years the money was invested. So if you
receive $60 interest on a $1,000 bond each
year for ten years, the average annual
yield is 6% ($60 $1,000 = 0.06 or 6%).
Average daily balance
The average daily balance method is one
of the ways that the finance charge on
your credit card may be calculated.
The credit card company issuer
divides the balance you owe each day by
the number of days in your billing cycle
and multiplies the result by the interest
rate to find the finance charge for each
day in the period.
If this is the method your creditor
uses, the larger the payment you make
and the earlier in the cycle you make it,
the smaller your finance charge will be.
Average daily balance
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Baby bond
Bonds whose par values are less than
$1,000 are often described as baby bonds,
or, in the case of municipal bonds, as
mini-munis.
Small companies that may not be able
to attract institutional investors, such as
banks and mutual fund companies, may
offer baby bonds to raise cash from
individual investors.
Some municipalities also use baby
bonds to foster involvement in govern-
ment activities by making it possible for
more people to invest.
Baccalaureate bond
Baccalaureate bonds are tax-free zero
coupon bonds issued by certain states
specifically to help families accumulate
assets to meet college tuition costs.
The bonds are usually sold in small
denominations, so that you can buy
several, with maturity dates that
correspond with the dates that tuition
payments are due.
In some states, baccalaureate bond-
holders receive a small tuition discount
if they use the bonds to pay for attending
an in-state school.
Back-end load
Some mutual funds impose a back-end
load, or a contingent deferred sales
charge, if you sell shares in the fund
during the first six or seven years after
you purchase them.
The charge is a percentage of the
value of the assets youre selling. The
percentage typically declines each year
the charge applies and then is dropped.
However, the annual asset-based
management fee is higher on back-end
load funds, also known as Class B shares,
than on front-end load funds, where
you pay the sales charge at the time
you purchase.
Back test
A back test simulates the investment
return that an investment strategy would
have produced over a specific period.
For example, someone who wanted
to evaluate a strategy of buying after
stock splits might test the effect of
having purchased 500 additional shares
in the large-cap stocks in a hypothetical
portfolio each time one of the stocks
split during the period from 1957 to
the present.
Back testing is sometimes used to
support a current investment strategy by
demonstrating that it would have enjoyed
strong past performance. Critics point out
that the testing period thats chosen has
a significant impact on the results and
that past performance doesnt guarantee
future returns.
Back-up withholding
Back-up withholding is triggered when a
bank, brokerage firm, or other institution
pays interest, dividends, or other income
that must be reported on IRS Form 1099
to a payee who does not provide a tax
identification number (TIN), typically a
Social Security number, or provides an
incorrect number.
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While income thats reported on
Form 1099 is not normally subject to
withholding, in this instance, the payer
must withhold 28% of the gross amount as
income tax.
You can avoid back-up withholding
in most cases by providing a correct
TIN using IRS form W-9. But if the IRS
determines you have underreported
your investment income, it may require
back-up withholding even if the payer
has your TIN.
Backwardation
If the price of a futures contract that
expires in the near term is higher than
the price of a contract with the same
terms that expires at a later date, the
relationship between the two is called
backwardation.
More typically, the contract with the
longer-term expiration commands a
higher price. That relationship is called
contango.
Balance of trade
The difference between the value of a
countrys imports and exports during a
specific period of time is called the
balance of trade.
If a country exports more than it
imports, it has a surplus, or favorable
balance of trade. A trade deficit, or
unfavorable balance, occurs when a
country imports more than it exports.
Balance sheet
A balance sheet is a statement of
a companys financial position at a
particular moment in time. This financial
report shows the two sides of a companys
financial situationwhat it owns and
what it owes.
What the company owns, called its
assets, is always equal to the combined
value of what the company owes, called
its liabilities, and the value of its share-
holders equity. Expressed as an equation,
a companys balance sheets shows
assets = liabilities + shareholder value.
If the company were to dissolve, then
its debts would be paid, and any assets
that remained would be distributed to the
shareholders as their equity. Bankruptcy
occurs in situations where there is
nothing left to distribute to the share-
holders, and the company balance sheet
is in fact unbalanced because the
company owes more than it owns.
Balanced fund
Balanced funds are mutual funds that
invest in a portfolio of common stocks,
preferred stocks, and bonds to meet
their investment goal of seeking a strong
return while moderating risk.
Balanced funds generally produce
more income than stock funds, though
their total return may be less than stock
fund returns in a strong stock market.
In a flat or falling stock market,
however, disappointing returns on equity
investments may be offset by a stronger
performance from a balanced funds
fixed-income investments.
Balanced funds are sometimes
described as a type of asset allocation
fund, which provides the opportunity to
spread your money among asset classes
with one investment.
Balloon mortgage
With a balloon mortgage, you make
monthly payments over the mortgage
term, which is typically five, seven, or ten
years, and a final installment, or balloon
payment, that is significantly larger than
the usual monthly payments.
In some cases, you pay only interest
on the loan during the mortgage term,
and the entire principal is due in the
balloon payment.
Many balloon mortgages offer a
conversion feature that lets you extend
the loan at a new interest rate. For
instance, some balloon mortgages
convert to a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage
at the end of their original term.
You might choose a balloon mortgage
if you anticipate being able to refinance
at a favorable rate at the end of the term
or if youre confident youll have enough
money to pay off the loan in a lump sum.
But you may risk losing your home when
the balloon payment is due if you can
afford to buy the home only because of
the comparatively smaller monthly
payments that may be available with
a balloon mortgage.
Balloon mortgage
1B
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy means being insolvent, or
unable to pay your debts. In that case,
you can file a bankruptcy petition to seek
a legal resolution.
Chapter 7 bankruptcy, which allows
you to discharge your unsecured debts but
may result in your losing your home, car,
or other secured debt, is available only to
those whose earn less than the median
for their state or qualify because of
special circumstances.
With Chapter 11 bankruptcy, also
called reorganization bankruptcy, you
work with the court and your creditors
to repay debt over three to five years.
However, some debts are not reduced
by a declaration of bankruptcy, including
past due federal income taxes, alimony,
and higher education loans. Similarly,
when you hear that a company is re-
organizing or is in Chapter 11, it
means it has filed for bankruptcy.
Barbell strategy
When you use a barbell strategy, you
invest equivalent amounts in short-term
and long-term bonds, creating the shape
that gives the strategy its name. The
goal is to earn more interest than
intermediate-term bonds would
provide without taking more risk.
For example, you might buy a port-
folio of bonds, with some that mature
within a year or two and an equal
number that mature in 30 years. When
the shorter-term bonds come due, you
replace them with other short-term bonds.
Its a different approach from
laddering your bond investment, often
with a portfolio of intermediate-term
bonds, so that your bonds mature in a
rolling pattern every few years.
Basis
Basis is the total cost of buying an
investment or other asset, including the
price, commissions, and other charges.
If you sell the asset, you subtract your
basis, also known as your cost basis, from
the selling price to determine your capital
gain or capital loss. If you give the asset
away, the recipients basis is the same
amount as yours.
But if you leave an asset to a
beneficiary in your will, the person
receives the asset at a step-up in basis,
which means the basis of the asset is
reset to its market value as of the time
of your death.
Basis point
Yields on bonds, notes, and other
fixed-income investments fluctuate
regularly, typically changing only a few
hundredths of a percentage point.
These small variations are measured
in basis points, or gradations of 0.01%,
or one-hundredth of a percent, with
100 basis points equaling 1%. For
example, when the yield on a bond
changes from 6.72% to 6.65%, it has
dropped 7 basis points.
Similarly, small changes in the interest
rates charged for mortgages or other
loans are reported in basis points, as are
the fees you pay on various investment
products, such as annuities and mutual
funds. For example, if the average
management fee is 1.4%, you might
hear it expressed as 140 basis points.
Your percentage of ownership in
certain kinds of investments may also be
stated in basis points, and in this case
each basis point equals 0.01% of the
whole investment.
Basis price
When you sell a security, such as a stock
or bond, or real estate, the price you use
to calculate your capital gains is known
as your basis price.
In the case of a security, it includes
the purchase price plus any commissions
you paid to buy or sell. For real estate,
it includes purchase price, certain
closing costs at purchase and sale, and
the costs of qualifying improvements to
the property.
Bear market
A bear market is sometimes described as
a period of falling securities prices and
sometimes, more specifically, as a market
where prices have fallen 20% or more
from the most recent high.
Bankruptcy
19
A bear market in stocks is triggered
when investors sell off shares, generally
because they anticipate worsening
economic conditions and falling
corporate profits.
A bear market in bonds is usually
the result of rising interest rates, which
prompts investors to sell off older bonds
paying lower rates.
Bear spread
A bear spread is an options strategy that
you use when you anticipate a decline in
the price of the underlying instrument,
such as a stock or an index.
As in any spread, you purchase one
option and write another on the same
underlying item. Both options are
identical except for one element, such
as the strike price or the expiration date.
For example, with a vertical bear call
spread, you buy a call with a higher strike
price and sell a call with a lower strike
price. With a vertical bear put, you buy a
put at a higher price and sell a put at a
lower price.
In either case, if youre right
about the behavior of the underlying
instrumentfor example, if a stock
whose price you expect to fall does lose
valueyou could have a net profit. If
youre wrong, you could have a net loss
cushioned by the income from the sale
of one of the legs of the spread.
Bearer bond
A bearer bond is a certificate that states
the securitys par value, the rate at which
interest will be paid, and the name of the
bonds owner.
In the past, bearer bonds came with
detachable coupons that had to be
presented to the issuer to receive the
interest payments. That practice
explains why a bonds interest rate
is often referred to as its coupon rate.
Unlike most bonds issued in the
United States since 1983, which are
registered electronically, a bearer bond
isnt registered, and theres no record of
ownership. This means it can be sold or
redeemed by the person or organization
that holds it.
Bearer form
When securities are issued as paper
certificates and the issuing corporation
has no record of the owner, the securities
are in bearer form.
The bearer, or holder, of the
certificate is considered the owner, and
when ownership changes hands a physical
transfer of the certificate is required.
The securities may have attached
coupons, which the holder must
present or send in to the issuer or
issuers agenttypically a bank or
brokerage firmto receive interest
or dividend payments.
Bearer securities are rare in the
United States today because of the
convenience, simplicity, and added
security of electronic registration, known
as book entry form. When book entry
securities are traded, records of owner-
ship are electronically updated, and the
buyers and sellers brokerage accounts
are automatically debited and credited,
similar to when you pay bills online.
Behavioral finance
Behavioral finance combines psychology
and economics to explain why and how
investors act and to analyze how that
behavior affects the market.
Behavioral finance theorists point to
the market phenomenon of hot stocks
and bubbles, from the Dutch tulip bulb
mania that caused a market crash in the
17th century to the more recent examples
of junk bonds in the 1980s and Internet
stocks in the 1990s, to validate their posi-
tion that market prices can be affected by
the irrational behavior of investors.
Behavioral finance is in conflict with
the perspective of efficient market theory,
which maintains that market prices are
based on rational foundations, like the
fundamental financial health and
performance of a company.
Beige book
Beige book is the colloquial name for
the Federal report that is formally titled
Summary of Commentary on Current
Economic Conditions by Federal
Reserve District.
The beige book is prepared eight
times per year by the Federal Reserve
Board, in preparation for the Federal
Open Market Committee (FOMC)
meetings, at which its members discuss
the state of the economy and determine
Beige book
2O
whether any changes ought to be made to
the discount rate and whether the money
supply should be tightened or loosened.
The report is based on information
provided by each Federal Reserve Bank
on its particular district and includes
opinion and analysis from economists,
bank directors, business people, and
other market experts in each district.
Economic forecasters use the beige book
to predict whether and how the Fed will
act after the FOMC meeting.
Bellwether
A market bellwether is a security whose
changing price is considered a signal that
the market is changing direction.
It gets its
name from
the wether, or
castrated ram,
that walks at
the head of
a shepherds
flock. The dis-
tinctive tone of
the bell around
the wethers
neck signals the
flocks position.
Theres not an official list of these
trend setters, or market barometers,
and they do change as the overall
markets and the fortunes of individual
companies change.
Benchmark
An investment benchmark is a standard
against which the performance of an
individual security or group of securities
is measured.
For example, the average annual
performance of a class of securities over
time is a benchmark against which cur-
rent performance of members of that
class and the class itself is measured.
When the benchmark is an index
tracking a specific segment of the market,
the changing value of the index not only
measures the strength or weakness of its
segment but is the standard against which
the performance of individual investments
within the segment are measured.
For example, the Standard & Poors
500 Index (S&P 500) and the Dow Jones
Industrial Average (DJIA) are the most
widely followed benchmarks, or
indicators, of the US market for large-
company stocks and the funds that
invest in those stocks.
There are other indexes that serve
as benchmarks for both broader and
narrower segments of the US equities
markets, of international markets, and of
other types of investments such as bonds,
mutual funds, and commodities.
Individual investors and financial
professionals often gauge their market
expectations and judge the performance
of individual investments or market
sectors against the appropriate bench-
marks. In a somewhat different way, the
changing yield on the 10-year US Treasury
bond is considered a benchmark of
investor attitudes.
For example, a lower yield is an
indication that investors are putting
money into bonds, driving up the price,
possibly because they expect stock
prices to drop. Conversely, a higher yield
indicates investors are putting their
money elsewhere.
Originally the term benchmark was
a surveyors mark indicating a specific
height above sea level.
Beneficial owner
When your stocks are registered in street
name, the brokerage firm has title to the
stocks but you are the beneficial owner,
or the person who actually benefits from
owning the stock.
Beneficiary
A beneficiary is the person or organization
who receives assets that are held in your
name in a retirement plan, or are paid
on your behalf by an insurance company,
after your death.
If you have established a trust, the
beneficiary you name receives the assets
of the trust.
A life insurance policy pays your
beneficiary the face value of your policy
minus any loans you havent repaid when
you die. An annuity contract pays the
beneficiary the accumulated assets as
dictated by the terms of the contract.
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A retirement plan, such as an IRA or
401(k), pays your beneficiary the value
of the accumulated assets or requires
the beneficiary to withdraw assets either
as a lump sum or over a period of time,
depending on the plan. Some retirement
plans require that you name your
spouse as beneficiary or obtain written
permission to name someone else.
You may name any person or institu-
tionor several people and
institutionsas beneficiary or contingent
beneficiary of a trust, a retirement plan,
annuity contract, or life insurance policy.
A contingent beneficiary is one who
inherits the assets if the primary
beneficiary has died or chooses not
to accept them.
Beta
Beta is a measure of an investments
relative volatility. The higher the beta,
the more sharply the value of the
investment can be expected to fluctuate
in relation to a market index.
For example, Standard & Poors 500
Index (S&P 500) has a beta coefficient
(or base) of 1. That means if the S&P 500
moves 2% in either direction, a stock with
a beta of 1 would also move 2%.
Under the same market conditions,
however, a stock with a beta of 1.5 would
move 3% (2% increase x 1.5 beta = 0.03,
or 3%). But a stock with a beta lower than
1 would be expected to be more stable
in price and move less. Betas as low as
0.5 and as high as 4 are fairly common,
depending on the sector and size of
the company.
However, in recent years, there
has been a lively debate about the validity
of assigning and using a beta value as an
accurate predictor of stock performance.
Bid
The bid is the price a
market maker or broker is
willing to pay for a security,
such as a stock or bond, at
a particular time. In the
real estate market, a bid is
the amount a buyer offers
to pay for a property.
Bid and ask
Bid and ask is better known as a
quotation or quote.
Bid is the price a market maker or
broker offers to pay for a security, and
ask is the price at which a market maker
or dealer offers to sell. The difference
between the two prices is called
the spread.
Big Board
The Big Board is the nickname of the New
York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the oldest
stock exchange in the United States and
the one with the largest trading floor.
Common and preferred stock, bonds,
exchange traded funds, warrants, rights.
and other investment products are all
traded on the Big Board, which dates
back to 1792.
Blind pool
If the general partner of a limited partner-
ship does not say which investments the
partnership will make, the investment is
known as a blind pool.
In a blind pool equipment leasing
partnership, for example, you dont know
what type of equipment the partnership
is planning to acquire for leasing, and in
a blind pool real estate investment trust
(REIT), you dont know which properties
the partnership will purchase.
When you invest in a blind pool
limited partnership, your evaluation of
the partnerships prospects is based on
the investment track record of the
general partner. In contrast, in a specified
pool limited partnership, you can assess
the partnerships prospects on a more
concrete analysis of the costs and
projected revenues.
However, there is no evidence that
the average performance of blind
pools differs significantly from the
performance of comparable specified
pool partnerships.
Blind trust
A blind trust is created when a third
party, such as an investment adviser or
other trustee, assumes complete control
of the assets held in a trust.
Blind trust
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Elected officials often set up blind
trusts to reassure the public that political
decisions are not being made for personal
financial benefit.
Block trade
When at least 10,000 shares of stock or
bonds valued at $200,000 or more are
bought or sold in a single transaction,
it is called a block trade.
Institutional investors, including
mutual funds and pension funds, typically
trade in this volume, and most individual
investors do not.
Blue chip stock
Blue chip stock is the common stock
of a large, well-regarded US company.
The companies in that informal category
are collectively known as blue chip
companies. Blue chips have a long-
established record of earning profits
and paying dividends regardless of the
economic climate.
They take their name from the most
valuable poker chips. In the United
Kingdom, in contrast, comparable firms
are called alpha companies.
Blue sky laws
Blue sky laws require companies that sell
stock, mutual funds, and other financial
products to register new issues with the
appropriate public agency.
The companies must also provide
financial details of each offering in writ-
ing so that investors have the information
they need to make informed buy and
sell decisions.
These laws are state rather than
federal laws, and owe their originat
least in legendto a frustrated judge
who equated the value of a worthless
stock offering to a patch of blue sky.
Boiler room
A boiler room is a location used by con
artists to contact potential victims
out-of-the-bluean approach known
as cold callingin an attempt to sell
high-risk investments that may or may
not be legitimate.
Boiler room scammers typically
use high-pressure tactics to close an
immediate sale and are unwilling to
provide written information about
either the investment they are pushing
or themselves.
Bond
Bonds are debt securities issued by
corporations and governments.
Bonds are, in fact, loans that you and
other investors make to the issuers in
return for the promise of being paid
interest, usually but not always at a fixed
rate, over the loan term. The issuer also
promises to repay the loan principal at
maturity, on time and in full.
Because most bonds pay interest on
a regular basis, they are also described
as fixed-income investments. While the
term bond is used generically to describe
all debt securities, bonds are specifically
long-term investments, with maturities
longer than ten years.
Bond fund
A bond mutual fund sells shares in the
fund to investors and uses the money it
raises to invest in a portfolio of bonds to
meet its investment objectivetypically
to provide regular income.
The appeal of bond funds is that you
can usually invest a much smaller amount
of money than you would need to buy a
portfolio of bonds, making it easier to
diversify your fixed-income investments.
Unlike individual bonds, however,
bond funds have no maturity date and
no guaranteed interest rate because
their portfolios arent fixed. Also unlike
individual bonds, they dont promise to
return your principal.
You can choose among a variety of
bond funds with different investment
strategies and levels of risk. Some funds
invest in long-term, and others in short-
term, bonds. Some buy government bonds,
while others buy corporate bonds or
municipal bonds. Finally, some buy
investment-grade bonds, while others
focus on high-yield bonds.
Bond rating
Independent agencies, such as
Standard & Poors (S&P) and Moodys
Investors Service, assess the likelihood
Block trade
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that bond issuers are likely to default on
their loans or interest payments.
Ratings systems differ from one
agency to another but usually have at
least 10 categories, ranging from a high of
AAA (or Aaa) to a low of D. Bonds ranked
BBB (or Baa) or higher are considered
investment-grade bonds.
Bond swap
In a bond swap, you buy one bond and
sell another at the same time.
For example, you might sell one bond
at a loss at years end to get a tax write-off
while buying another to keep the same
portion of your portfolio allocated
to bonds.
You may also sell a bond with a lower
rating to buy one with a higher rating,
or sell a bond thats close to maturity so
you can buy a bond that wont mature for
several years.
Book value
Book value is the net asset value (NAV)
of a companys stocks and bonds.
Finding the NAV involves subtracting
the companys short- and long-term
liabilities from its assets to find net
assets. Then youd divide the net assets
by the number of shares of common stock,
preferred stock, or bonds to get the NAV
per share or per bond.
Book value is sometimes cited as a
way of determining whether a companys
assets cover its outstanding obligations
and equity issues.
Further, some investors and analysts
look at the price of a stock in relation
to its book value, which is provided in
the companys annual report, to help
identify undervalued stocks. Other
investors discount the relevance of
this information.
Book-entry security
Book-entry securities are stocks, bonds,
and similar investments whose ownership
is recorded electronically rather than
in certificate form.
When you sell the security, the records
are updated, deleting you as an owner
and adding the purchaser. This means
you dont have to keep track of paper
documents, and they cant be lost
or stolen.
The Depository Trust & Clearing
Corporation (DTCC) acts as a clearing-
house for book-entry securities.
Bottom fishing
Investors using a bottom-fishing
strategy look for stocks that they
consider undervalued because the
prices are low.
The logic of bottom fishing is that
stock prices sometimes fall further
than a companys actual financial
situation warrants, especially in the
aftermath of bad news. Bottom-fishing
investors hope the stock will rebound
dramatically and provide a healthy profit.
Bottom-up investing
When you use a bottom-up investing
strategy, you focus on the potential
of individual stocks, bonds, and
other investments.
Using this approach, for example,
means you pay less attention to the
economy as a whole, or to the prospects
of the industry a company is in, than you
do to the company itself.
If your investing method is bottom
up, you read research reports, examine
the companys financial stability, and
evaluate what you know about its
products and services in great detail.
Bottom-up investing
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Bourse
Bourse is the French term for a stock
exchange, meaning, literally, purse. The
national stock market of France, a totally
electronic market, is known as the
Paris Bourse.
The term is used throughout Europe
and worldwide as a synonym for stock
exchange, though it generally isnt used
in the United States.
Brady bond
These bonds of Latin American countries,
named for former US Secretary of the
Treasury Nicholas Brady, are issued in
US dollars and backed by US Treasury
zero coupon bonds.
The bonds were originally issued in
exchange for commercial bank loans that
were in default. Their changing prices
in the secondary market reflect the level
of confidence investors have in the
economies of the issuing nations.
Breakout
Stock prices fluctuate constantly, but
each stock typically moves within a fairly
narrow range. That means the stocks
average price changes gradually, if at
all. But sometimes a stocks price
breaks out of its limits, and jumps or
tumbles suddenly.
Usually the breakout is fueled by
a particular event. The company may
realize a commercial success, such as a
drug company discovering a new cure for
a major disease. Or a breakout may
reflect a financial development, such as
a new alliance with a successful partner.
Breakpoint
A breakpoint is the level at which
your account balance in a mutual fund
company or the size of a new investment
in the companys funds qualifies you to
pay a reduced sales charge.
Fund companies that charge a
percentage of the amount you invest as a
front-end load, or sales charge, may offer
this cost saving. They are not required to
do so, but if they do use breakpoints, they
must ensure that all clients who qualify
get the discount.
In most cases, the first breakpoint is
$25,000, with further reductions for each
additional $25,000 or $50,000 purchase.
For example, if the standard load were
5.5%, it might drop to 5.25% at $25,000, to
5% at $50,000, and perhaps to as low as
2.5% with an investment of $250,000.
In calculating breakpoints, some fund
companies will combine the value of all
of your investments in the mutual funds
they offer. Other companies count the
investments of all the members of your
household or give you credit for purchases
you intend to make in the future.
Broker
A broker acts as an agent or intermediary
for a buyer and a seller. The buyer, seller,
and broker may all be individuals, or
one or more may be a business or
other institution.
For example, a stockbroker works for a
brokerage firm, and handles client orders
to buy or sell stocks, bonds, commodities,
and options in return for a commission or
asset-based fee.
Stockbrokers must pass a uniform
examination administered by the NASD
and must register with the Securities and
Exchange Commission (SEC).
A floor broker handles buy and sell
orders on the floor of a securities or
commodities exchange. A real estate
broker represents the seller in a real
estate transaction and receives a
commission on the sale.
If as a real estate buyer you hire
someone to represent your interests,
that person is known as a buyers agent.
A mortgage or insurance broker acts as
an intermediary in finding a mortgage or
insurance policy for his or her client and
also receives a commission.
Broker-dealer
A broker-dealer (B/D) is a license
granted by the Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC) that entitles the
licensee to buy and sell securities for its
clients accounts. The firm may also act
as principal, or dealer, trading securities
for its own inventory.
Some broker-dealers act in both
capacities, depending on the circum-
stances of the trade or the type of security
being traded. For example, your order to
purchase a particular security might be
filled from the firms inventory.
Thats perfectly legal, though you must
be notified that it has occurred. B/Ds
range in size from independent one-
person offices to large brokerage firms.
Bourse
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Brokerage account
To buy and sell securities through a
broker-dealer or other financial services
firm, you establish an account, generally
known as a brokerage account, with
that firm.
In a full-service brokerage firm, a
registered representative or account
executive handles your buy and sell
instructions and often provides
investment advice.
If your account is with a discount firm,
you are more likely to give your orders to
the person who answers the telephone
when you call.
And if your account is with an online
firm, you give orders and get confirma-
tions electronically.
In all three cases, the firm provides
updated information on your investment
activity and portfolio value, and
handles the required paperwork. And
in some cases, your brokerage account
may be part of a larger package of
financial services known as an asset
management account.
Brokerage firm
Brokerage firms, also known as broker-
dealers, are licensed by the Securities
and Exchange Commission (SEC) to buy
and sell securities for clients and for
their own accounts.
When a brokerage firm sells securities
it owns, it is said to be acting as a
principal in that transaction.
Firms frequently maintain research
departments for their own and their
clients benefit. They may also provide a
range of financial products and services,
including financial planning, asset
management, and educational programs.
Brokerage firms come in all sizes, from
one- or two-person offices to huge firms
with offices around the world. They are
sometimes differentiated as full-service or
discount firms, based on pricing structure
and client relationships.
Some brokerage firms exist entirely
online, and nearly all firms offer you the
option of placing orders electronically
rather than over the telephone. In
most cases, trading electronically is
substantially less expensive than giving
buy and sell orders by phone.
Brokerage window
A 401(k) account that permits its plan
participants to buy and sell investments
through a designated brokerage account
is said to offer a brokerage window.
Any securities trades you authorize
for your account are made through this
brokerage account. Transaction fees are
subtracted as those orders are executed.
Bucket shop
A bucket shop is an illegal brokerage
firm whose salespeople pose as legitimate
brokers and attempt to sell you securities.
Typically, a bucket shop broker
doesnt actually purchase the securities
you agree to buy and that you pay for.
Rather, the con artists pocket your money
and move on, disappearing before you
realize you have been scammed.
Budget
A budget is a written record of income
and expenses during a specific time
frame, typically a year.
You use a budget as a spending plan
to allocate your income to cover your
expenses and to track how closely your
actual expenditures line up with what
you had planned to spend.
An essential part of personal budgeting
is creating an emergency fund, which you
can use to cover unexpected expenses.
You also want to budget a percentage of
your income for saving and investing, just
as you budget for food, housing,
and clothing.
Businesses and governments also cre-
ate budgets to govern their expenditures
for a fiscal yearthough like individuals
they make regular adjustments to reflect
financial reality. And, like individuals,
Budget
26
businesses and governments can find
themselves in trouble if their spending
outpaces their income.
Bull market
A prolonged period when stock prices as
a whole are moving upward is called a
bull market, although the rate at which
those gains occur can vary widely from
bull market to bull market.
The duration of a bull market, the
severity of the falling market that follows,
and the time that elapses until the next
upturn are also different each time.
Well-known bull markets began in 1923,
1949, 1982, and 1990.
Bull spread
A bull spread is an options strategy that
you use when you anticipate an increase
in the price of the underlying instrument,
such as a stock or an index.
As in any spread, you purchase one
option and write another on the same
underlying item. Both options are
identical except for one element, such
as the strike price or the expiration date.
For example, with a vertical bull call
spread, you buy a call with a lower strike
price and sell a call with a higher strike
price. With a vertical bull put, you buy
a put at a lower price and sell a put at a
higher price.
In either case, if youre right about the
behavior of the underlying instrument,
you could have a net profit. For example,
you would make money if a stock whose
price you expect to increase does gain
value. If youre wrong, you could have a
net loss cushioned by the income from
the sale of one of the legs of the spread.
Buydown
When you make an up-front cash payment
to reduce your monthly payments on a
mortgage loan, its called a buydown.
In a temporary buydown, your
payments during the buydown period
are calculated at a lower interest rate
than the actual rate on your loan, which
makes the payments smaller.
For example, if you prepay $6,000,
your rate might be reduced by a total of
six percentage points, or one percent for
each thousand dollars, spread over
three years.
Instead of an 8% rate in the first year,
it would be 5%. In the second year, it
would be 6%, and in the third year 7%.
On a $100,000 loan with a 30-year term,
a reduction from 8% to 5% would reduce
your monthly payments in the first year
from about $734 to about $535.
The extra cash you prepaid would be
used to make up the difference between
the amounts due calculated at the lower
rates and the actual cost of borrowingin
this case about $200 a month in the first
year. Then, in the fourth year, you would
begin to pay at the actual loan rate and
your payments would increase.
In a permanent buydown, which is less
common, your rate might be reduced by
about 0.25% for each thousand dollars,
or point, you prepaid, but the reduction
would last for the life of the loan.
You might choose to do a buydown if
you had extra cash at the time you were
ready to buy, but a smaller income than
would normally allow you to qualify to
buy the home you want.
In most cases, lenders require that
your housing costs be no more than 28% of
your income. You might be able to reach
that level if your initial payments were
less at the time of purchase. In other
cases, a home builder who is having
trouble selling new properties might
offer buydowns through a local lender
to encourage reluctant buyers to take
advantage of lower payments in the first
years they own their homes.
Bull market
27
Buy side
Institutional money managers, such as
mutual funds, pension funds, and endow-
ments, are the buy side of Wall Street.
Buy-side institutions use proprietary
research to make investments for the
portfolios they manage and dont interact
with or make recommendations to
In contrast, sell-side institutions
such as brokerage firms act as agents for
individual investors when they buy and
sell securities, and make their research
available to their clients.
Buy-and-hold
Buy-and-hold investors take a long-term
view of investing, generally keeping a
bond from date of issue to date of
maturity and holding onto shares of a
stock through bull and bear markets.
Among the advantages of following
a buy-and-hold strategy are increased
opportunity for your assets to compound
and reduced trading costs. Among
the risks are continuing to hold
investments that are no longer living
up to reasonable expectations.
Buyback
When a company purchases shares of
its own publicly traded stock or its own
bonds in the open market, its called
a buyback.
The most common reason a company
buys back its stock is to make the stock
more attractive to investors by increasing
its earnings per share. While the actual
earnings stay the same, the earnings per
share increase because the number of
shares has been reduced.
Companies may also buy back shares to
pay for acquisitions that are financed with
stock swaps or to make stocks available
for employee stock option plans.
They may also want to decrease the
risk of a hostile takeover by reducing the
number of shares for sale, or to discour-
age short-term trading by driving up the
share price.
Companies may buy back bonds when
they are selling at discount, which is
typically the result of rising interest
rates. By paying less than par in the open
market, the company is able to reduce the
cost of redeeming the bonds when they
come due.
Buyers agent
A buyers agent represents a buyer in a
real estate transaction, negotiating with
the sellers agent for a lower price or a
contract with more favorable terms.
A real estate agent or broker, on
the other hand, represents the seller.
Although that agent customarily shows
the property to prospective buyers, his or
her primary obligation is to the seller.
Bylaws
Bylaws are the self-imposed rules
governing an incorporated company. The
bylaws cover details such as the structure
of the company, what the companys goals
are, and how often shareholders meet.
They also explain the voting process
and how officers, committees, and board
members are chosen. A company can put
almost any provisions in its bylaws, as
long as the rules dont break federal or
local law.
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Cafeteria plan
Cafeteria plan
Some employers offer cafeteria plans,
more formally known as flexible spending
plans, which give you the option of
participating in a range of tax-saving
benefit programs.
If you enroll in the plan, you choose
the percentage of your pretax income to
be withheld from your paycheck, up to
the limit the plan allows. You allocate
your money to the parts of the plan you
want to participate in.
For example, you can set aside money
to pay for medical expenses that arent
covered by insurance, for child care, or
for additional life insurance coverage.
As you incur these kinds of expenses, you
are reimbursed from the amount you have
put into the plan.
Since you owe no income tax on
the money you contribute, you actually
have more cash available for these
expenses than if you were spending
after-tax dollars.
However, you must estimate the
amount youre going to contribute before
the tax year begins, and you forfeit any
money youve set aside but dont spend.
For example, if youve set aside $1,500
for medical expenses but spend only
$1,400, you lose the $100.
In some plans the deadline for spend-
ing the money in your flexible spending
account is December 31. Other plans
provide up to a three-month extension.
Call
In the bond markets, a call is an issuers
right to redeem bonds it has sold before
the date they mature. With preferred
stocks, the issuer may call the stock to re-
tire it, or remove it from the marketplace.
In either case, it may be a full call,
redeeming the entire issue, or a partial
call, redeeming only a portion of the issue.
C
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When a bank makes a secured loan,
it reserves the right to demand full
repayment of the loan
referred to as calling
the loanshould the
borrower default on
interest payments.
Finally, when the
term refers to options
contracts, holding a
call gives you the right
to buy the underlying
instrument at a specific
price by a specific date.
Selling a call obligates you to deliver the
underlying instrument if the call is exer-
cised and youre assigned to meet the call.
Call option
Buying a call option gives you, as owner,
the right to buy a fixed quantity of the
underlying product at a specified price,
called the strike price, within a specified
time period.
For example, you might purchase a
call option on 100 shares of a stock if
you expect the stock price to increase
but prefer not to tie up your investment
principal by investing in the stock. If the
price of the stock does go up, the call
option will increase in value.
You might choose to sell your option
at a profit or exercise the option and buy
the shares at the strike price. But if the
stock price at expiration is less than the
strike price, the option will be worthless.
The amount you lose, in that case, is the
premium you paid to buy the option plus
any brokerage fees.
In contrast, you can sell a call option,
which is known as writing a call. That
gives the buyer the right to buy the under-
lying investment from you at the strike
price before the option expires. If you
write a call, you are obliged to sell if the
option is exercised and you are assigned
to meet the call.
Callable bond
A callable bond can be redeemed by the
issuer before it matures if that provision
is included in the terms of the bond
agreement, or deed of trust.
Bonds are typically called when
interest rates fall, since issuers can save
money by paying off existing debt and
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offering new bonds at lower rates. If a
bond is called, the issuer may pay the
bondholder a premium, or an amount
above the par value of the bond.
Cap
A cap is a ceiling, or the highest level to
which something can go.
For example, an interest rate cap
limits the amount by which an interest
rate can be increased over a specific
period of time. A typical cap on an
adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) limits
interest rate increases to two percentage
points annually and six percentage points
over the term of the loan.
In a different example, the cap on
your annual contribution to an individual
retirement account (IRA) is $4,000 for
2006 and 2007 and $5,000 in 2008, pro-
vided you have earned at least that much.
If youre 50 or older, you can make an
additional catch-up contribution of
$1,000 each year.
Capital
Capital is money that is used to generate
income or make an investment. For
example, the money you use to buy shares
of a mutual fund is capital that youre
investing in the fund.
Companies raise capital from investors
by selling stocks and bonds and use the
money to expand, make acquisitions, or
otherwise build the business.
The term capital markets refers to the
physical and electronic environments
where this capital is raised, either
through public offerings or private
placements.
Capital appreciation
Any increase in a capital assets fair
market value is called capital apprecia-
tion. For example, if a stock increases in
value from $30 a share to $60 a share, it
shows capital appreciation.
Some stock mutual funds that invest
for aggressive growth are called capital
appreciation funds.
Capital gain
When you sell an asset at a higher price
than you paid for it, the difference is your
capital gain. For example, if you buy 100
shares of stock for $20 a share and sell
Capital gains tax (CGT)
them for $30 a share, you realize a capital
gain of $10 a share, or $1,000 in total.
If you own the stock for more than
a year before selling it, you have a long-
term capital gain. If you hold the stock
for less than a year, you have a short-term
capital gain.
Most long-term capital gains are taxed
at a lower rate than your other income
while short-term gains are taxed at your
regular rate. There are some exceptions,
such as gains on collectibles, which
are taxed at 28%. The long-term capital
gains tax rates are 15% for anyone whose
marginal federal tax rate is 25% or higher,
and 5% for anyone whose marginal rate is
10% or 15%.
You are exempt from paying capital
gains tax on profits of up to $250,000 on
the sale of your primary home if youre
single and up to $500,000 if youre married
and file a joint return, provided you meet
the requirements for this exemption.
Capital gains distribution
When mutual fund companies sell
investments that have increased in value,
the profits, or capital gains, are passed
on to their shareholders as capital gains
distributions.
These distributions are made on a
regular schedule, often at the end of the
year and are taxable at your regular rate
unless the funds are held in a tax-deferred
or tax-free account.
Most funds offer the option of auto-
matically reinvesting all or part of your
capital gains distributions to buy
more shares.
Capital gains tax (CGT)
A capital gains tax is due on profits you
realize on the sale of a capital asset, such
as stock, bonds, or real estate.
Long-term gains, on assets you own
more than a year, are taxed at a lower
rate than ordinary income while short-
term gains are taxed at your regular rate.
The long-term capital gains tax rates
on most investments is 15% for anyone
whose marginal federal tax rate is 25%
or higher, and 5% for anyone whose
marginal rate is 10% or 15%. There are
some exceptions. For example, long-term
gains on collectibles are taxed at 28%.
CAPITAL GAIN
What you sold for
What you paid
CAPITAL GAIN
$3,000
$2,000
$1,000
30
You are exempt from capital gains tax
on profits of up to $250,000 on the sale
of your primary home if youre single and
up to $500,000 if youre married and file
a joint return, provided you meet the
requirements for this exemption.
Capital loss
When you sell an asset for less than you
paid for it, the difference between the
two prices is your capital loss.
For example, if you buy 100 shares of
stock at $30 a share and sell when the
price has dropped to $20 a share, you
will realize a capital loss of $10 a share,
or $1,000.
Although nobody wants to lose money
on an investment, there is a silver lining.
You can use capital losses to offset
capital gains in computing your income
tax. However, you must use short-term
losses to offset short-term gains and long-
term losses to offset long-term gains.
If you have a net capital loss in any
yearthat is, your losses exceed your
gainsyou can usually deduct up to
$3,000 of this amount from regular
income on your tax return. You may also
be able to carry forward net capital losses
and deduct on future tax returns.
Capital markets
Capital markets are the physical and
electronic markets where equity and
debt securities, commodities, and other
investments are sold to investors.
When you place an order through a
brokerage firm, trade online, or use a
dividend reinvestment plan (DRIP),
youre participating in a capital market.
Corporations use capital markets to
raise money through public offerings of
stocks and bonds or private placements
of securities to institutional investors,
such as mutual fund companies.
Capital preservation
Capital preservation is a strategy for
protecting the money you have available
to invest by choosing insured accounts or
fixed-income investments that promise
return of principal.
The downside of capital preservation
over the long term is that by avoiding the
potential risks of equity investing, you
exposure yourself to inflation risk.
Thats the case because your
investments are unlikely to increase
enough in value to offset the gradual loss
of purchasing power thats a result of
even moderate inflation.
Car insurance
Car insurance covers theft of and dam-
age to your car or damage that your car
causes, plus liability protection in case
you are sued as a result of an accident.
Your state may require proof of insurance
before you can register your car.
As a car owner, you pay premiums
set by the insurance company based
on the value of your car and the risk the
company believes you pose. The insurance
company agrees to cover your losses,
subject to a deductible and the limits
specified in the contract.
Some states have insurance pools that
allow car owners who have been turned
down elsewhere to obtain coverage.
Cash balance plan
A cash balance retirement plan is a
defined benefit plan that has many
of the characteristics of a defined
contribution plan.
The benefit that youll be entitled
to builds up as credits to a hypothetical
account. The hypothetical account is
credited with hypothetical earnings,
based on a percentage of your current pay.
These plans are portable, which means
you can roll them over from one employer
to another when you change jobs. That
makes them popular with younger and
mobile workers.
But they are often unpopular with
older workers whose employers switch
from a defined benefit to cash balance
plan because their pensions may be
less than with traditional defined
benefit plans.
Cash basis accounting
Cash basis accounting is one of two
ways of recording revenues and expenses.
Using this method, a company records
income on its books when it receives a
payment and expenses when it makes
a payment.
CAPITAL LOSS
What you paid
What you sold for
CAPITAL LOSS
$3,000
$2,000
$1,000
Capital loss
31
In accrual accounting, by comparison,
a company counts revenue as its earned
and expenses as theyre incurred.
For example, when a magazine
company sells annual subscriptions, it
receives the cash for the subscriptions at
the beginning of the year, but it doesnt
earn the whole amount of the subscription
cost until it has sent the subscriber a
full years issues of the magazine.
In cash basis accounting, paid
subscriptions are recorded as revenue
when the company receives the payments.
In accrual accounting, the company
records revenue only as the subscription
is fulfilled.
A $24 subscription for 12 monthly
issues of a magazine would result in
immediate revenue of $24 in cash basis
accounting, versus an accrual of $2
of revenue each month under
accrual accounting.
Cash equivalent
Short-term, low-risk investments,
such as US Treasury bills or short-term
certificates of deposit (CDs), are
considered cash equivalents.
The Financial Accounting Standards
Board (FASB) defines cash equivalents as
highly liquid securities with maturities of
less than three months. Liquid securities
typically are those that can be sold easily
with little or no loss of value.
Cash flow
Cash flow is a mea-
sure of changes in
a companys cash
account during an
accounting period,
specifically its
cash income minus
the cash payments
it makes.
For example, if a
car dealership sells
$100,000 worth of
cars in a month and
spends $35,000 on
expenses, it has a
positive cash flow
of $65,000. But if it
takes in only $35,000
and has $100,000
in expenses, it has a
negative cash flow
of $65,000.
Investors often consider cash flow
when they evaluate a company, since
without adequate money to pay its bills, it
will have a hard time staying in business.
You can calculate whether your
personal cash flow is positive or negative
the same way you would a companys.
Youd subtract the money you receive
(from wages, investments, and other
income) from the money you spend on
expenses (such as housing, transporta-
tion, and other costs).
If theres money left over, your cash
flow is positive. If you spend more than
you have coming in, its negative.
Cash market
In a cash market, buyers pay the
market price for securities, currency,
or commodities on the spot, just as
you would pay cash for groceries or other
consumer products.
Cash markets are also called spot
markets. A cash market is the opposite
of a futures market, where commodities
or financial products are scheduled for
delivery and payment at a set price at a
specified time in the future.
In a cash market, ownership is
transferred promptly, and payment is
made upon delivery.
Cash settlement
To settle a futures contract where the
underlying asset is a financial instrument,
such as a stock index or interest rate
rather than a physical commodity, you
deliver cash.
In contrast, when you settle a futures
contract on other commodities, you
deliver the physical product. But because
index values or interest rates are intan-
gible, physical delivery is not possible.
The way you calculate the amount
due is defined in the contract. When the
underlying instrument is an index, this
usually involves multiplying the value of
the index times a fixed amount. For exam-
ple, the cash settlement of a contract on
the Standard & Poors MidCap 400 Index
is determined by multiplying the value
of the index times $500.
However, in the vast majority of
cases, futures contracts are offset before
the settlement date, and no delivery
is required.
Cash surrender value
The cash surrender value of a permanent
life insurance policy is the amount you
receive if you cancel or surrender your
policy before you die.
Its a portion of the money that
accumulates tax-deferred in your cash
value account during the period you pay
premiums on the policy, minus fees
and expenses.
Cash surrender value
32
Generally the only portion of the cash
surrender value thats subject to income
tax is the amount that exceeds what you
paid in premiums during the time the
policy was in force, though you should
check with your tax adviser.
Cash value
Cash value is the amount that an account
is worth at any given time.
For example, the cash value of your
401(k) or IRA is what the account is
worth at the end of a period, such as the
end of a business day, or at the end of the
plan year, often December 31.
The cash value of an insurance policy
is the amount the insurer will pay you,
based on your policys cash reserve, if
you cancel your policy. The cash value is
the difference between the amount you
paid in premiums and the actual cost of
insurance plus other expenses.
Cash value account
If you have a permanent life insurance
policy, part of each premium you pay goes
into a tax-deferred account called the
cash value account.
You can borrow against the money that
accumulates in this account, though any
outstanding balance at the time of your
death reduces the death benefit your
beneficiary receives.
If you cancel or surrender your policy,
or if you stop paying the premiums, you
are entitled to receive a portion of your
cash value account. That amount is your
cash surrender value.
Catastrophic illness insurance
Many health insurance policies cap, or
limit, the amount they will pay to cover
medical expenses. But you can buy
catastrophic illness insurance to cover
medical expenses above the maximum
your regular health insurance will pay.
Catch-up contribution
You are entitled to make an annual
catch-up contribution to your employer
sponsored retirement savings plan and
individual retirement account (IRA) if
youre 50 or older.
The catch-up amounts, which are
larger for employer plans than for IRAs,
increase from time to time based on the
rate of inflation.
You are eligible to make catch-up
contributions whether or not you have
contributed the maximum amount you
were eligible for in the past. And if you
participate in an employer plan and also
put money in an IRA, you are entitled to
use both catch-up options.
Earnings on catch-up contributions
accumulate tax deferred, just as other
earnings in your account do. And when
your primary contributions are tax de-
ferred, so are your catch-up contributions.
Health savings accounts (HSAs), which
youre eligible to open if you have a high
deductible health plan (HDHP), allow
catch-up contributions if youre at least
55. Your eligibility to make any contribu-
tions to an HSA ends when you turn 65.
Ceiling
If there is an upper limit, or cap, on
the interest rate you can be charged on
an adjustable-rate loan, its known as
a ceiling.
Even if interest rates in general rise
higher than the interest-rate ceiling on
your loan, the rate youre paying cant be
increased above the ceiling.
However, according to the terms of
some loans, lenders can add some of the
interest they werent allowed to charge
you because of the ceiling to the total
amount you owe. This is known as
negative amortization.
That means, despite a ceiling, you dont
escape the consequences of rising rates,
though repayment is postponed, often
until the end of the loans original term.
Ceiling can also refer to a cap on the
amount of interest a bond issuer is willing
to pay to float a bond. Or, its the highest
price a futures contract can reach on any
single trading day before the market locks
up, or stops trading, that contract.
Central bank
Most countries have a central bank,
which issues the countrys currency and
holds the reserve deposits of other banks
in that country. It also either initiates
or carries out the countrys monetary
policy, including keeping tabs on the
money supply.
Cash value
P
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$
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In the United States, the 12 regional
banks that make up the Federal Reserve
System act as the central bank. This
multibank structure was deliberately
developed to ensure that no single region
of the country could control economic
decision-making.
Central Registration Depository
(CRD)
The Central Registration Depository
(CRD) is an automated database main-
tained by NASD.
The database contains records and
information about registered securities
employees, including employment history,
licensing status, the firms that employ
them, and any disciplinary actions taken
against them.
You can access some of the information
about a brokers regulatory background
and registration in the database free of
charge through NASDs BrokerCheck
service at www.nasd.com. You can
generally obtain even more extensive
information from the CRD through your
states securities regulator.
Certificate of Accrual on Treasury
Securities (CATS)
CATS are US Treasury zero-coupon bonds
that are sold at deep discount to par, or
face value. Like other zeros, the interest
isnt actually paid during the bonds term
but accumulates so that you receive face
value at maturity.
You can use CATS in your long-term
portfolio to provide money for college
tuition or retirement. For example, you
may purchase them in a tax-deferred
IRA or a tax-free Roth IRA or Coverdell
education savings account (ESA).
As with other zeros, CATS prices can
be volatile, so you risk losing some of your
principal if you sell before maturity. And
like other federal government issues, the
interest is free of state and local income
tax but subject to federal income tax.
Certificate of deposit (CD)
CDs are time deposits. When you
purchase a CD from a bank, up to
$100,000 is insured by the Federal
Deposit
Insurance
Corporation
(FDIC).
You gen-
erally earn
compound
interest at
a fixed rate,
which is
determined by the current interest rate
and the CDs term, which can range from
a week to five years.
However, rates can vary significantly
from bank to bank. You usually face a
penalty if you withdraw funds before your
CD matures, often equal to the interest
that has accrued up to the time you make
the withdrawal.
Check hold
When you deposit a check, your bank
or other financial institution may delay
crediting the money to your account
during whats called the check
hold period.
The number of days that your bank can
legally hold your funds depends on the
type of check you deposit and, at some
banks, on the type of deposit slip you use.
Under federal law, certain deposits
must be available by the next business
day, including checks payable by the
US Treasury or a Federal Reserve Bank,
US Postal Service money orders, cashiers
checks, and electronic payments.
Other deposits can be subject to a
check hold of one to five business days,
depending on whether the check is drawn
on a local or non-local bank, and the size
of the deposit. The law does require banks
to make the first $100 of your deposit
available on the next business day.
Your bank must inform you of its check
hold policy, although you should keep in
mind that banks can impose longer holds
if your account has been open less than
30 days.
Check truncation
To process payments faster and more
efficiently, many banks no longer
transport paper checks, but replace them
with digital imagescalled substitute
checksthat can be transferred electron-
ically, in a system called check truncation.
When you receive your account state-
ments, the bank may send you substitute
checks in place of cancelled checks, each
formatted on a separate piece of paper,
with the words This is a legal copy of
your check appearing next to the image.
Most banks destroy original checks
once theyve archived the substitutes.
However, many banks send out either a
Check truncation
PAY TO
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34
line item statement or an image state-
ment with photocopies of multiple
cancelled checks on each page.
If you need to verify a payment, you
can request a substitute check from your
bank. There may be a fee for this service.
Checking account
Checking accounts are transaction
accounts that allow you to authorize the
transfer money to another person or
organization either by writing a check
that includes the words Pay to the order
of or by making an electronic transfer.
Banks and credit unions provide
transaction accounts, as do brokerage
firms and other financial services
companies that offer banking services.
Money in transaction accounts is
insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation (FDIC) up to $100,000 per
depositor in each banking institution.
However, the FDIC doesnt insure money
market mutual funds that offer check-
writing privileges.
Churning
If a broker intention-
ally mishandles buying
and selling securities
in your investment
account, its known
as churning.
The broker might
buy and sell securities
at an excessive rate,
or at a rate thats
inconsistent with
your investment
goals or the amount
of money you
have invested.
One indication of
potential churning is
that youre paying more in commissions
than you are earning on your investments.
Churning is illegal but is often hard
to prove.
Circuit breaker
After the stock market crash of 1987,
stock and commodities exchanges
established a system of trigger-point
rules known as circuit breakers. They
temporarily restrict trading in stocks,
stock options, and stock index futures
when prices fall too far, too fast.
Currently, trading on the New York
Stock Exchange (NYSE) is halted when
the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA)
drops 10% any time before 2:30 p.m.,
sooner if the drop is 20%.
But trading could resume, depending
on the time of day the loss occurs.
However, if the DJIA drops 30% at any
point in the day, trading ends for the day.
The actual number of points the DJIA
would need to drop to hit the trigger is
set four times a year, at the end of each
quarter, based on the average value of
the DJIA in the previous month.
The only time the circuit breakers have
been triggered was on October 27, 1997,
when the DJIA fell 554 points, or 7.2%,
and the shut-down level was lower. In fact,
the DJIA has dropped as much as 10% in a
single day only three times in its history.
Claim
You file an insurance claim when you
send your insurance company paperwork
asking the company to pay for any of the
expenses your policy covers.
Clearance
Clearance is the first half of the process
that completes your order to buy or sell
a security. During clearance, the details
on both sides of the transaction are
compared electronically to ensure that
the order to buy and the order to
sell correspond.
For example, in a stock transaction,
the Committee on Uniform Securities
Checking account
PAY TO
BANK
ONLINE
BANK
ONLINE
BANK
ONLINE
35
Identification Procedures (CUSIP)
number, the number of shares, and the
price per share must match.
Next, transactions within each
broker-dealer are netted down, or offset,
by matching its clients buy orders against
sell orders from others of its clients or
among a group of affiliated firms. Their
records are then updated to reflect the
new ownership and account balances.
Any unmatched orders are forwarded
to the National Securities Clearing
Corporation (NSCC), which instructs
selling broker-dealers to provide the
relevant securities and the buying
broker-dealer to send the cash.
Clearing firm
Clearing firms handle the back-office
details of securities transactions between
broker-dealers, making the settlement
process streamlined and efficient.
In brief, when a brokers order to buy
or sell a security has been filled, the
clearing firm electronically compares
and verifies the details of that trade.
Then it nets down the trades to minimize
the number of securities that must be
received or delivered at settlement.
Cleared trades are settled within a
specific time after the trade date, based
on the type of security being traded.
Clearinghouse
Clearing corporations, or clearinghouses,
provide operational support for securities
and commodities exchanges. They also
help ensure the integrity of listed securi-
ties and derivatives transactions in the
United States and other open markets.
For example, when an order to buy
or sell a futures or options contract is
executed, the clearinghouse compares
the details of the trade. Then it delivers
the product to the buyer and ensures that
payment is made to settle the transaction.
Closed-end fund
Closed-end mutual funds are actively
managed funds that raise capital only
once, by issuing a fixed number of
shares. Like other mutual funds, however,
fund managers buy and sell individual
investments in keeping with their
investment objectives.
The shares are traded on an exchange
and their prices fluctuate throughout the
trading day, based on supply, demand, and
the changing values of their underlying
holdings. Most single country funds are
closed-end funds.
Closely held
A closely held corporation is one in which
a handful of investors, often the people
who founded the company, members of
the founders families, or sometimes
the current management team, own a
majority of the outstanding stock.
Closing costs
When you purchase real estate, there are
expensesknown as closing costsyou
pay to finalize the transaction, over and
above the cost of the property.
In some cases, the seller may offer to
pay certain closing costs to attract buyers
or close the sale more quickly. Closing
costs vary depending on the area where
the property is located and are either
prepaid or non-recurring.
Prepaid costs are expenses that recur
periodically, including home insurance
premiums and real estate taxes.
Non-recurring costs pay for securing a
mortgage and transferring the property,
and may include a filing fee to record the
transfer of ownership, mortgage tax,
attorneys fees, credit check fees, title
search and title insurance expenses,
home inspection fees, an appraisal fee,
and any points, or up-front interest
charges, you have agreed to pay
the lender.
The lender will give you a good faith
estimate (GFE) of your closing costs
before the closing date, so youll know
approximately how much money you need
to have available at closingusually 5%
to 10% of your mortgage.
Many closing costs are tax deductible,
so its a good idea to consult with your
tax adviser.
Closing price
The closing price of a stock, bond, option,
or futures contract is the last trading
price before the exchange or market on
which it is traded closes for the day.
With after-hours trading, however,
the opening price at the start of the next
trading day may be different from the
closing price the day before.
When a security is valued as part of
an estate or charitable gift, its value is
set at the closing price on the day of the
valuation of the estate.
Closing statement
A closing statement, also called a HUD1
or settlement sheet, is a legal form your
closing or settlement agent uses to
itemize all of the costs you and the seller
will have to pay at closing to complete a
real estate transaction.
Closing statement
36
Your total cost should be similar to the
amount in the good faith estimate (GFE)
provided by your lender.
Its important to review the closing
statement with your real estate agent
and settlement agent. Mistakes do
occasionally happen, so be sure to ask
questions if there are any charges you
dont understand.
Coinsurance
When your healthcare insurance has a
coinsurance provision, you and your
insurer divide the responsibility for
paying doctor and hospital bills by
splitting the costs on a percentage basis.
With an 80/20 coinsurance split, for
example, your insurer would pay 80%, or
$80 of a covered $100 medical bill, and
you would pay 20%, or $20.
Some policies set a cap on your
out-of-pocket expenses, so that the
insurance company covers 95% to 100%
of the cost once you have paid the
specified amount.
Coinsurance may also apply when
you buy insurance on your home or other
real estate. In that case, insurers may
require you to insure at least a minimum
percentage of your propertys value
usually about 80%and may reduce
what they will cover if you file a claim
but have failed to meet the coinsurance
requirement.
Coinsurance also describes a situation
in which two insurers split the risk of
providing coverage, often in cases when
the dollar amount of the potential claims
is larger than a single insurer is willing to
handle. This type of coinsurance is also
called reinsurance.
Collateral
Assets with monetary value, such as
stock, bonds, or real estate, which are
used to guarantee a loan, are considered
collateral.
If the borrower defaults and fails to
fulfill the terms of the loan agreement,
the collateral, or some portion of it, may
become the property of the lender.
For example, if you borrow money to
buy a car, the car is the collateral. If you
default, the lender can repossess the
car and sell it to recover the amount
you borrowed.
Loans guaranteed by collateral are
also known as secured loans.
Collateralized mortgage obligation
(CMO)
CMOs are fixed-income investments
backed by mortgages or pools
of mortgages.
A conventional mortgage-backed
security has a single interest rate and
maturity date. In contrast, the pool of
mortgages in a CMO is divided into four
tranches, each with a different interest
rate and term.
Owners of the first three tranches
receive regular interest payments and
principal is repaid to reflect the order in
which the tranches mature. The fourth
tranche is usually a deep-discount zero
coupon bond on which interest accrues
until maturity, when the full face value
is repaid.
CMOs usually involve high-quality
mortgages or those guaranteed by the
government. Their yield may be lower
than those of other mortgage-backed
investments.
However, the way in which they are
repaid makes them especially attractive
to institutional investors including
insurance companies and pension funds.
The risk, as with all mortgage-backed
securities, is that a change in interest
rates can affect the rate of repayment
and the market value of the CMO.
Collectible
When you invest in objects rather than in
capital assets such as stocks or bonds, you
are putting your money into collectibles.
Collectibles can run the gamut from fine
art, antique furniture, stamps, and coins
to baseball cards and Barbie dolls.
Their common drawback, as an
investment, is their lack of liquidity. If
you need to sell your collectibles, you may
not be able to find a buyer who is willing
Coinsurance
STOCKS BONDS
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37
to pay what you believe your investment
is worth. In fact, you may not be able to
find a buyer at all.
On the other hand, collectibles
can provide a sizable return on your
investment if you have the right thing for
sale at the right time.
CollegeSure CD
CollegeSure CDs are certificates of de-
posit designed to let you prepay future
college costs at todays rates, plus a
premium based on the childs age and
the amount you invest.
The CDs, which are issued by the
College Savings Bank of Princeton (NJ),
pay annual interest rates linked to
increases in an index of average college
costs and are available with terms from
one to twenty-two years.
While these CDs are insured by the
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
(FDIC), the interest they pay is taxable,
unless you own them within a Coverdell
education savings account (ESA),
participating state 529 plan, or Roth IRA.
With the Roth IRA option, the account
must be open for at least five years and
you must be at least 59 to qualify for
tax-free withdrawals.
CollegeSure CDs are sold in whole or
partial units. At maturity, each whole unit
is guaranteed to pay the average cost of
one year of tuition, fees, and room and
board at a four-year private college. If you
decide to purchase only a partial unit, it
will be worth only that portion of the
average yearly college cost at maturity.
If the intended beneficiary decides not
to go to college, you can get the entire
principal and interest calculated at the
guaranteed rate back when the CD
matures and use it for any purpose.
However, if you choose to cash in the
CD before its maturity date, youll owe a
penalty of 10% of the principal during the
first three years of its term. The penalty
drops to 5% for the remaining years of the
CDs term, except for the last year, which
carries a 1% penalty.
Commercial bank
Commercial banks offer a full range of
retail banking products and services,
such as checking and savings accounts,
loans, credit cards, and lines of credit to
individuals and businesses.
Most commercial banks also sell
certain investments and many offer full
brokerage and financial planning services.
Commercial paper
To help meet their immediate needs
for cash, banks and corporations some-
times issue unsecured, short-term debt
instruments known as commercial paper.
Commercial paper usually matures
within a year and is an important part
of whats known as the money market.
It can be a good place for investors
institutional investors in particularto
put their cash temporarily. Thats because
these investments are liquid and essen-
tially risk-free, since they are typically
issued by profitable, long-established,
and highly regarded corporations.
Commission
Securities brokers and other sales agents
typically charge a commission, or sales
charge, on each transaction.
With traditional, full-service brokers,
the charge is usually a percentage of
the total cost of the trade, though some
brokers may offer favorable rates to
frequent traders.
Online brokerage firms, on the other
hand, usually charge a flat fee for each
transaction, regardless of the value of the
trade. The flat fee may have certain limits,
however, such as the number of shares
being traded at one time.
The commissions on some transactions,
such as stock trades, are reported on
your confirmation slip. But commissions
on other transactions are not reported
separately.
In the case of cash value life insurance,
for example, the commission may be as
large as a years premium.
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Committee on Uniform Securities
Identifying Procedures (CUSIP)
The Committee on Uniform Securities
Identifying Procedures (CUSIP) assigns
codes and numbers to all securities traded
The CUSIP identification number is
used to track the securities when they
are bought and sold. Youll find the CUSIP
number on a confirmation statement from
your broker, for example, and on the face
of a stock certificate.
Commodity
Commodities are bulk goods and raw
materials, such as grains, metals, live-
stock, oil, cotton, coffee, sugar, and
cocoa, that are used to produce
consumer products.
The term also describes financial
products, such as currency or stock and
bond indexes.
Commodities are bought and sold on
the cash market, and they are traded on
the futures exchanges in the form of
futures contracts.
Commodity prices are driven by
supply and demand. When a commodity
is plentifultomatoes in August, for
exampleprices are comparatively low.
When a commodity is scarce because of
a bad crop or because it is out of season,
the price will generally be higher.
You can buy options on many
commodity futures contracts to partici-
pate in the market for less than it might
cost you to buy the underlying futures
contracts. You can also invest through
commodity funds.
Commodity Futures Trading
Commission (CFTC)
The CFTC is the federal agency that
regulates the US futures markets, as the
Securities and Exchange Commission
(SEC) regulates the securities markets.
The agencys five commissioners
are appointed by the US president for
staggered five-year terms.
The agency is responsible for maintain-
ing fair and orderly markets, enforcing
market regulations, and ensuring that
customers have the information they
need to make informed decisions.
Commodity exchanges also regulate
themselves, but any changes they want
to make must be approved by the CFTC
before they go into effect.
Common stock
When you own common stock, your shares
represent ownership in the corporation
and give you the right to vote for the
companys board of directors and benefit
from its financial success.
You may receive a portion of the
companys profits as dividend payments if
the board of directors declares a dividend.
You also have the right to sell your stock
and realize a capital gain if the share
value increases.
But if the company falters and the
price falls, your investment could lose
some of or all its value.
Community property
In nine US states, any assets, investments,
and income that are acquired during
a marriage are considered community
property. That is, they are owned jointly
by the married couple.
For example, if youre married, live in
one of these states, and buy stock, half
the value of that stock belongs to your
spouse even if you paid the entire cost of
Committee on Uniform Securities Identifying Procedures
39
buying it. In a divorce, the value of the
community property is divided equally.
However, property you owned before
you married or that you received as
a gift is generally not considered
community property.
The community property states are
Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana,
Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington,
and Wisconsin.
Competitive trader
Competitive traders, also known as
registered competitive traders or floor
traders, buy and sell stocks for their own
accounts on the floor of an exchange.
Traders must follow very specific rules
governing when they can buy and sell.
But since they trade in large volumes
and do not pay commissions on their
transactions, they can profit from small
differences between the prices at which
they buy and sell.
Composite trading
Composite trading figures report
end-of-day price changes, closing prices,
and the daily trading volume for stocks,
warrants, and options listed on a
stock exchange.
The New York Stock Exchange
(NYSE) total also includes transactions
on regional exchanges and listed
securities traded over-the-counter.
Since trading continues on some
of those exchanges after the close of
business in New York, the composite
figures give a comprehensive picture of
the days activities but do not include
after-hours transactions.
Compound interest
When the interest you earn on an
investment is added to form the new base
on which future interest accumulates, it
is compound interest.
For example, say you earn 5%
compound interest on $100 every year
for five years. Youll have $105 after one
year, $110.25 after two years, $115.76 after
three years, and $127.63 after five years.
Without compounding, you earn simple
interest, and your investment doesnt
grow as quickly. For example, if you
earned 5% simple interest on $100 for
five years, you would have $125. A larger
base or a higher rate provide even more
pronounced differences.
Compound interest earnings are
reported as annual percentage yield
(APY), though the compounding can
occur annually, monthly, or daily.
Compounding
Compounding occurs when your
investment earnings or savings account
interest is added to your principal,
forming a larger base on which future
earnings may accumulate.
As your investment base gets larger, it
has the potential to grow faster. And the
longer your money is invested, the more
you stand to gain from compounding.
For example, if you invested $10,000
earning 8% annually and reinvested all
your earnings, youd have $21,589 in your
account after 10 years.
If instead of reinvesting you withdrew
the earnings each year, you would have
collected $800 a year, or $8,000 over the
10 years. The $3,589 difference is the
benefit of 10 years of compound growth.
Comptroller of the Currency
The Office of the Comptroller of the
Currency, housed in the US Department
of the Treasury, charters, regulates, and
oversees national banks.
The comptroller ensures bank
integrity, fosters economic growth,
promotes competition among banks,
and guarantees that people have access
to adequate financial services.
The comptroller does this by enforcing
the Community Reinvestment Act and
federal fair lending laws, which mandate
that access. The comptroller is appointed
by the US president and confirmed by
the Senate.
Conduit IRA
A conduit IRA is another name for a
rollover IRA, which you establish with
money you roll over from a 401(k), 403(b),
or other retirement savings plan.
Assets in a conduit IRA continue to be
tax deferred until they are withdrawn and
may be transferred into a new employers
plan if the plan allows transfers.
Confirmation
When you buy or sell a stock or bond,
your brokerage firm will send you a
confirmation, or printed document, with
the details of the transaction.
Confirmations include the price, any
fees, and the trade and settlement dates.
Stock confirmations also include the
commission if it applies. These documents
are your backup for calculating capital
gains and losses.
Youll also receive a confirmation to
reaffirm orders you place, such as a good
til canceled order to buy or sell a certain
stock at a stop or limit price.
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In addition, activity in your trading
account, such as stock splits, spinoffs, or
mergers will trigger a confirmation notice.
Conglomerate
A conglomerate is a corporation whose
multiple business units operate in
different, often unrelated, areas.
A conglomerate is generally formed
when one company expands by acquiring
other firms, which it brings together
under a single management umbrella.
In some, but not all, cases, the
formerly independent elements of
the conglomerate retain their brand
identities, though they are responsible
to the conglomerates management.
Some conglomerates are successful,
with different parts of the whole con-
tributing the lions share of the profits in
different phases of the economic cycle,
offsetting weaker performance by
other units.
Other conglomerates are never able to
meld the parts into a functioning whole.
In those cases, the parent company may
sell or spin off various divisions into new
independent companies.
Conscience fund
Conscience funds, also known as
socially responsible funds, allow
you to invest
in companies
whose business
practices are in
keeping with your
personal values.
For example,
you can choose
mutual funds
that invest in
companies that
have exceptional
environmental or social records, or
that refuse to invest in companies that
manufacture certain products or have
certain employee benefit practices.
Each fund explains the principles it
follows in its prospectus and describes
the screens, or set of criteria, it uses to
identify its investments.
Consensus recommendation
A consensus recommendation for an
individual stock compiles ratings from a
number of analysts who track that stock.
The recommendation is expressed as
either the mean or median of the
separate recommendations.
Calculating the consensus is a multi-
step process that involves grouping the
terms that analysts use to recommend
buying, selling, or holding, generally
into three or five categories, assigning a
scale, and computing the result either by
averaging the numbers for the mean or
identifying the median, which is the point
at which half the views are higher and
half are lower.
A consensus recommendation provides
a snapshot of current thinking about a
stock, so it can serve as a benchmark
against which you can compare a single
analysts opinion to gauge how main-
stream it is.
But like any statistical mean or
median, a consensus recommendation
can distort strong differences at either
end of the scale. Further, if the report
accompanying the consensus view
doesnt point out significant differences
in the viewpoints of the various analysts
it includes, you wont be able to tell
where the most respected analysts
stand on the stock.
In addition, you should be aware
that the consensus recommendation for
any given stock might differ from one re-
search company to the next. This
is because the mathematical formula
that assigns weights to the individual
recommendations will vary, based in part
on how many levels of differentiation
the research company uses and how it
interprets the words that analysts use
to express their opinions.
Consumer confidence index
The consumer confidence index is
released each month by the Conference
Board, an independent business
research organization.
It measures how a representative
sample of 5,000 US households feel about
the current state of the economy, and
what they anticipate the future will bring.
The survey focuses specifically on the
participants impressions of business
conditions and the job market.
Economic observers follow the index
because when consumer attitudes are
positive they are more likely to spend
money, contributing to the very economic
growth they anticipate. But if consumers
are worried about their jobs, they
may spend less, contributing to an
economic slowdown.
Consumer price index (CPI)
The consumer price index (CPI) is
compiled monthly by the US Bureau of
Labor Statistics and is a gauge of inflation
that measures changes in the prices of
basic goods and services.
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41
Some of the things it tracks are
housing, food, clothing, transportation,
medical care, and education.
The CPI is used as a benchmark for
making adjustments in Social Security
payments, wages, pensions, and tax
brackets to keep them in tune with
the buying power of the dollar. Its
often incorrectly referred to as the
cost-of-living index.
Contango
The price of a futures contract tends to
reflect the cost of storage, insurance,
financing, and other expenses incurred
by the producer as the commodity
awaits delivery.
So, typically, the further in the future
the maturity date, the higher the price
of the contract. That relationship is
described as contango.
If the opposite is true, and the price
of a longer-term contract is lower than
the price of one with a closer expiration
date, the relationship is described
as backwardation.
Contingency order
A contingency order to buy or sell a
security or other investment product is
one that has strings attached.
Specifically, it is an order, such as
a stop order, a stop-limit order, or an
all-or-none order, that is to be executed
only if the condition or conditions that
the order specifies are met.
For example, if you gave a stop-limit
order to sell a particular stock if the price
fell to $30the stop pricebut not to
sell if the transaction price were less than
$27the limit priceexecution would
be contingent on the stock price being
between $27 and $30.
Broker-dealers arent required to
accept contingency orders, but if they do
accept them they are required to abide by
the terms of the order.
Contingent beneficiary
A contingent beneficiary receives the
proceeds of an insurance policy, term-
certain annuity, individual retirement
account (IRA), employer-sponsored
retirement savings plan, will, or trust if
the primary beneficiary dies before the
benefit is paid or if he or she declines to
accept the benefit.
For example, if you name your spouse
as the primary beneficiary of your IRA,
you might name your children as contin-
gent beneficiaries. Then, if your spouse
is not alive at your death, your children
inherit your IRA directly.
Its often a good idea to name as
contingent beneficiary someone who
is younger than you and your primary
beneficiary, increasing the chances that
the contingent beneficiary will outlive
you. Or, if you choose, you might name
an institution or a trust as contingent
beneficiary.
You have the right to change your
designation of contingent beneficiaries,
except in the case of an irrevocable trust
or a life insurance policy whose terms
and conditions were established in a
court ruling.
A contingent beneficiary may also be
someone who is entitled to inherit assets
if he or she meets the terms of the will
or trust granting those assets.
Contingent deferred sales load
A contingent deferred sales load, also
called a back-end load, is a sales charge
some mutual funds impose when you sell
shares in the fund within a certain period
of time after you buy them.
These shares are typically identified
as Class B shares, and the period that the
load applies is often as long as seven to
ten years, as determined by the fund.
The charge is a percentage of
the amount of the investment youre
liquidating. It typically begins at a
certain levelsay 7%and drops by
a percentage point each year until it
disappears entirely.
Information about the charge and
how long its levied is provided in the
funds prospectus.
Contingent deferred sales load
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Continuous net settlement
In continuous net settlement, most securi-
ties transactions are finalized, or cleared
and settled, within a broker-age firm.
The firms clients orders to buy and
sell are offset, or matched against each
other, so that at the end of the trading
day only those positions that havent been
offset internally remain to be settled.
In a simplified example, all the shares
of Stock A that a firms clients bought
are netted against all the shares that its
clients sold by reallocating ownership on
the firms books. Payment is handled in a
similar fashion, as money is transferred
from the buyers account to the sellers.
If the firm has more buys than sells or
the other way around, as is likely, it either
delivers shares or receives them and
makes a payment or receives it.
Clearing and settlement for transac-
tions that arent offset are handled by an
automated system through two branches
of the Depository Trust and Clearing
Corporation (DTCC), the National
Securities Clearing Corporation (NSCC),
and the Depository Trust Company (DTC).
Contrarian
An investor who marches to a different
drummer is sometimes described as
a contrarian. In other words, if most
investors are buying large-cap growth
stocks, a contrarian is concentrating
on building a portfolio of small-cap
value stocks.
This approach is based, in part, on the
idea that if everybody expects something
to happen, it probably wont.
In addition, the contrarian believes
that if other investors are fully committed
to a certain type of investment, theyre
not likely to have cash available if a
better one comes along. But the
contrarian would.
Contrarian mutual funds use this
approach as their investment strategy,
concentrating on building a portfolio
of out-of-favor, and therefore often under-
valued, investments.
Conversion price
A conversion price is the predetermined
price, set at the time of issue, at which
you can exchange a convertible bond
or other convertible security for
common stock.
The number of shares that youll
receive at conversion is calculated by
dividing the face value of the security
by the conversion price. However, that
number changes if the stock has split or
has paid dividends.
Convertible bond
Convertible bonds are corporate
bonds that give you the alternative of
converting their value into common stock
of that company or redeeming them for
cash when they mature.
The details governing the conversion,
such as the number of shares of stock you
would receive, are set when the bonds
are issued.
A convertible bond has a double
appeal for investors. Its market value
goes up if the stock price rises, but falls
only to what it would be as a conventional
bond if the stock price falls. In other
words, the upside potential is considered
greater than the downside risk.
While convertible bonds typically
provide lower yields than conventional
bonds from the same issuer, they may
provide higher yields than the under-
lying stock.
You can buy convertibles through a
broker or choose a mutual fund that
invests in them.
Convertible hedge
When you use a convertible hedge, you
buy a convertible bond, which you can
exchange under certain circumstances
for shares of the companys common
stock. At the same time, you sell short
the common stock of the same company.
As in any hedge, your goal is to make
more money on one of the transactions
than you lose on the other. For example,
if the price of the stock falls, youre in a
position to make money on the short sale
while at the same time knowing that the
convertible bond will continue to be at
least as valuable as other bonds the
company has issued.
On the other hand, if the stock gains
value, you hope to be able to realize more
profit from either selling the convertible
or exchanging it for shares you can sell
than it costs you to have borrowed and
repaid the shares you sold short.
There are no guarantees this strategy
or any other hedging strategy will work,
especially for an individual investor who
faces the challenge of identifying an
appropriate security to hedge and the
appropriate time to act.
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43
Convertible term
A convertible term life insurance policy
can be converted into a permanent life
policy at some point in the future with-
out requiring you to pass a health
screening exam.
A convertible term policy is generally
more expensive than a regular term
policy from the same insurance provider.
Like other term insurance policies, a
convertible term policy remains in force
for a specific period of time, or term, and
can usually be renewed for an additional
term, though the premiums typically
increase with each renewal.
Cook the books
When a company cooks the books, it is
deliberatelyand illegallyproviding
false information about its financial situ-
ation to bolster its stock price, often by
overstating profits and hiding losses.
A company may also cook the books to
reduce its tax liability, but then it stirs in
the opposite direction by underreporting
profits and overstating losses.
Cooling-off period
In the financial industry, a cooling-off
period applies when a new issue is being
brought to market. During this time, also
known as the quiet period, investment
bankers and underwriters arent permit-
ted to discuss the issue with the public.
In the consumer world, during a
cooling-off period, you can cancel your
obligation to purchase a product or take
a loan without penalty if you change
your mind.
Different kinds of transactions are
governed by different cooling-off rules.
For example, one federal rule allows you
to cancel home improvement loans and
second mortgages within three days
of signing.
Another gives you three days to return
purchases you make at places other than
a merchants usual place of business,
such as at a trade show.
The law governing your cooling-off
rights, sometimes known as buyers
remorse rules, is included in the fine
print on any agreement you sign.
Cooperative (co-op)
A co-op is a corporation that owns a
particular residential property. The
shareholders are the tenants who, instead
of owning an individual unit, own shares
in the corporation, which gives them the
right to live in that unit.
Copayment
If you have a managed-care health
insurance plan, your copayment is the
fixed amount you payoften $10 to
$25for each in-network doctors office
visit or approved medical treatment
In some plans, the copayment to see
a specialist to whom youre referred is
higher than the copayment to visit your
primary care physician. Some plans may
not require copayments for annual
physicals and certain diagnostic tests.
If you see an out-of-network provider,
you are likely to be responsible for a
percentage of the approved charge,
called coinsurance, plus any amount
above the approved charge.
Core earnings
Core earnings differ in several ways from
more traditional measures of earnings.
Most notably, they treat company stock
options as an expense and exclude any
income that comes from the companys
pension fund investments.
Standard & Poors (S&P) developed
the core earnings measure to give
investors a more uniform way to
compare earnings numbers.
Otherwise, it may be difficult to
compare numbers since companies
often use different formulas to calculate
their earnings.
Cornering the market
If someone tries to buy up as much of a
particular investment as possible in order
to control its price, that investor is trying
to corner the market.
Not only is it difficult to make this
strategy work in a complex economic
environment, but the practice is illegal
in US markets.
Corporate bond
Corporate bonds are debt securities
issued by publicly held corporations to
raise money for expansion or other
business needs.
Corporate bonds typically pay a higher
rate of interest than federal or municipal
government bonds, but the interest you
earn is generally fully taxable.
Corporate bond
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You may be able to buy corporate
bonds at issue through your brokerage
firm, usually at the offering price of
$1,000 per bond, though you may have
to buy several bonds of the same issue
rather than just one.
You can buy bonds on the secondary
market at their current market price,
which may be higher or lower than par.
However, most individual investors buy
corporate bonds though a mutual fund
that specializes in those issues.
Correction
A correction is a dropusually a sudden
and substantial one of 10% or morein
the price of an individual stock, bond,
commodity, index, or the market as
a whole.
Market analysts anticipate market
corrections when security prices are
high in relation to company earnings
and other indicators of economic health.
When a market correction is greater
than 10% and the prices do not begin to
recover relatively promptly, some analysts
point to the correction as the beginning
of a bear market.
Correlation
In investment terms, correlation is the
extent to which the values of different
types of investments move in tandem
with one another in response to changing
economic and market conditions.
Correlation is measured on a scale
of 1 to +1. Investments with a correla-
tion of + 0.5 or more tend to rise and fall
in value at the same time. Investments
with a negative correlation of 0.5 to 1
are more likely to gain or lose value in
opposing cycles.
Correspondent
A correspondent is a financial institution,
such as a bank or brokerage firm, that
handles transactions on behalf of another
financial institution that it cant complete
on its own.
For example, if a US bank has a
client who needs to make a payment
to a supplier located overseas, the US
bank would use its relationship with a
correspondent bank in the suppliers
home country to credit the suppliers
bank account with money from its own
clients account that had been transferred
through an international payment system.
Cost basis
The cost basis is the original price of an
assetusually the purchase price plus
commissions. You use the cost basis to
calculate capital gains and capital losses,
depreciation, and return on investment.
If you inherit assets, such as stocks or
real estate, your cost basis is the assets
value on the date the person who left it to
you died (or the date on which his or her
estate was valued). This new valuation is
known as a step-up in basis.
For example, if you buy a stock at $20
a share and sell it for $50 a share, your
cost basis is $20. If you sell, you owe
capital gains tax on the $30-a-share profit.
If you inherit stock that was bought
at $20 a share but valued at $50 a share
when that person died, your cost basis
would be $50 a share, and youd owe no
tax if you sold it at that price.
Cost-of-living adjustment (COLA)
A COLA results in a wage or benefit
increase that is designed to help you
keep pace with increased living costs
that result from inflation.
COLAs are usually pegged to increases
in the consumer price index (CPI).
Federal government pensions, some state
pensions, and Social Security are usually
adjusted annually, but only a few private
pensions provide COLAs.
Council of Economic Advisors (CEA)
The Council of Economic Advisors job
is to assist and advise the president of
the United States on economic policy.
The CEA differs from other government
agencies in its academic orientation and
emphasis on contemporary developments
in economic thought.
The Council consists of a chairman
and two staff members, appointed by the
president and confirmed by the Senate,
plus a staff of about ten economists and
ten younger scholars. The Councils
chairman frequently speaks on behalf of
the administration on economic issues
and policies.
Countercyclical stock
Stocks described as countercyclical
tend to continue to maintain their value
Correction
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and provide regular income when the
economy is slowing down or staying flat.
Companies whose stocks fit into
this category are those whose products
are always in demand, such as food or
utilities. They may also be companies
whose services reduce the expenses of
other companies, such as providers of
temporary office help.
Or they could be financial services
companies that specialize in cash equiva-
lent or other stable value investments. By
including some countercyclical stocks in
your equity portfolio, you can balance the
potential volatility of cyclical investments.
Counterparty
In any financial contract, the persons
or institutions entering the contract on
the opposite sides of the transaction are
called the counterparties.
For example, if you sign a contract to
sell an item that you produce to a buyer,
you and the buyer are counterparties to
the contract.
Similarly, the counterparties in
financial transactions known as forwards
or swaps are the banks or corporations
that make deals between themselves
to protect future cash flows or
currency values.
Counterparty risk
Counterparty risk is the risk that the
person or institution with whom you have
entered a financial contractwho is
a counterparty to the contractwill
default on the obligation and fail to fulfill
that side of the contractual agreement.
In other words, counterparty risk is a
type of credit risk. Counterparty risk
is the greatest in contracts drawn up
directly between two parties and least
in contracts where an intermediary acts
as counterparty.
For example, in the listed derivatives
market, the industrys or the exchanges
clearinghouse is the counterparty to every
purchase or sale of an options or futures
contract. That eliminates the possibility
that the buyer or seller wont make good
on the transaction.
The clearinghouse, in turn, protects
itself from risk by requiring market
participants to meet margin require-
ments. In contrast, there is no such
protection in the unlisted derivatives
market where forwards and swaps
are arranged.
Coupon
Originally, bonds were issued with cou-
pons, which you clipped and presented to
the issuer or the issuers agenttypically
a bank or brokerage firmto receive
interest payments.
Bonds with coupons are also known as
bearer bonds because the bearer of the
coupon is entitled to the interest.
Although most new bonds are
electronically registered rather than
issued in certificate form, the term
coupon has stuck as a synonym for
interest in phrases like the coupon rate.
When interest accumulates rather
than being paid during the bonds term,
the bond is known as a zero coupon.
Coupon rate
The coupon rate is the interest rate that
the issuer of a bond or other debt security
promises to pay during the term of a loan.
For example, a bond that is paying 6%
annual interest has a coupon rate of 6%.
The term is derived from the practice,
now discontinued, of issuing bonds with
detachable coupons.
To collect a scheduled interest
payment, you presented a coupon to
the issuer or the issuers agent. Today,
coupon bonds are no longer issued.
Most bonds are registered, and interest
is paid by check or, increasingly, by
electronic transfer.
Covered option
When you sell call options on stock that
you own, they are covered options. That
means if the option holder exercises the
option, you can deliver your stock to meet
your obligation if you are assigned to
complete the transaction.
Similarly, if you sell put options on
stock and have enough cash on hand
make the required purchase if the option
holder exercises, the options are covered.
Covered puts are also known as cash-
secured puts.
One appeal of selling a covered call is
that you collect the premium but dont
risk potentially large losses. Otherwise,
you may have to buy the stock at a higher
market price in order to meet your
obligation to deliver stock at the strike
price if the option is exercised.
The downside is that if your stock is
called away from you, youll no longer be
in a position to profit from any potential
dividends or increases in price.
Covered option
COUPON
46
Crash
A crash is a sudden, steep drop in stock
prices. The downward spiral is intensified
as more and more investors, seeing the
bottom falling out of the market, try
to sell their holdings before these
investments lose all their value.
The two great US crashes of the
20th century, in 1929 and 1987, had very
different consequences. The first was
followed by a period of economic stagna-
tion and severe depression. The second
had a much briefer impact. While some
investors suffered huge losses in 1987,
recovery was well under way within
three months.
In the aftermath of each of these
crashes, the federal government insti-
tuted a number of changes designed to
reduce the impact of future crashes.
Credit
Credit generally refers to the ability of a
person or organization to borrow money,
as well as the arrangements that are
made for repaying the loan and the
terms of the repayment schedule.
If you are well qualified to obtain a
loan, you are said to be credit-worthy.
Credit is also used to mean positive
cash entries in an account. For example,
your bank account may be credited with
interest. In this sense, a credit is the
opposite of a debit, which means money
is taken from your account.
Credit bureau
The three major credit bureausEquifax,
Experian, and TransUnioncollect
information about the way you use credit
and make it available to anyone with a
legitimate business need to see it,
including potential lenders, landlords,
and current or prospective employers.
The bureaus keep records of the credit
accounts you have, how much you owe,
your payment habits, and the lenders and
other businesses that have accessed your
credit report.
Credit bureaus, also known as
credit reporting agencies, store other
information about you as well, such as
your present and past addresses, Social
Security number, employment history,
and information in the public record,
including bankruptcies, liens, and any
judgments against you.
However, there are certain things,
by law, your credit report cant include,
including your age, race, religion,
political affiliation, or health records.
You are entitled to a free copy of
your credit report from each of the three
major credit bureaus once a year, but
you have to request them through the
Annual Credit Report Request Service
(www.annualcreditreport.com or
877-322-8228).
If youve recently been denied credit,
are unemployed, on public assistance, or
have a reason to suspect identity theft or
credit fraud, youre also entitled to a free
report. In those cases, you should contact
the credit bureaus directly.
Credit limit
A credit limit, also known as a credit
line, is the maximum amount of money
you can borrow under a revolving
credit agreement.
For instance, if
you have a credit
card with a credit
limit of $3,000,
and you charge
$1,000, you can
spend $2,000
more before you
reach your credit
limit. And if you repay the $1,000 before
the end of the month without making
additional purchases, your credit limit is
back up to $3,000 again.
Most credit issuers charge additional
fees or penalties if you exceed your
credit limit.
Credit line
A credit line, or line of credit, is a
revolving credit agreement that allows
you to write checks or make cash with-
drawals of amounts up to your credit limit.
When you use the creditsometimes
called accessing the lineyou owe
interest on the amount you borrow. But
when that amount has been repaid you
can borrow it again.
A home equity line of credit (HELOC)
is secured by your home, but other credit
lines, such as an overdraft arrangement
linked to your checking account, are
unsecured. In general, the interest rate
on a secured credit line is less than the
rate on an unsecured line.
Crash
47
Credit rating
Your credit rating is an independent
statistical evaluation of your ability to
repay debt based on your borrowing and
repayment history.
If you always pay your bills on time,
you are more likely to have good credit
and therefore may receive favorable terms
on a loan or credit card, such as relatively
low finance charges.
If your credit rating is poor because
you have paid bills late or have defaulted
on a loan, you may be offered less
favorable terms or may be denied
credit altogether.
A corporations credit rating is an
assessment of whether it will be able to
meet its obligations to bond holders and
other investors. Credit rating systems for
corporations generally range from AAA or
Aaa at the high end to D (for default) at
the low end.
Credit report
A credit report is a summary of your
financial history. Potential lenders will
use your credit report to help them evalu-
ate whether you are a good credit risk.
The three major credit-reporting
agencies are Experian, Equifax, and
Transunion. These agencies collect
certain types of information about you,
primarily your use of credit and informa-
tion in the public record, and sell that
information to qualified recipients.
As a provision of the Fair and Accurate
Credit Transaction Act (FACT Act), you
are entitled to a free copy of your credit
report each year from each of the credit
reporting agencies.
You also have a right to see your
credit report at any time if you have been
turned down for a loan, an apartment,
or a job because of poor credit. You may
also question any information the credit
reporting agency has about you and ask
that errors be corrected.
If the information isnt changed fol-
lowing your request, you have the right to
attach a comment or explanation, which
must be sent out with future reports.
Credit score
Your credit score is a number, calculated
based on information in your credit
report, that lenders use to assess the
credit risk you pose and the interest rate
they will offer you if they agree to lend
you money.
Most lenders use credit scores
rather than credit reports since the
scores reduce extensive, detailed informa-
tion about your financial history to a
single number.
There are actually two competing
credit scoring systems, FICO, which has
been the standard, and VantageScore,
which was developed by the three major
credit bureaus.
Their formulas give different weights
to particular types of credit-related
behavior, though both put the most
emphasis on paying your bills on time.
They also have different scoring systems,
ranging from 300 to 850 for FICO to 501
to 999 for AdvantageScore. The bestor
lowestinterest rates go to applicants
with the highest scores.
Because your credit score and credit
report are based on the same information,
its very unlikely that they will tell a
different story. Its smart to check
your credit report at least once a
year, which you can do for free at
www.annualcreditreport.com or
by calling 877-322-8228.
It may be a good idea to review your
score if you anticipate applying for a
major loan, such as a mortgage, in the
next six months to a year. That allows
time to bring your score up if you fear
its too low.
Credit union
Credit unions are financial cooperatives
set up by employee and community asso-
ciations, labor unions, church groups, and
other organizations. They provide afford-
able financial services to members of the
sponsoring organization.
In some cases, theyre created in rural
or economically disadvantaged areas,
where commercial banks may be scarce or
prohibitively expensive.
Because they are not-for-profit, credit
unions tend to charge lower fees and
interest rates on loans than commercial
banks while paying higher interest rates
on savings and investment accounts.
The services offered at large credit
unions can be as comprehensive as those
at large banks. At smaller credit unions,
however, services and hours may be
more limited, and a few deposits may
not be insured.
Credit union
48
Assets in most credit unions are
insured by the National Credit Union
Share Insurance Fund on the same
terms that deposits in national and state
banks are insured by the Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation (FDIC).
Creditor
A person or company who provides credit
to another person or company functions
as a creditor.
For example, if you take a mortgage
or car loan at your bank, then the bank is
your creditor. But if you buy a bond, you
are the creditor because the money you
pay to buy the bond is actually a loan to
the issuer.
Crossed market
A market in a particular stock or option
is described as crossed when a bid to buy
that stock or option is higher than the
offer to sell it, or when an offer to sell is
lower than a bid to buy.
A crossed market reverses the normal
relationship of a stock quotation in which
the bid price is always lower than the ask
price. Its illegal for market makers to
cross a market deliberately.
A crossed market may occur when
investors place after-hours orders
electronically for execution at opening,
or when investors trade directly through
an electronic communications
network (ECN).
NASD has introduced a set of pre-
opening procedures for market makers
on the Nasdaq Stock Market. They help
prevent the confusion and potential
inequalities in pricing that a crossed
market can produce.
Cumulative voting
With this method of voting for a corpora-
tions board of directors, you may cast the
total number of votes youre entitled to
any way you choose. For example, you can
either split your votes equally among the
nominees, or you can cast all of them for
a single candidate.
Generally, you receive one vote for
each share of company stock you own
times the number of directors to be
elected.
Cumulative voting is designed to give
individual stockholders greater influence
in shaping the board. They can designate
all their votes for a single candidate who
represents their interests instead of
spreading their votes equally among
the candidates, as is the case with
statutory voting.
Currency fluctuation
A currency has value, or worth, in rela-
tion to other currencies, and those values
change constantly.
For example, if demand for a particular
currency is high because investors want
to invest in that countrys stock market
or buy exports, the price of its currency
will increase. Just the opposite will hap-
pen if that country suffers an economic
slowdown, or investors lose confidence in
its markets.
While some currencies fluctuate freely
against each other, such as the Japanese
yen and the US dollar, others are pegged,
or linked. They may be pegged to the
value of another currency, such as the
US dollar or the euro, or to a basket, or
weighted average, of currencies.
Currency swap
In a currency swap, the parties to the
contract exchange the principal of two
different currencies immediately, so that
each party has the use of the different
currency. They also make interest pay-
ments to each other on the principal
during the contract term.
In many cases, one of the parties pays
a fixed interest rate and the other pays
a floating interest rate, but both could
pay fixed or floating rates. When the
contract ends, the parties re-exchange
the principal amount of the swap.
Originally, currency swaps were used to
give each party access to enough foreign
currency to make purchases in foreign
markets. Increasingly, parties arrange
currency swaps as a way to enter new
capital markets or to provide predictable
revenue streams in another currency.
Currency trading
The global currency market, where
roughly $1.9 trillion a day changes hands,
is by far the largest financial market in
the world.
Banks, other financial institutions,
and multinational corporations buy and
sell currencies in enormous quantities
to handle the demands of international
trade. In some cases, traders seek profits
from minor fluctuations in exchange rates
or speculate on currency fluctuations.
Creditor
49
Current return
Current return, also called current yield,
is the amount of interest you earn on a
bond in any given year, expressed as a
percent of the current market price.
The current return will, in most cases,
not be the same as the coupon rate, or the
interest rate the bond pays calculated as
a percentage of its par value.
For example, if the par, or face value,
of a bond is $1,000 and the coupon rate
is 5%, then the interest payments, or
annual income, from the bond is $50 per
year. If, however, the bond is trading at
$900, then that $50 annual income is
actually a current return of 5.6%.
The current return does not take
capital gains or losses into account, so
it is not a reflection of the total return
on your bond investment.
Current yield
Current yield is a measure of your rate of
return on an investment, expressed as a
percentage. With a bond, current yield is
calculated by dividing the interest you
collect by the current market price.
For example, if a bond paying 5%
interest, or $50, is selling for $900, the
current yield is 5.6%. If the market price
is $1,200, the current yield is 4.2%. And if
bond is selling exactly at par, or $1,000,
the current yield is 5%, the same as the
coupon rate.
If you own a stock, its current yield
is the annual dividend divided by its
market price.
Custodial account
If you want to make investments on a
minors behalf, or transfer property you
own to that person, you can open a
custodial account with a bank, broker-
age firm, mutual fund company, or
insurance company.
You name an adult custodian for the
accounteither yourself or someone
elsewho is responsible for managing
the account until the child reaches the
age of majority.
That age may be 18, 21, or 25 depend-
ing on the state and the type of account
you choose. At majority, the child has the
legal right to control the account and use
the assets as he or she chooses.
There may be some tax advantages in
transferring assets to a minor. If the child
is under 18, investment earnings above
a specific level that Congress sets each
year are taxed at the parents marginal
tax rate.
But if the child is 18 or older, all
investment earnings are taxed at the
childs rateagain, typically the lowest
rate. In addition, gifts you make to the
account are no longer part of your estate,
which may reduce vulnerability to estate
taxes. However, its wise to review your
plans with your legal and tax advisers.
One drawback of a custodial account
is that the assets are considered the
property of the child, and may reduce the
amount of financial aid the child qualifies
for when he or she enrolls in a college
or university.
Custodian
A custodian is legally responsible for
ensuring that an item or person is safe
and secure. In investment terms, a
custodian is the financial services
company that maintains electronic
records of financial assets or has
physical possession of specific securities.
The custodians client may be another
institution, such as a mutual fund, a cor-
poration, or an individual. For example,
with an individual retirement account
(IRA), the custodian is the bank, broker-
age firm, or other financial services
company that holds your account.
Similarly, the Depository Trust
Company, a subsidiary of the Depository
Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC),
is the custodian of millions of stock
certificates held in its vaults.
Cyclical stock
Cyclical stocks tend to rise in value
during an upturn in the economy and fall
during a downturn. They usually include
stock in industries that flourish in good
times, including airlines, automobiles,
and travel and leisure.
In contrast, stock in industries
that provide necessities such as food,
electricity, gas, and healthcare products
tend to be more price-stable, as do
companies that provide services that
reduce the expenses of other companies.
Those stocks are sometimes called
countercyclicals.
Cyclical stock
50
D
D
Daily trading limit
The daily trading limit is the most that
the price of a futures contract can rise or
fall in a single session before trading in
that contract is stopped for the day.
Trading limits are designed to protect
investors from wild price fluctuations and
the potential for major losses. Theyre
comparable to the circuit breakers
established by stock exchanges to
suspend trading when prices fall by a
specific percentage.
Date of maturity
The date of maturity, or maturity date, is
the day on which a bonds term ends, and
its issuer repays the principal and makes
the final interest payment.
When the phrase is used in connection
with mortgages or other personal loans,
the date of maturity is the day your last
payment is due and your debt is repaid.
Day order
A day order is an instruction you give to
your broker to buy or sell a security at the
market price or at a particular price you
name before the end of the trading day.
The order expires if it isnt filled.
In contrast, a good til canceled
(GTC) order remains open on the brokers
books until its filled, you cancel it, or
the brokerage firms time limit for
GTCs expires.
Day trader
When you continuously buy and sell
investments within a very short time,
perhaps a few minutes or hours, and
rarely hold them overnight, youre
considered a day trader.
The strategy is to take advantage
of rapid price changes to make
money quickly.
The risk is that as a day trader you can
lose substantial amounts of money since
no one can predict how or when prices
will change. That risk is compounded by
the fact that technology does not always
keep pace with investors orders, so if you
authorize a sell at one price, the price
its actually executed at may be higher
or lower, wiping out potential profit.
In addition, you pay transaction costs
on each buy and sell order. Your gains
must be large enough to offset those costs
if youre going to come out ahead.
Dealer
Dealers, or principals, buy and sell
securities for their own accounts, adding
liquidity to the marketplace and seeking
to profit from the spread between the
prices at which they buy and sell.
In the over-the-counter market, in
most cases, it is dealersalso called
market makerswho provide the bid
and ask quotes you see when you look up
the price of a security.
Those dealers are willing to commit
their capital to specific securities and
are ready to trade the securities at the
quoted prices.
Death benefit
A death benefit is money your beneficiary
collects from your life insurance policy if
you die while the policy is still in force.
In most cases, the beneficiary receives
the face value of the policy as a lump sum.
However, the death benefit is reduced by
the amount of any unpaid loans youve
taken against the policy.
Some retirement plans, including
Social Security, also provide a one-time
death benefit to your beneficiary at the
time of your death.
Debenture
A debenture is an unsecured bond.
Most bonds issued by corporations are
debentures, which are backed by their
reputation rather than by any collateral,
such as the companys buildings or
its inventory.
Daily trading limit
51
Although debentures sound riskier
than secured bonds, they arent when
theyre issued by well-established
companies with good credit ratings.
Debit
A debit is the opposite of a
credit. A debit may be an
account entry representing
money you owe a lender or
money that has been taken
from your account.
For example, your
bank debits your checking
account for the amount of
a check youve written,
and your broker debits your investment
account for the cost of a security
youve purchased.
Similarly, a debit card authorizes
the bank to take money out of your bank
account electronically, either as cash or
as an on-the-spot payment to a merchant.
Thats different from a credit card, which
authorizes you to borrow the money from
the card issuer.
Debit balance
A debit balance is what you owe. Its
entered as accounts receivable on the
books of the lender and appears on your
account statement as a liability.
For example, if you have a margin
account and borrow money to buy stock,
your monthly brokerage statement will
show a debit balance for the amount of
the margin loan.
Debit card
A debit cardsometimes called a
cash plus cardallows you to make
point-of-sale (POS) purchases by swiping
the card through the same type of
machine you use to make credit
card purchases.
Sometimes you authorize a debit
card transaction with your personal
identification number (PIN). Other times,
you sign a receipt just as you would if you
were charging the purchase to your credit
card. You can also use the card to make
ATM withdrawals.
When you use a debit card, the amount
of your purchase is debited, or subtracted,
from your account at the time of the
transaction and transferred electronically
to the sellers account.
You have some of the same protections
against loss with a debit card as you do
with a credit card, but there is one impor-
tant difference. While $50 is the most you
can ever be responsible for if your credit
card is lost or stolen, you could lose much
more with a lost or stolen debit card if
you dont report what has happened
within two days of discovering it.
If you delay reporting a missing card,
you could lose up to $500. And if you wait
more than 60 days after receiving a bank
statement that includes a fraudulent use
of your card, you could lose everything in
your account including your overdraft line
of credit. You can find the specific rules
on the Federal Trade Commission website
at www.ftc.gov.
In addition, if you purchase defective
merchandise with a debit card, there are
no refunds. Most credit card issuers do
not, generally speaking, make you pay
for defective products.
Debt
A debt is an obligation to repay an
amount you owe. Debt securities, such
as bonds or commercial paper, are forms
of debt that bind the issuer, such as a
corporation, bank, or government, to
repay the security holder. Debts are also
known as liabilities.
Debt security
Debt securities are interest-paying bonds,
notes, bills, or money market instruments
that are issued by governments
or corporations.
Some debt securities pay a fixed rate
of interest over a fixed time period in
exchange for the use of the principal. In
that case, that principal, or par value, is
repaid at maturity.
Some are pass-through securities, with
principal and interest repaid over the
term of the loan. Still other issues are
sold at discount, with interest included
in the amount paid at maturity.
US Treasury bills, corporate bonds,
commercial paper, and mortgage-backed
bonds are all examples of debt securities.
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Debt security
52
Debt-to-equity ratio
A companys debt-to-equity ratio indicates
the extent to which the company is
leveraged, or financed by credit. A higher
ratio is a sign of greater leverage.
You find a companys debt-to-equity
ratio by dividing its total long-term debt
by its total assets minus its total debt. You
can find these figures in the companys
income statement, which is provided in
its annual report.
Average ratios vary significantly from
one industry to another, so what is high
for one company may be normal for
another company in a different industry.
From an investors perspective, the
higher the ratio, the greater the risk you
take in investing in the company. But your
potential return may be greater as well if
the company uses the debt to expand its
sales and earnings.
Decimal pricing
US stocks, derivatives linked to stocks,
and some bonds trade in decimals, or
dollars and cents. That means that the
spread between the bid and ask prices
can be as small as one cent.
The switch to decimal stock trading,
which was completed in 2001, was the
final stage of a conversion from trading
in eighths, or increments of 12.5 cents.
Trading in eighths originated in the
16th century, when North American
settlers cut European coins into eight
pieces to use as currency. In an inter-
mediary phase during the 1990s, trading
was handled in sixteenths, or increments
of 6.25 cents.
Decliner
Stocks that have dropped, or fallen,
in value over a particular period are
described as decliners. If more stocks
decline than advance, or go up in value,
over the course of a trading day, the
financial press reports that decliners
led advancers.
The indexes that track the market
may decline as well. If decliners dominate
for a period of time, the market may also
be described as bearish.
Decreasing term insurance
With a decreasing term life insurance
policy, the amount of the death benefit
decreases each year of the fixed term
such as 20 yearsalthough the premium
remains the same.
This type of insurance tends to be an
economical way to protect your beneficia-
ries should you die unexpectedly during
a period when you have substantial
financial responsibilities.
For example, young parents with a
large mortgage might consider decreasing
term policies to help insulate each other
against the responsibility of meeting their
financial obligations should something
happen to one of them.
Deductible
A deductible is the dollar amount you
must pay for healthcare, damage to your
property, or any other insurable claim
before your insurance company begins to
cover the cost of the bill.
For example, if you have a health
insurance policy with an annual $300
deductible, you have to spend $300 of
your own money before your insurer will
pay whatever portion of the rest of the
years bills it has agreed to cover.
However, in some types of policies,
the deductible is per event, not per year.
Generally speaking, the higher the
deductible you agree to pay, the lower
your insurance premiums tend to be.
However, the deductible for certain cover-
age is fixed by the insurance provider.
Thats the case with Original Medicare.
Deduction
A deduction is an amount you can sub-
tract from your gross income or adjusted
gross income to lower your taxable
income when you file your income
tax return.
Certain deductions, such as money
contributed to a traditional IRA or
interest payments on a college loan, are
available only to taxpayers who qualify
for these deductions based on specific
expenditures or income limits, or both.
Other deductions are more widely
available. For example, you can take a
standard deduction, an amount thats
fixed each year. And if your expenses for
certain things, such as home mortgage
interest, real estate taxes, and state and
local income taxes, total more than the
Debt-to-equity ratio
53
standard deduction, it may pay for you to
itemize deductions instead.
However, if your adjusted gross
income is above the limit Congress sets
for the year, you may lose some of or all
these deductions.
Deed
A deed is a written document that
transfers ownership of land or other
real estate from the owner, also known
as the grantor, to the buyer, or grantee.
The form a deed takes varies from
place to place, but the overall structure
and the provisions it contains are the
same. The description of the property
being transferred is always included.
When you use a mortgage to purchase
the property thats being transferred by
deed, you may receive the deed at the
time of purchase, with the lender holding
a lien on the property. Or the deed may
belong to the lender until you have paid
off the mortgage.
In either case, a deeds creation must
be witnessed and should be recorded with
the appropriate local authority to ensure
its validity.
Deep discount bond
Deep discount bonds are originally
issued with a par value, or face value, of
$1,000. But they decline in value by at
least 20%to a market value of $800 or
lesstypically because interest rates
have increased.
They may also decline if people believe
the company may have difficulty making
the interest payment or repaying the
principal. Either way, investors will no
longer pay full price for the bond.
Deep discount bonds are different
from original issue discount bonds,
which are sold at less than par value and
accumulate interest until maturity, when
they can be redeemed for par value. Zero-
coupon bonds are an example of original
issue discount bonds.
Deep discount brokerage firm
A financial services company that offers
rock-bottom rates for large-volume
securities transactions is sometimes
described as a deep discount firm.
However, online brokerage firms or
electronic communications networks
(ECNs) may offer investors cheaper
prices for even small-volume trades.
Default
If a person or institution responsible
for repaying a loan or making an interest
payment fails to meet that obligation
on time, that person or institution is
in default.
If you are in default, you may lose any
property that you put up as collateral to
get the loan. For example, if you fail to
repay your car loan, your lender may
repossess the car.
Defaulting has a negative impact
on your credit history and your credit
score, which generally makes it difficult
to borrow again in the future. In fact,
failure to pay on time is the single most
important contributor to a poor
credit history.
A bond issuer who defaults may not
pay interest when it comes due or repay
the principal at maturity, or both.
Defensive security
Defensive securities tend to remain more
stable in value than the overall market,
especially when prices in general
are falling.
Defensive securities include stocks
in companies whose products or services
are always in demand and are not as
price-sensitive to changes in the economy
as other stocks. Some defensive securities
could be stock in food, pharmaceuticals,
and utilities companies.
Defensive securities are also known
as countercyclicals.
Deferred annuity
A deferred annuity contract allows you to
accumulate tax-deferred earnings during
the term of the contract and sometimes
add assets to your contract over time. In
contrast, an immediate annuity starts
paying you income right after you buy.
D
E
E
D
Deferred annuity
54
Your deferred annuity earnings can be
either fixed or variable, depending on the
way your money is invested.
Deferred annuities are designed
primarily as retirement savings accounts,
so you may owe a penalty if you withdraw
principal, earnings, or both before you
reach age 59.
Defined benefit plan
A defined benefit planpopularly known
as a pensionprovides a specific benefit
for retired employees, either as a lump
sum or as income for the rest of their
lives. Sometimes the employees spouse
receives the benefit for life as well.
The pension amount usually depends
on the employees age at retirement, final
salary, and the number of years on the job.
All the details are spelled out in the plan.
However, an employer may end its
defined benefit plan or replace this
traditional source of retirement income
with defined contribution or cash
balance plans.
Defined contribution plan
In a defined contribution retirement
plan, the benefitsthat is, what you
can expect to accumulate and ultimately
withdraw from the planare not pre-
determined, as they are with a defined
benefit plan.
Instead, the retirement income you
receive will depend on how much is
contributed to the plan, how it is invested,
and what the return on the investment is.
One advantage of defined contribution
plans, such as 401(k)s, 403(b)s, 457s, and
profit-sharing plans, is that you often have
some control over how your retirement
dollars are invested. Your choice may
include stock or bond mutual funds,
annuities, guaranteed investment
contracts (GICs), company stock,
cash equivalents, or a combination of
these choices.
An added benefit is that, if you switch
jobs, you can take your accumulated
retirement assets with you, either rolling
them into an IRA or a new employers
plan if the plan accepts transfers.
Deflation
Deflation, the opposite
of inflation, is a gradual
drop in the cost of goods
and services, usually
caused by a surplus of
goods and a shortage
of cash.
Although deflation seems to increase
your buying power in its early stages, it is
generally considered a negative economic
trend. Thats because it is typically accom-
panied by rising unemployment, falling
production, and limited investment.
Delivery date
The delivery date, also known as the
settlement date, is the day on which
a stock, option, or bond trade must be
settled, or finalized.
For stocks, the delivery date is three
business days after the trade date, or
T + 3. For listed options and government
securities, its one day after the trade
date, or T + 1.
If youre the seller, your brokerage firm
must turn over the security by the delivery
date or transfer the record of ownership
to the account of another of its clients
who has purchased the security. That
process is called netting.
If youre the buyer, you must provide
payment by the delivery date so that the
transaction can be finalized. You may
pay through a margin or money market
account with the brokerage firm, by check
or electronic transfer, or by instructing
your broker to sell other investments.
Delta
The relationship between an options
price and the price of the underlying
stock or futures contract is called
its delta.
If the delta is 1, for example, the
relationship of the prices is 1 to 1. That
means theres a $1 change in the option
price for every $1 change in the price of
the underlying instrument.
With a call option, an increase in
the price of an underlying instrument
typically results in an increase in the
price of the option. An increase in a put
options price is usually triggered by a
decrease in the price of the underlying
instrument, since investors buy put
options expecting its price to fall.
Department of Veterans Affairs
(VA) mortgage
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
mortgages enable qualifying veterans or
their surviving spouses to borrow up to
the annual federal limit in order to buy
conventional homes, mobile homes,
and condominiums with little or no
down payment.
The VA guarantees repayment of the
loans. This federal guarantee means that
banks and thrift institutions can afford to
provide 30-year VA mortgages on favorable
Defined benefit plan
55
terms even during periods when borrow-
ing in general is expensive.
Interest rates on these mortgages,
formerly fixed by the Department of
Housing and Urban Development (HUD),
are now set by the VA itself. For more
information, call the VAs local toll-free
number listed in your phone book.
Depositary bank
A US bank that holds American depositary
shares (ADSs), or shares of corporations
based outside the United States, and sells
American depositary receipts (ADRs) to
US investors is called a depositary bank.
Each ADR represents a specific
number of ADSs, based on the banks
agreement with the issuing corporation.
The depositary bank ensures that inves-
tors receive dividends and capital gains
and handles tax payments that may be
due in the country where the share-
issuing company is headquartered.
Depository Trust and Clearing
Corporation (DTCC)
The DTCC is the worlds largest securities
depository, holding trillions of dollars in
assets for the members of the financial
industry that own the corporation. It
is also a national clearinghouse for the
settlement of corporate and municipal
securities transactions.
The DTCC, a member of the Federal
Reserve System, was created in 1999 as a
holding company. It has two primary sub-
sidiaries, the Depository Trust Company
(DTC) and the National Securities
Clearing Corporation (NSCC).
It is also the holding company for the
Emerging Market Clearing Corporation
(EMCC) and the Fixed Income Clearing
Corporation (FICC).
The FICC was formed as a merger
of the Government Security Clearing
Corporation (GSCC) and the Mortgage
Backed Security Clearing Corporation
(MBSCC).
Depreciation
Certain assets, such as buildings and
equipment, depreciate, or decline in
value, over time.
You can amortize, or write off, the
cost of such an asset over its estimated
useful life, thereby reducing your taxable
income without reducing the cash you
have on hand.
Depression
A depression is a severe and prolonged
downturn in the economy. Prices fall,
reducing purchasing power. There
tends to be high unemployment, lower
productivity, shrinking wages, and
general economic pessimism.
Since the Great Depression following
the stock market crash of 1929, the
governments and central banks of
industrialized countries have carefully
monitored their economies. They adjust
their economic policies to try to prevent
another financial crisis of this magnitude.
Derivative
Derivatives are financial products, such
as futures contracts, options, and
mortgage-backed securities. Most of
derivatives value is based on the value
of an underlying security, commodity, or
other financial instrument.
For example, the changing value of
a crude oil futures contract depends
primarily on the upward or downward
movement of oil prices.
An equity options value is determined
by the relationship between its strike
price and the value of the underlying
stock, the time until expiration, and the
stocks volatility.
Certain investors, called hedgers, are
interested in the underlying instrument.
For example, a baking company might
buy wheat futures to help estimate the
cost of producing its bread in the months
to come.
Other investors, called speculators,
are concerned with the profit to be
made by buying and selling the contract
at the most opportune time. Listed
derivatives are traded on organized
exchanges or markets. Other derivatives
are traded over-the-counter (OTC) and
in private transactions.
Devaluation
Devaluation is a deliberate decision by
a government or central bank to reduce
Devaluation
56
the value of its own currency in relation
to the currencies of other countries.
Governments often opt for devaluation
when there is a large current account
deficit, which may occur when a country
is importing far more than it is exporting.
When a nation devalues its currency,
the goods it imports and the overseas
debts it must repay become more
expensive. But its exports become less
expensive for overseas buyers. These
competitive prices often stimulate higher
sales and help to reduce the deficit.
DIAMONDs
A DIAMOND is an index-based unit
investment trust (UIT) that holds the
30 stocks in the Dow Jones Industrial
Average (DJIA). Its similar in structure
to an exchange traded fund (ETF).
Investors buy shares, or units, of the
trust, which is listed on the American
Stock Exchange (AMEX) as DIA. The
share price changes throughout the day
as investors buy and sell, just as share
prices of stocks do.
Thats in contrast to open-end mutual
funds whose share prices change just
once a day, when trading in their under-
lying investments ends for the day.
Part of the appeal of DIAMOND shares
is that the trust mirrors the performance
of its benchmark index for dramatically
less than the cost of buying shares in all
30 stocks in the DJIA.
A DIAMOND share trades at about
1/100 the value of the DJIA. So, for
example, if the DJIA is at 11,500, shares
in the trust will be priced around $115.
Diluted earnings per share
In addition to reporting earnings per
share, corporations must report diluted
earnings per share. This accounts for the
possiblity that all outstanding warrants
and stock options are exercised, and all
convertible bonds and preferred shares
are exchanged for common stock.
Diluted earnings actually report the
smallest potential earnings per common
share that a company could have based
on its current earnings. In theory, at
least, knowing the diluted earnings could
influence how much you would be willing
to pay for the stock.
Dilution
Dilution occurs when a company issues
additional shares of stock, and as a
result the earnings per share and the
book value per share decline.
This happens because earnings per
share and book value per share are
calculated by dividing the total earnings
or book value by the number of
existing shares.
The larger the number of shares, the
lower the value of each share. Lower
earnings per share may trigger a selloff
in the stock, lowering its price. Thats one
reason a company may choose to issue
bonds rather than new stock to raise
additional capital.
Similarly, if companies merge or one
buys another, earnings may be diluted if
they dont increase proportionately with
the combined number of shares in the
newly created company.
Dilution can also occur if warrants and
stock options on a stock are exercised,
and if convertible bonds and preferred
stock the company issued are converted
to common stock.
Companies must report the worst-case
potential for such dilution, or loss of
value, to their shareholders as diluted
earnings per share.
Direct deposit
Direct deposit is the electronic transfer
of money from a payer, such as your
employer or a government agency, directly
into a bank account you designate.
DIAMONDs
57
Direct deposit is faster and cheaper
than sending a check and also more
secure, which is why both payers and
banks prefer this system. In fact,
banks often provide free checking or
other benefits if your paychecks are
deposited directly.
Direct investment
You can make a direct investment in
a companys stock through dividend
reinvestment plans (DRIPs) and direct
purchase plans (DPPs).
If a company in which you own stock
offers a DRIP, you have the opportunity to
reinvest cash dividends and capital gains
distributions in more stock automatically
each time they are paid.
In the case of DPPs, also known as
direct stock purchase plans (DSPs),
companies can sell their stock directly to
investors without using a brokerage firm
as intermediary.
Direct investment also refers to
long-term investments in limited partner-
ships that invest in real estate, leased
equipment, and energy exploration and
development. In this type of investment,
you become part owner of the hard assets
of the enterprise.
You realize income from your
investment by receiving a portion of
the businesss profits, for example, from
rents, contractual leasing payments, or
oil sales. In some cases you realize capital
gains at the end of the investment term,
if the business sells its assets.
These DPPs are largely nontraded
and have no formal secondary markets.
This means you will often have to hold
the investment for terms of eight years or
more, with no guarantee that any of the
income or capital gains will materialize.
Many people make direct investments
because there can be significant tax
benefits, such as tax deferral and tax
abatement, depending on the investment.
Direct purchase plan (DPP)
Some publicly held companies offer
a direct purchase plan that lets you
purchase their stock directly without
using a broker.
You may pay a small commission or
transaction feesmaller than if you
purchased the shares through a retail
brokeralthough some DPPs charge
no fee at all.
Direct purchase plans are similar to
dividend reinvestment plans, or DRIPs,
with the added benefit that you can make
the initial purchase of the companys
stock through the plan rather than having
to purchase stock first, through a broker,
in order to be eligible for a DRIP.
Its easy to open a DPP account, and
because it lets you purchase fractional
shares of the companys stock, you can
decide whether to invest a lump sum or
make small, regular purchases on a set
schedule to build your investment. Your
shares are registered on the companys
books, and you can sell your shares
through the plan as well.
Disclosure
A disclosure document explains how a
financial product or offering works. It also
details the terms to which you must agree
in order to buy it or use it, and, in some
cases, the risks you assume in making
such a purchase.
For example, publicly traded
companies must provide all available
information that might influence your
decision to invest in the stocks or bonds
they issue. Mutual fund companies are
required to disclose the risks and costs
associated with buying shares in the fund.
Government regulatory agencies,
such as the Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC), self-regulating
organizations, state securities regulators,
and NASD require such disclosures.
Similarly, federal and local govern-
ments require lenders to explain the costs
of credit, and banks to explain the costs
of opening and maintaining an account.
Despite the consumer benefits,
disclosure information isnt always
easily accessible. It may be expressed in
confusing language, printed in tiny type,
or so extensive that consumers choose
to ignore it.
DPP
Disclosure
58
Discount
When bonds sell for less than their face
value, they are said to be selling at
a discount.
Bonds sell at a discount when the
interest rate they pay is lower than the
rate on more recently issued bonds or
when the financial condition of the
issuer weakens.
In the case of rising interest rates,
demand for older, lower-paying bonds
drops as investors put their money into
newer, higher-paying alternatives, so
the prices of the older bonds drop. If a
rating agency reduces a bonds rating,
the market price tends to drop because
investors demand a higher yield for the
additional risk they take in buying
the bond.
Similarly, closed-end mutual funds
may trade at a discount to their net asset
value (NAV) as a result of weak investor
demand or other market forces. Preferred
stocks may also trade at a discount.
In contrast, certain bonds, called
original issue discount bonds, or deep
discount bonds, are issued at a discount
to par value, or full face value, but are
worth par at maturity.
Discount brokerage firm
Discount brokerage firms charge lower
commissions than full-service brokerage
firms when they execute investors buy
and sell orders but may provide fewer
services to their clients.
For example, they may not offer
investment advice or maintain indepen-
dent research departments.
Because of the information and online
account access on most brokerage web-
sites, differences between full-service and
discount firms are less apparent to the
average investor.
Discount point
Some lenders require you to prepay
a portion of the interest due on your
mortgage as a condition of approving
the loan. They set the amount due at
one or more discount points, with each
discount point equal to 1% of the
mortgage loan principal.
For instance, if you must pay one point
on a $100,000 mortgage, you owe $1,000.
From your perspective, the advantages
of paying discount points are that your
long-term interest rate is lowered slightly
for each point you pay, and prepaid
interest is tax deductible. The advantage,
from the lenders point of view, is that
they collect some of their interest
earnings up front.
Discount rate
The discount rate is the interest rate
the Federal Reserve charges on loans
it makes to banks and other financial
institutions.
The discount rate becomes the
base interest rate for most consumer
borrowing as well. Thats because a
bank generally uses the discount rate as
a benchmark for the interest it charges
on the loans it makes.
For example, when the discount rate
increases, the interest rate that lenders
charge on home mortgages and other
loans increases. And when the discount
rate is lowered, the cost of consumer
borrowing eventually decreases as well.
The term discount rate also applies to
discounted instruments like US Treasury
bills. In this case, the rate is used to
identify the interest you will earn if you
purchase at issue, hold the bill to matu-
rity, and receive face value at maturity.
The interest is the difference between
what you pay to purchase the bills and
the amount you are repaid.
Discretionary account
A discretionary account is a type of
brokerage account in which clients
authorize their brokers to buy and sell
securities on their behalf without prior
consent for each transaction.
A client may set guidelines for the
account, such as the types of securities
the broker may purchase. However, the
broker can buy and sell shares at his or
her discretion.
Managed accountsalso called
separate accounts and wrap accounts
are one type of discretionary account.
Disinflation
Disinflation is a slowdown in the rate of
price increases that historically occurs
during a recession, when the supply
of goods is greater than the demand
for them.
Unlike deflation, however, when prices
for goods actually drop, disinflation
prices do not usually fall, but the rate
of inflation becomes negligible.
Dispute resolution
Dispute resolutionsometimes called
alternative dispute resolutionrefers to
Discount
1 Point
1% of loan
amount
59
methods of resolving conflicts between
parties or individuals that doesnt
involve litigation.
Mediation and arbitration are two
forms of dispute resolution that are
frequently used when conflicts arise
between investors and the brokers or
investment advisers with whom they work.
If you have a conflict that youve
been unable to resolve by talking with
your broker and the firm, you can file a
complaint with NASD or the New York
Stock Exchange (NYSE), the self-regula-
tory body that regulates brokerage firms
and uses mediators and arbitrators to
help resolve disputes. If your conflict
is with a registered investment adviser,
you should contact the Securities and
Advocates of dispute resolution note
that it tends to be quicker, cheaper, and
less confrontational than litigation.
Distribution
A distribution is money a mutual fund
pays its shareholders either from the
dividends or interest it earns or from the
capital gains it realizes on the sale of
securities in its portfolio.
Unless you own the fund through a
tax-deferred or tax-free account, you owe
federal income tax on most distributions,
the exception being interest income from
municipal bond funds. That tax is due
whether or not you reinvest the money
to buy additional shares in the fund.
Youll owe tax at your regular rate
on short-term gains and on income from
interest. The tax on qualifying dividends
and long-term gains is calculated at
your long-term capital gains rate. Your
end-of-year statement will indicate
which income belongs to each category.
The term distribution is also used to
describe certain actions a corporation
takes. For example, if a corporation spins
off a subsidiary as a standalone company,
it will issue shares in that subsidiary to
current stockholders. Thats considered
a distribution. Corporate dividends may
also be described as distributions.
Diversification
Diversification is an investment
strategy in which you spread your
investment dollars among different
sectors, industries, and securities within
a number of asset classes.
A well-diversified stock portfolio, for
example, might include small-, medium-,
and large-cap domestic stocks, stocks
in six or more sectors or industries, and
international stocks. The goal is to protect
the value of your overall portfolio in case
a single security or market sector takes a
serious downturn.
Diversification can help insulate your
portfolio against market and management
risks without significantly reducing the
level of return you want. But finding the
diversification mix thats right for your
portfolio depends on your age, your
assets, your tolerance for risk, and your
investment goals.
Dividend
Corporations may pay part of their
earnings as dividends to you and other
shareholders as a return on your invest-
ment. These dividends, which are often
declared quarterly, are usually in the form
of cash, but may be paid as additional
shares or scrip.
DISTRIBUTIONS
MUTUAL
FUND
COMPANY
Dividend
60
You may be able to reinvest cash
dividends automatically to buy additional
shares if the corporation offers a dividend
reinvestment program (DRIP).
Dividends are taxable unless you own
the investment through a tax-deferred
account, such as an employer sponsored
retirement plan or individual retirement
account. That applies whether you re-
invest them or not.
However, dividends on most US and
many international stocks are considered
qualifying dividends. That means you owe
tax at your long-term capital gains rate,
provided you have owned the stocks the
required length of time.
Dividends on real estate investment
trusts (REITs), mutual savings banks,
and certain other investments arent
considered qualifying and are taxed at
your regular rate.
Dividend payout ratio
You can calculate a dividend payout ratio
by dividing the dividend a company pays
per share by the companys earnings per
share. The normal range is 25% to 50% of
earnings, though the average is higher
in some sectors of the economy than
in others.
Some analysts think that an unusually
high ratio may indicate that a company
is in financial trouble but doesnt want
to alarm shareholders by reducing
its dividend.
Dividend reinvestment plan (DRIP)
Many publicly held companies allow
shareholders to reinvest dividends in
company stock or buy additional shares
through dividend reinvestment plans,
or DRIPs.
Enrolling in a DRIP
enables you to build
your investment gradu-
ally, taking advantage
of dollar cost averaging
and usually paying only
a minimal transaction
fee for each purchase.
Many DRIPs will
also buy back shares at
any time you want to
sell, in most cases for a
minimal sales charge.
One potential drawback of purchasing
through a DRIP is that you accumulate
shares at different prices over time,
making it more difficult to determine
your cost basisespecially if you want
to sell some of but not all your holdings.
Dividend yield
If you own dividend-paying stocks, you
figure the current dividend yield on your
investment by dividing the dividend being
paid on each share by the shares current
market price.
For example, if a stock whose market
price is $35 pays a dividend of 75 cents
per share, the dividend yield is 2.14%
($0.75 $35 = .0214, or 2.14%).
Yields for all dividend-paying stocks
are reported regularly in newspaper stock
tables and on financial websites.
Dividend yield increases as the price
per share drops and drops as the share
price increases. But it does not tell
you what youre earning based on your
original investment or the income you
can expect to earn in the future. However,
some investors seeking current income
or following a particular investment
strategy look for high-yielding stocks.
Dogs of the Dow
If you follow a Dogs of the Dow
investment strategy, you buy the ten
highest-yielding stocks in the Dow Jones
Industrial Average (DJIA) on the first of
the year and hold them for a year.
According to this theory, the dogs
will, over the year, produce a total return,
or combination of dividends plus price
appreciation, thats higher than the
return on the DJIA as a whole. The
increasing price is the result of demand
for the high-yielding stock.
On the anniversary of your purchase,
the stocks are no longer dogs because
their higher prices reduce their current
yield even if the dividend remains the
same. So you sell them and buy the next
batch of dogs.
Dollar cost averaging
Dollar cost averaging means adding a
fixed amount of money on a regular
schedule to an investment account, such
$ $
DRIP
Dividend payout ratio
61
as a mutual fund, retirement account, or
a dividend reinvestment plan (DRIP).
Since the share price of the investment
fluctuates, you buy fewer shares when
the share price is higher and more shares
when the price is lower.
The advantage of this type of formula
investing, which is also sometimes called
a constant dollar plan, is that, over time,
the average price you pay per share is
lower than the actual average price
per share.
But to get the most from this approach,
you have to invest regularly, including
during prolonged downturns when the
prices of the investment drop. Otherwise
you are buying only at the higher prices.
Despite its advantages, dollar cost
averaging does not guarantee a profit
and doesnt protect you from losses in a
falling market.
Domicile
Your domicile is your permanent
residence, which you demonstrate by
using it as your primary home, holding a
drivers license using that address, and
registering to vote in that district.
Your domicile affects your state and
local income taxes, state estate and
inheritance taxes, and certain other tax
benefits or liabilities.
Domini Social Index 400
The Domini Social Index 400 is a market
capitalization weighted index that tracks
the performance of companies that meet
a wide range of social and environmental
standards.
For instance, the index screens out
companies that manufacture or promote
alcohol, tobacco, gambling, weapons,
and nuclear power. It includes others
that have outstanding records of
social responsibility.
About half the stocks included in the
Standard & Poors 500 Index (S&P 500),
on which the Domini Index is modeled,
make the cut, including giants like
Microsoft and Coca-Cola. The other stocks
are selected based on the industries they
represent and their reputations for so-
cially conscious business practices.
The index is considered a benchmark
for measuring the effect that selecting
socially responsible stocks has on a
financial portfolios performance. This
practice is also called social screening.
Double bottom
Double bottom is a term that technical
analysts use to describe a stock price
pattern that, when depicted on a chart,
shows two drops to the same dollar
amount separated by a rebound.
For example, if a stock that had been
trading at about $28 a share dropped to
$18, rebounded to trade at about $22 for
several weeks, and then dropped to $18
again, analysts would identify $18 as a
double bottom.
An analyst observing this pattern
might conclude that investors were
comfortable paying $18 for the stock,
and that the price might not drop below
that level in the near term. In technical
terms, the analyst would say that there
was support for the price. However,
theres no guarantee that it might not
drop further and hit a new low.
Double top
Double top is a term that technical ana-
lysts use to describe a stock price pattern
that, when depicted on a chart, shows two
gains to the same dollar level separated
by a price drop.
For example, if a stock that had been
trading at about $28 a share rose to $35,
dropped back to trade at about $28 for
several weeks, and then rose to $35
again, analysts would identify $35 as a
double top.
An analyst observing this pattern
might conclude that investors were
comfortable paying $35 for the stock,
and that the price might not rise above
that level in the near term. In technical
terms, the analyst would say that there
was resistance above that price. However,
theres no way to predict whether the
price would in fact remain at $35 or gain
value and hit new a high.
Dow Jones 65 Composite Average
This composite of three Dow Jones
averages tracks the stock performance
of 65 companies in two major market
sectors and the benchmark DJIA.
Those averages are the Dow Jones
Industrial Average (DJIA), the Dow Jones
Transportation Average, and the Dow
Jones Utility Average.
Dow Jones 65 Composite Average
62
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA)
The Dow Jones Industrial Average
(DJIA), sometimes referred to as the
Dow, is the best-known and most widely
followed market indicator in the world.
It tracks the performance of 30 blue chip
US stocks.
Though it is called an average, it
actually functions more like an index. The
DJIA is quoted in points, not dollars. Its
computed by totaling the weighted prices
of the 30 stocks and dividing by a number
that is regularly adjusted for stock splits,
spin-offs, and other changes in the stocks
being tracked.
The companies that make up the
DJIA are changed from time to time. For
example, in 1999 Microsoft, Intel, SBC
Communications, and Home Depot were
added and four other companies were
dropped. The changes are widely inter-
preted as a reflection of the emerging or
declining impact of a specific company
or type of company on the economy as
a whole.
Dow Jones Transportation Average
The Dow Jones Transportation Average
tracks the performance of the stocks
of 20 airlines, railroads, and trucking
companies. It is one of the components
of the Dow Jones 65 Composite Average.
Dow Jones Utility Average
The Dow Jones Utility Average tracks
the performance of the stocks of 15 gas,
electric, and power companies, and is
one of the components of the Dow Jones
65 Composite Average.
Dow Jones Wilshire 5000 Index
The Dow Jones Wilshire 5000 is a market
capitalization weighted index of approxi-
mately 7,000 stocks.
It is the broadest US stock market
index, tracking all the stocks traded on
the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE),
the American Stock Exchange (AMEX),
the Nasdaq Stock Market (Nasdaq), and
other US based stocks for which data is
readily available.
The difference between the indexs
name (the 5000) and the number of
stocks the index tracks at any one time
occurs because the number of stocks
being traded changes all the time.
Dow theory
Dow theory maintains that major market
trends depend on how the Dow Jones
Industrial Average (DJIA) and the Dow
Jones Transportation Average behave.
They must move simultaneously in the
same direction until they both hit a new
high or a new low in order for a trend
to continue.
Some experts discount the relevance
of this approach as a useful guideline,
arguing that waiting to invest until a
trend is confirmed can mean losing out
on potential growth.
Down payment
A down payment is the amount, usually
stated as a percentage, of the total cost
of a property that you pay in cash as part
of a real estate transaction.
The down payment is the difference
between the selling price and the amount
of money you borrow to buy the property.
For example, you might make a 10%
down payment of $20,000 to buy a
home selling for $200,000 and take a
$180,000 mortgage.
With a conventional mortgage, youre
usually expected to make a down payment
of 10% to 20%. But you may qualify for a
mortgage that requires a smaller down
payment, perhaps as little as 3%.
The upside of needing to put down
less money is that you may be able to buy
sooner. But the downside is that your
mortgage payments will be larger and
youll pay more interest, increasing the
cost of buying.
Downtick
When a security sells at a lower price than
its previous sale price, the drop in value is
called a downtick.
For example, if
a stock that had
been trading at 25
sells at 24.99 the
next time it trades,
the 1 cent drop
is a downtick.
%
%
1
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA)
63
Durable power of attorney
You can grant a durable power of attorney
to an agent of your choice, giving that
personcalled the attorney-in-factthe
right the make legal decisions for you if
you arent able to do so.
Your attorney-in-fact also has the right
to buy and sell property on your behalf
and to handle your financial affairs. You
retain the right to revoke the power or
name a new agent at any time.
An agent with durable power of
attorney continues to have the power
to act on your behalf if you become
incompetent. However, not all states
allow durable powers.
Duration
In simplified terms, a bonds duration
measures the effect that each 1% change
in interest rates will have on the bonds
market value.
Unlike the maturity date, which tells
you when the issuer has promised to
repay your principal, duration, which
takes the bonds interest payments
into account, helps you to evaluate how
volatile the bonds price will be over time.
Basically, the longer the duration
expressed in yearsthe more volatile the
price. So a 1% change in interest rates
will have less effect on the price of a
bond with a duration of 2 than it will on
the price of a bond with a duration of 5.
Dutch auction
A Dutch auction opens at the highest
price and drops gradually until theres
a buyer willing to pay the amount being
asked. The transaction is completed at
that price.
The only securities auctions in US
markets that are conducted as Dutch
auctions are the competitive bids for
US Treasury bills, notes, and bonds.
In contrast, a conventional commercial
auction begins with the lowest price,
which gradually increases as potential
buyers bid against each other. The selling
price is determined when no bidder will
top the last offer on the table.
A double-action auctionthe system
in place on US stock exchangesfeatures
many buyers and sellers bidding against
each other to close a sale at a mutually
agreed-upon price.
Dutch auction
64
Early withdrawal
Early withdrawal
If you withdraw assets from a fixed-term
investment, such as a certificate of
deposit (CD), before it matures, it is
considered an early withdrawal.
Similarly, if you withdraw from a tax-
deferred or tax-free retirement savings
plan before you turn 59, in most cases,
its considered early.
If you withdraw early, you usually have
to pay a penalty imposed by the issuer
(in the case of a CD) or the government
(if its an IRA or other tax-deferred or
tax-free savings plan).
However, you may be able to use the
money in your account without penalty
under certain circumstances. For exam-
ple, if you withdraw IRA assets to pay for
higher education, to buy a first home, or
for other qualified reasons, the penalty is
waived. But taxes will still be due on the
tax-deferred portion of the withdrawal.
Earned income
Earned income is pay you receive for
work you perform, and includes salaries,
wages, tips, and professional fees.
Your earned income is included in
your gross income, along with unearned
income from interest, dividends, and
capital gains. If you have earned income,
youre eligible to contribute to an
individual retirement account (IRA).
Earned income credit (EIC)
The earned income tax credit (EIC)
reduces the income tax that certain
low-income taxpayers would otherwise
owe. Its a refundable credit, so if the
tax thats due is less than the amount of
the credit, the difference is paid to the
taxpayer as a refund.
To qualify for the EIC, a taxpayer must
work, earn less than the governments
ceiling for his or her filing status and
family situation, meet a set of specific
conditions, and file the required IRS
schedules and forms.
Earnings
In the case of an individual, earnings
include salary and other compensation
for work you do, as well as interest,
dividends, and capital gains from
your investments.
E
E
From a corporate perspective,
earnings are profits, or net income,
after the company has paid income
taxes and bond interest.
Earnings estimate
Professional stock analysts use math-
ematical models that weigh companies
financial data to predict their future
earnings per share on a quarterly, annual,
and long-term basis.
Investment research companies, such
as Thomson Financial and Zacks, publish
averages of analysts estimates for specific
companies. These averages are called
consensus estimates.
Earnings momentum
When a companys earnings per share
grow from year to year at an ever-
increasing rate, that pattern is described
as earnings momentum. One example
might be a company whose earnings grow
one year at 10%, the next year at 18%,
and a third year at 25%.
In many cases, this momentum
triggers an increase in the stocks share
price as well, because investors identify
the stock as one they expect to continue
to grow and increase in value.
Earnings per share (EPS)
Earnings per share (EPS) is calculated by
dividing a companys total earnings by the
number of outstanding shares.
For example, if a company earns
$100 million in a year and has 50 million
outstanding shares, the earnings per
share are $2.
Earnings per share can also be
calculated on a fully diluted basis, by
adding outstanding stock options, rights,
and warrants to the outstanding shares.
The results report what EPS would be
if all of those options, rights, and warrants
were exercised and the company had to
issue more shares to meet its obligations.
65
Education savings account (ESA)
Earnings and other financial measures
are provided on a per share basis to make
it easier for you to analyze the informa-
tion and compare the results to those of
other investments.
Earnings surprise
When a companys earnings report
either exceeds or fails to meet analysts
estimates, its called an earnings surprise.
An upside surprise occurs when a
company reports higher earnings than
analysts predicted and usually triggers
an increase in the stock price.
A negative surprise, on the other
hand, occurs when a company fails to
meet expectations and often causes the
stocks price to fall. Companies try hard
to avoid negative surprises since even a
small deviation can create a big stir.
EBITDA
Earnings before interest, taxes, depre-
ciation, and amortization are commonly
shortened to EBITDA. EBITDA reports a
companys profits before interest on debt
and taxes owed or paid to the government
are subtracted.
EBITDA is used to compare the
profitability of a company with other
companies of the same size in the same
industry but which may have different
levels of debt or different tax situations.
Economic cycle
An economic cycle is a period during
which a countrys economy moves from
strength to weakness and back
to strength.
This pattern repeats itself regularly,
though not on a fixed schedule. The
length of the cycle isnt predictable
either and may be measured in months
or in years.
The cycle is driven by many forces
including inflation, the money supply,
domestic and international politics, and
natural events.
In developed countries, the central
bank uses its power to influence interest
rates and the money supply to prevent
dramatic peaks and deep troughs,
smoothing the cycles highs and lows.
This up and down pattern influences
all aspects of economic life, including the
financial markets. Certain investments
or categories of investment that thrive
in one phase of the cycle may lose value
in another. As a result, in evaluating an
investment, you may want to look at how
it has fared through a full economic cycle.
Economic indicator
Economic indicators are statistical
measurements of current business
conditions.
Changes in leading indicators,
including those that track factory orders,
stock prices, the money supply, and
consumer confidence, forecast short-term
economic strength or weakness.
In contrast, lagging indicators, such
as business spending, bank interest rates,
and unemployment figures, move up
or down in the wake of changes in
the economy.
The Conference Board, a nonprofit
business research firm, releases its
weighted indexes of leading, lagging,
and coincident indicators every month.
Though the individual components are
also reported separately throughout the
month, the indicators provide a snapshot
of the economys overall health.
Education savings account (ESA)
You can put up to $2,000 a year into a
Coverdell education savings account
(ESA) that you establish in the name of
a minor child. The assets in the account
can be invested any way you choose.
There is no limit to the number of
accounts you can set up for different
beneficiaries, but no more than a total
of $2,000 can be contributed in a single
beneficiarys name in any one year. If you
EARNINGS PER SHARE
Total company earnings
Number of
outstanding shares
for example
$100,000,000
50,000,000
=
EARNINGS PER
SHARE
= $2 PER SHARE
66
choose, you may switch the beneficiary of
an ESA to another member of the same
extended family.
Your contribution is not tax deductible.
But any earnings that accumulate in the
account can be withdrawn tax free if
theyre used to pay qualified educational
expenses for the beneficiary until he
or she reaches age 30. The costs can be
incurred at any level, from elementary
school through a graduate degree, or at
a qualified post-secondary technical or
vocational school.
There are no restrictions on using ESA
money in the same year the student uses
other tax-free savings, or the student,
parent, or guardian uses tax credits for
educational expenses. But you cant take
a credit for expenses you covered with
tax-free withdrawals.
To qualify to make a full $2,000
contribution to an ESA, your modified
adjusted gross income (MAGI) must be
$95,000 or less, and your right to make
any contribution at all is phased out if
your MAGI is $110,000 if youre a single
taxpayer. The comparable range if youre
married and file a joint return is $190,000,
phased out at $220,000.
Effective tax rate
Your effective tax rate is the rate you
actually pay on all of your taxable income.
You find your annual effective rate by
dividing the tax you paid in the year by
your taxable income for the year.
Your effective rate will always be lower
than your marginal tax rate, which is the
rate you pay on the income that falls into
the highest tax bracket you reach.
For example, if you file your federal
tax return as a single taxpayer, had
taxable income of $75,000, and paid
$15,332 in federal income taxes, your
federal marginal tax rate would be 28%
but your effective rate would be 20.4%.
That lower rate reflects the fact that you
paid tax on portions of your income at
the 10%, 15%, and 25% rates, as well as
the final portion at 28%.
Efficient market
When the information that investors
need to make investment decisions is
widely available, thoroughly analyzed,
and regularly used, the result is an
efficient market.
This is the case with securities traded
on the major US stock markets. That
means the price of a security is a clear
indication of its value at the time it
is traded.
Conversely, an inefficient market is
one in which there is limited information
available for making rational investment
decisions and limited trading volume.
Efficient market theory
Proponents of the efficient market theory
believe that a stocks current price
accurately reflects what investors know
about the stock.
They also maintain that you cant
predict a stocks future price based on
its past performance. Their conclusion,
which is contested by other experts, is
that its not possible for an individual or
institutional investor to outperform the
market as a whole.
Index funds, which are designed to
match, rather than beat, the performance
of a particular market segment, are
in part an outgrowth of efficient
market theory.
Electronic benefits transfer (EBT)
Electronic benefits transfer, or EBT, is
a system through which recipients of
certain government benefits receive and
spend funds electronically, using a plastic
EBT card similar to a bank debit card.
Benefits are deposited electronically
into the recipients program account.
The recipient can then use his or her
EBT card to make purchases, which are
debited from the account.
All states now use EBT in addition to
traditional paper coupons to distribute
food stamp benefits. Some states also
use EBT to disburse benefits for other
programs, including the US Department
of Agricultures Special Supplemental
Nutrition Program for Women, Infants,
and Children (WIC) and the Temporary
Assistance to Needy Families
(TANF) programs.
There are no fees when recipients use
EBT cards for purchases, but fees may
apply to cash withdrawals from ATMs or
electronic balance inquiries.
Electronic bill payment
If you have an electronic bill payment
arrangement with your bank, your bills
are sent to an account you designate and
the bank pays them automatically each
month by deducting the money from that
account and transferring it to your payees,
either electronically or by check.
Effective tax rate
EBT
67
The advantage of using electronic
payment is that your bills will be paid on
time, though it is your responsibility to
ensure that there is enough money on
deposit to cover whats due.
When the payments are made to credit
accounts with the same bank, you may be
offered a slightly reduced interest rate for
using the service.
However, youll want to investigate
whether theres an added fee for auto-
matic payment and how much flexibility
you have in determining how much of a
bills balance due is paid each month on
credit accounts where you have the option
to pay less than the full amount owed.
Electronic bill presentment
If you pay bills online, you may be able
to take advantage of electronic bill
presentment, a paper-free method of
reporting your outstanding charges and
the amount due.
The creditor may either email your
monthly statement or notify you via email
that the statement is ready for viewing at
a secure website.
Electronic check conversion
Electronic check conversion is a payment
process in which you give a payee a check,
but the actual payment is processed as an
electronic funds transfer.
The payment is automatically debited
from your account using the account,
routing information, and bank ID informa-
tion on your check, which is either voided
and returned to you or destroyed.
A business must notify you before
it uses electronic check conversion to
process your payment. Keep in mind
that an electronic funds transfer will be
completed much more quickly than a
check, so its important to have the funds
available in your account before you
authorize an electronic check conversion.
As with any other type of electronic
funds transfer, you have the right to ask
your bank to investigate any errors
or misuses.
Electronic communications
network (ECN)
An ECN is an alternative securities
trading system that collects, displays,
and executes orders electronically with-
out a middleman, such as a specialist or
market maker.
Trading on an ECN allows institutional
and individual investors to buy and sell
anonymously. Further, ECNs facilitate
extended, or after-hours, trading.
ECN trade execution can be faster
and less expensive than trades handled
through screen-based or traditional
markets, though the volume is some-
times thin.
However, some ECNs have been ap-
proved for official stock exchange status,
expanding the number of stocks that can
be traded on their systems.
Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis,
and Retrieval System (EDGAR)
EDGAR is an electronic database that
contains all the corporate financial
reports filed with the Securities and
Any company with more than
$10 million in assets and over 500 share-
holders, or that is listed on a major
exchange in the United States or quoted
on the Over the Counter Bulletin Board
(OTCBB) is required to file prospectuses,
an annual 10-Kor audited financial
reportthree unaudited 10-Qs, notices
of insider trades, tender offers, and other
detailed company information.
Smaller companies may file voluntarily.
You can access all EDGAR filings free of
charge on the SEC website (www.sec.gov).
Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval System
68
Electronic funds transfer
Electronic funds transfer (EFT) is the
means by which financial institutions
exchange billions of dollars every day
without the physical movement of any
paper money. Money moves electronically
from one bank account to another, usually
within 24 hours of a scheduled payment.
The system covers all electronic credit
and debit money transfers, including
direct depositswhich occur when you
authorize your employer or other payer to
automatically deposit payroll into
your bank accountdebit card and
ATM transactions, online bill payment,
wire transfers, and debit transfers as
well as automatic deductions from your
accounts to make regular payments.
According to the US Department of the
Treasury, it costs the federal government
only 9 cents to issue an EFT payment as
opposed to 86 cents to make a traditional
check payment.
Elimination period
If you have disability insurance or long-
term care insurance, theres a waiting
period, called the elimination period,
from the time you become disabled, or are
certified in need of long-term care, and
when you begin receiving benefits.
You often have a choice of elimination
periodssuch as 30, 60, or 90 days
when you purchase the insurance, though
sometimes the payment gap is dictated by
the terms of the policy.
In general, the shorter the elimination
period the higher the premiums will be
for comparable coverage.
Emergency fund
An emergency fund is designed to
provide financial back-up for unexpected
expenses or for a period when you arent
working and need income.
To create an
emergency fund, you
generally accumulate
three to six months
worth of living
expenses in a secure,
liquid account so
that the money is
available if you
need it.
Its a good idea to keep your emer-
gency fund separate from other savings
or investment accounts and replenish it
if you withdraw. But you dont have to
limit yourself to low-interest savings
accounts, and might consider other liquid
accounts, such as money market funds,
that may pay higher interest.
If youre single or have sole respon-
sibility for one or more dependents, you
may want to consider an even bigger
emergency fund, perhaps large enough to
cover a years worth of ordinary expenses.
Emerging market
Countries in the process of building
market-based economies are broadly
referred to as emerging markets. How-
ever, there are major differences among
the countries included in this category.
Some emerging-market countries,
including Russia, have only recently
relaxed restrictions on a free-market
economy. Others, including Indonesia,
have opened their markets more widely to
overseas investors, and still others,
including Mexico, are expanding
industrial production.
Their combined stock market
capitalization is less than 3% of the
worldwide total.
Emerging markets fund
Emerging markets mutual funds invest
primarily in the securities of countries
in the process of building a market-
based economy.
Some funds specialize in the markets
of a certain region, such as Latin America
or Southeast Asia. Others invest in a
global cross-section of countries
and regions.
Employee Retirement Income
Security Act (ERISA)
This comprehensive law, best known by
the acronym ERISA, governs qualified
retirement plans, including most private-
company defined benefit and defined
contribution plans, and protects the
rights of the employees who participate
in the plans.
ERISA also established individual
retirement arrangements (IRAs), made
it easier for self-employed people to set
up retirement plans, and made employee
stock ownership plans part of the
tax code.
Among ERISA requirements are
that plan participants receive a detailed
document that explains how their plan
operates, what employee rights are
including qualifying to participate and
uniform vesting schedulesand what
the grievance and appeals process is.
In addition, ERISA assigns fiduciary
responsibility to those who sponsor,
manage, and control plan assets. This
means they must act in the best interests
of the plan participants. ERISA rules do
Electronic funds transfer
EMERGENCY
69
not apply to plans provided by federal,
state, or local governments, church plans,
or certain other plans.
ERISA has been amended several
times since it was passed in 1974, making
some provisions more flexible and others
more restrictive. Among the changes
were the Consolidated Omnibus Budget
Reconciliation Act (COBRA), which
provides continuing access to coverage,
for a fee, when an employee leaves an
employer who offers health insurance,
and the Health Insurance Portability
and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which
protects access to health insurance
coverage for employees and their families
with pre-existing medical conditions when
the employee leaves a job that provided
coverage and moves to a new job where
coverage is also offered.
Employee stock ownership plan
(ESOP)
An ESOP is a trust to which a company
contributes shares of newly issued stock,
shares the company has held in reserve,
or the cash to buy
shares on the
open market.
The shares go
into individual
accounts set up
for employees who
meet the plans eligibility requirements.
An ESOP may be part of a 401(k)
plan or separate from it. If its linked,
an employers matching contribution
may be shares added to the ESOP
account rather than cash added to an
investment account.
If youre part of an ESOP and you
leave your job, you have the right to sell
your shares on the open market if your
employer is a public company.
If its a privately held company, you
have the right to sell them back at fair
market value. The vast majority of ESOPs
are offered by privately held companies.
Employer sponsored retirement plan
Employers may offer their employees
either defined benefit or defined
contribution retirement plans, or they
may make both types of plans available.
Any employer may offer a defined
benefit plan, but certain types of defined
contribution plans are available only
through specific categories of employers.
For example, 403(b) plans may be
offered only by tax-exempt, nonprofit
employers, and 457 plans only by state
and municipal governments. SIMPLE
plans, on the other hand, can only be
offered by employers with fewer than
100 workers.
Corporate
employers who
contribute to a
retirement plan
can take a tax
deduction for the
amount of their
contribution and
may enjoy other
tax benefits.
However, the plan
must meet certain
Internal Revenue
Service (IRS)
guidelines.
Offering a
retirement plan
may also make the
employer more attractive to potential
employees. However, employers are not
required to offer plans. If they do, they
can make the plan as generous or as
limited as they choose as long as the
plan meets the governments non-
discrimination guidelines.
Enhanced index fund
An enhanced index fund chooses
selectively among the stocks in a
particular index in order to produce
a slightly higher return. By contrast,
an index fund strives to mirror the
performance of a particular index by
owning all the stocks in the index.
The goal is to narrowly beat the index
anywhere from a fraction of a percent to
two percentage points, but not more. A
wider spread would classify the enhanced
fund as an actively managed mutual fund
rather than an index fund.
Enhanced index fund managers may
achieve higher returns by identifying
the undervalued stocks in the index.
Or they might adjust holdings to include
a larger proportion of securities in
higher performing sectors, or use
other investment strategies, such as
buying derivatives.
While enhanced index funds may
expose you to the risk of greater losses
than their plain-vanilla counterparts,
they may also offer an opportunity for
higher returns.
Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA)
The Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA)
is designed to ensure that all qualified
people have access to credit.
It forbids lenders from rejecting credit
applicants on the basis of race, gender,
marital status, age, or national origin
401(k)
403(b)
Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA)
E
m
p
lo
y
e
e
S
H
A
R
E
S
70
and requires lenders to consider public
assistance in the same light as other
forms of income.
The act says that creditors must
approve or reject your application
within 30 days if youve filed a complete
application, and, if you ask within 60 days,
must provide an explanation for turning
you down. The ECOA requires creditors
to provide specific reasons for rejecting
you and forbids indefinite or vague
explanations.
If you feel youre being discriminated
against and the lender does not respond
to your complaints, you can contact the
attorney general of your state or the
government agency that oversees the
creditor. By law, the creditor must
provide that information. If you cant
get the information from the creditor,
you can contact the Federal Trade
Commission at www.ftc.gov.
Equity
In the broadest sense, equity gives you
ownership. If you own stock, you have
equity in, or own a portionhowever
smallof the company that issued
the stock.
Having equity is the opposite of
owning a bond or commercial paper,
which is a debt the company must
repay to you.
Equity also refers to the difference
between an assets current market
valuethe amount it could be sold
forand any debt or claim against it.
For example, if you own a home currently
valued at $300,000 but still owe $200,000
on your mortgage, your equity in the
home is $100,000.
The same is true if you own stock in a
margin account. The stock may be worth
$50,000 in the marketplace, but if you
have a loan balance of $20,000 in your
margin account because you financed
the purchase, your equity in the stock
is $30,000.
Equity fund
Equity funds invest primarily in stock.
The stock a fund buyswhether in small,
up-and-coming companies or large,
well-established firmsdepends on
the funds investment objectives and
management style.
The general approach may be implied
by the funds name or the category in
which it places itself, such as large-cap
growth or small-cap value. However, a
funds manager may have the flexibility
to invest more broadly to meet the
funds objectives.
Equivalent taxable yield
While taxable bonds normally pay
higher interest rates than tax-exempt
bonds, they sometimes provide a lower
overall yield.
Finding the equivalent taxable yield
lets you determine the minimum interest
rate a taxable bond must pay to equal
the yield of a comparable tax-exempt
bond. The formula for the equivalent
taxable yield is tax-exempt interest
rate (100 your tax rate).
So, for example, if a municipal bond
pays an annual interest rate of 7%, and
your tax rate is 35%, the equivalent
taxable yield would be 7 (100 35) =
10.8%. That means that in order to be
as attractive an investment as the 7%
municipal bond, a taxable bond would
need to pay an annual interest rate of
10.8% or more.
Escrow
When someone else holds assets of yours
until the terms of a contract or an agree-
ment are fulfilled, your assets are said
to be held in escrow. The assets could be
money, securities, real estate, or a deed.
The person or organization that holds
the assets is the escrow agent, and the
account in which they are held is an
escrow account.
For example, if you make a down
payment on a home, the money is held in
escrow until the sale is completed or the
deal falls through.
Amounts you prepay to cover property
taxes and insurance premiums as part
of your regular mortgage payment are
also held in escrow until those bills come
due and are paid. In that case, you may
EQUIVALENT TAXABLE YIELD
Tax-exempt yield
100 your tax rate
=
EQUIVALENT
TAXABLE YIELD
Equity
$200,000
Outstanding
mortgage
$100,000
Your equity
House Valued at $300,000
71
earn interest on the amount in the
escrow account.
Escrow agent
An escrow agent is the person or group
that holds certain of your assets in an
escrow account while you negotiate the
final terms of a contract.
For example, if you are buying a home,
the escrow agent would hold the down
payment you make when your offer is
accepted until the purchase is finalized.
Estate
Your estate is what you leave behind,
financially speaking, when you die. To
figure its worth, your assets are valued
to determine your gross estate.
The assets may include cash, invest-
ments, retirement accounts, business
interests, real estate, precious objects
and antiques, and personal effects.
Then all your outstanding debts, which
may include income taxes, loans, or other
obligations, are paid, and those plus any
costs of settling the estate are subtracted
from the gross estate.
If the amount thats left is larger than
the amount you can leave to your heirs
tax free, you have a taxable estate,
and federal estate taxes may be due.
Depending on the state where you live
and the size of your taxable estate, there
may be additional state taxes as well.
After any taxes that may be due are
paid, what remains is distributed among
your heirs according to the terms of
your will, the terms of any trusts you
established, and the beneficiaries you
named on certain accountsor the
rulings of a court, if you didnt leave a will.
Estate tax
Your estate owes federal estate tax on the
value of your taxable estate if the estate is
larger than the amount you are permitted
to leave to your heirs tax free.
That amount, which is set by Congress,
is $2 million for 2006, 2007, and 2008 and
is scheduled to increase to $3.5 million
in 2009.
Under current law, the estate tax will
be eliminated in 2010. Without further
Congressional action, the tax will be re-
instated in 2011. However, modifications
to the law may be made before that date.
If your estate may be vulnerable to
these taxes, which are figured at a higher
rate than income taxes, you may want
to reduce its value. You could do this by
using a number of tax planning strategies,
including making nontaxable gifts and
creating irrevocable trusts.
Further, if youre married to a US
citizen and leave your entire estate to
your spouse, there are no estate taxes,
no matter how much the estate is worth.
However, estate taxes may be due when
your surviving spouse dies.
You may also face estate taxes in
your state.
Euro
The euro is the common currency of the
European Monetary Union (EMU). The
national currencies of the participating
countries were replaced with euro coins
and bills on January 1, 2002.
Eurobond
A eurobond is an international bond sold
outside the country in whose currency it
is denominated, or issued.
For example, an Italian automobile
company might sell eurobonds issued
in US dollars to investors living in
European countries.
Multinational companies and national
governments, including governments of
developing countries, use eurobonds to
raise capital in international markets.
Eurocurrency
Eurocurrency is any major currency that
is deposited by a national government or
corporation based outside the country
where the bank receiving the funds
is located.
Eurocurrency
72
For example, Japanese yen deposited
in a British bank by a Japanese car manu-
facturer is considered eurocurrency.
Eurocurrency is used in international
trade and to make international loans.
Eurodollar
Eurodollars are US currency deposited in
banks outside the United States but not
always in Europe. Certain debt securities
are issued in eurodollars and pay interest
in US dollars into non-US bank accounts.
Eurodollars are a form of eurocurrency.
European Central Bank (ECB)
The European Central Bank is the central
bank of the European Monetary Union
(EMU), whose member countries use the
euro as their currency.
The ECB, which is based in Frankfurt,
Germany, issues currency, sets interest
rates, and oversees other aspects of
monetary policy for the EMU.
The EMUs
National Central
Banks (such as the
Banque de France
and the Deutsche
Bundesbank),
together with the
ECB, form the
European System of Central Banks. They
play an important role in implementing
monetary policy, conducting foreign
exchange operations, and maintaining
the foreign reserves of member states.
European-style option
A listed option that you can exercise
only on the last trading day before the
expiration date is called a European-
style option whether it trades on a US
exchange, a European exchange, or
elsewhere in the world.
For example, many index options
listed on various US exchanges are
European-style options. In contrast, you
can exercise an American-style option at
it and its expiration date.
All equity options are American style,
no matter where the exchange on which
they trade is located.
Ex-dividend
You must own a security by the record
date the company sets to be entitled
to the dividend it will pay on the
payable date.
The period between those dates
anywhere from a week to a month or
moreduring which new investors in the
security are not entitled to that dividend
is called the ex-dividend period.
On the day the ex-dividend period
begins, which is the first trade date that
will settle after the record date, the stock
is said to go ex-dividend.
Generally, the price of a stock rises
in relation to the amount of the antici-
pated dividend as the ex-dividend date
approaches. It drops back on the first day
of the ex-dividend period to reflect the
amount that is being paid out as dividend.
Excess contribution
An excess contribution occurs when
the salary deferrals or matching contribu-
tions of highly compensated employees
are higher than the amounts permitted
by federal law.
If that happens, the company must
pay out those amounts to the employees
involved before the end of the following
tax year or face penalties.
Excess contributions are different
from excess deferrals, also called after-
tax contributions, which employees may
legally make to their employer sponsored
retirement plans.
Exchange
Traditionally, an exchange has been a
physical location for trading securities.
Trading is handled, at least in part, by
an open outcry or dual auction system.
Two examples in the United States are
which has the largest trading floor in the
world, and the Chicago Board Options
Exchange (CBOE).
However, the definition is evolving.
Traditional exchanges handle an in-
creasing number of trades electronically,
off the floor. Nasdaq and other totally
electronic securities markets, without
trading floors, have exchange status.
As a result, the terms exchange and
market are being used interchangeably
to mean any environment in which listed
products are traded.
The term exchange also refers to the
act of moving assets from one fund to an-
other in the same fund family or from one
variable annuity subaccount to another
offered through the same contract.
Eurodollar
73
Exchange rate
The exchange rate is the price at which
the currency of one country can be
converted to the currency of another.
Although some exchange rates are fixed
by agreement, most fluctuate or float
from day to day.
Daily exchange rates are listed in the
financial sections of newspapers and can
also be found on financial websites.
Exchange traded notes
Exchange traded notes (ETNs) are debt
securities issued by a financial institution,
listed on a stock exchange, and traded in
the secondary market.
Unlike regular bonds, there are no
periodic interest payments, and your
principal isnt protected. So you could
lose some of or all the amount you invest.
You can sell your ETN in the secondary
market at its current price or hold it until
maturity, though that may be 30 years in
the future.
The price in the secondary market is
determined by supply and demand, the
current performance of the index, and
the credit rating of the ETN issuer. At
maturity, the issuer pays a return linked
to the performance of the market index,
such as a commodity index, to which
the ETN is linked, minus the issuers
annual fee.
Exchange traded fund (ETF)
Exchange traded funds (ETFs) are listed
on a stock exchange and trade like stock.
You can use traditional stock trading
techniques, such as stop orders, limit
orders, margin purchases, and short sales
when you buy or sell ETFs.
But ETFs also resemble mutual funds
in some ways. For example, you buy
shares of the fund, which in turn owns
a portfolio of stocks.
Each ETF has a net asset value (NAV),
which is determined by the total market
capitalization of the stocks in the port-
folio, plus dividends but minus expenses,
divided by the number of shares issued
by the fund.
ETF prices change throughout the
trading day, in response to supply and
demand, rather than just at the end of
the trading day as open-end mutual fund
prices do.
The market price and the NAV are
rarely the same, but the differences are
typically small. Thats due to a unique
process that allows institutional investors
to buy or redeem large blocks of shares
at the NAV with in-kind baskets of the
funds stocks.
Exclusion
Medical services that insurance
companies do not pay for are called
exclusions. A typical exclusion is a
wartime injury or a self-inflicted wound.
But coverage for certain pre-existing
conditions, or health problems you had
before you were covered by the policy,
may also be excluded on some policies.
Executor/Executrix
When you die, your executor administers
your estate and follows the directions
provided in your will. Among the execu-
tors duties are collecting and valuing
your assets, paying taxes and debts out
of those assets, and distributing the
remaining assets to your heirs.
You may want to appoint a family
member or close friend as executor. Or
you may choose a professional, such as
a lawyer or bank trust officer.
What some people do is name a profes-
sional and a friend or family member to
work together, especially if the estate is
large or there are potential complications.
Executors are entitled to be paid for
their work, which ends when your estate
is settled, usually anywhere from one to
three years after your death. Professional
executors always charge, while friends
and family may or may not.
Exemption
An exemption is a fixed dollar amount
that you can subtract from your adjusted
gross income to reduce your taxable
income. The per-person exemption
amount is set by Congress each year,
and typically increases from year to year.
If youre over 65 or blind, you qualify
for an additional exemption. Taxpayers
To my children
I leave
To my
loving wife
I leave
I name as
my executor
Exemption
74
whose adjusted gross income is higher
than the government limit may not qualify
for an exemption.
Exercise
When you act on a buying or selling
opportunity that you have been granted
under the terms of a contract, you are
said to exercise a right.
Contracts may include the right to
exchange stock options for stock, buy
stock at a specific price, or buy or sell the
security or product underlying an option
at a specific exercise price.
For example, if you buy a call option
giving you the right to buy stock at $50
a share, and the market price jumps to
$60 a share, youd likely exercise your
option to buy at the lower price.
Exercise price
An options exercise price, also called the
strike price, is the price at which you can
buy or sell the stock or other financial
product that underlies that option.
The exercise price is set by the
exchange on which the option trades and
remains constant for the life of the option.
However, the market value of the
underlying investment rises and falls
continuously during the period in
response to market demand.
Expense ratio
An expense ratio is the percentage of a
mutual funds or variable annuitys total
assets deducted to cover operating and
management expenses.
Those expenses include employee
salaries, custodial and transfer fees,
distribution, marketing, and other costs
of offering the fund or contract. How-
ever, they dont cover trading costs
or commissions.
For example, if you own shares in a
fund with a 1.25% expense ratio, your
annual share is $1.25 for every $100 in
your account, or $12.50 on an account
valued at $1,000.
Expense ratios vary from one fund
company to another and among different
types of funds. Typically, international
equity funds have among the highest
expense ratios, and index funds among
the lowest. Similar differences in expense
ratios are characteristic of different
variable annuity investment accounts.
Expiration cycle
Equity and index options expire on a
predictable four-month schedule, two of
which are determined by the expiration
cycle to which the underlying instrument
has been randomly assigned and two by
when you purchase the option.
There are three expiration cycles, one
beginning in January, one in February,
and one in March. Each cycle includes
four months, and an option always expires
in two of those months. The other two
expiration months are the month in which
it is purchased and the following month.
For example, if you purchase an option
on an equity assigned to Cycle 1, which
includes January, April, July, and October,
between January 1 and the third Friday
in January you have a choice of contracts
expiring in January and in February
because they are the current month and
the following oneor in April or July
because they are the next two months
in Cycle 1.
Similarly, if you purchased an option
on the same equity in April, youd also
have a choice of four expiration dates:
April and Maythe current and following
monthsand then July and October, the
next two months in Cycle 1.
Expiration date
The expiration date is the day on which
an options contract expires and becomes
worthless. Listed options always expire on
the Saturday following the third Friday of
their expiration month.
For example, if you hold an American-
style September equity option, you can
exercise it any time before the end of
trading on the third Friday in September,
or whatever cutoff time your brokerage
firm sets. In contrast, European-style
options can be exercised only at
expiration, usually on Friday.
Under specific circumstances, listed
options will be exercised automatically
at expiration unless the owner gives
instructions not to exercise them.
Unlike the standard term of a listed
option, the expiration date of an
over-the-counter option is negotiated
at the time of the trade.
HOW EXPENSE RATIOS WORK
Value of your shares
x Expense ratio
YEARLY FEES
for example
$150,000 Value
x 1.25% Expense ratio
$1,875 YEARLY FEES
Exercise
75
F
F
Face value
Face value, or par value, is the dollar
value of a bond or note, generally $1,000.
That is the amount the issuer has
borrowed, usually the amount you pay to
buy the bond at the time it is issued, and
the amount you are repaid at maturity,
provided the issuer doesnt default.
However, bonds may trade at a
discount, which is less than face value,
or at a premium, which is more than face
value, in the secondary market. Thats
the bonds market value, and it changes
regularly, based on supply and demand.
The death benefit of a life insurance
policy which is the amount the beneficiary
receives when the insured person dies.
Its also known as the policys face value.
FACT Act (Fair and Accurate Credit
Transactions Act)
Designed to help consumers check their
credit reports for accuracy and detect
identity theft early, the FACT Act gives
every consumer the right to request a
free report from each of the three major
credit bureausEquifax, Experian, and
TransUniononce a year.
To obtain your free reports, you
must request them through the
Annual Credit Report Request Service
(www.annualcreditreport.com or
8773228228).
If you request your credit report
directly from one of the three credit
reporting agencies or through another
service, youll pay a fee.
Most experts recommend staggering
your requests for the free reportsfor
instance, ordering one in January,
the second in May, and the third in
Septemberso that you can keep an
eye on your credit throughout the year.
Its also a good idea to check your
report at least two months before you
anticipate applying for a major loan or a
job, so you can notify the credit bureau
if you find any inaccuracies.
Youre also entitled to a free report
directly from the credit reporting bureaus
if youve recently been denied credit,
have been turned down for a job, are
on public assistance, or have reason to
suspect that youre a victim of credit
fraud or identity theft.
Fair Housing Act
The Fair Housing Act makes it illegal to
discriminate, in any phase of selling or
renting real estate, against anyone on the
basis of race, color, religion, sex, handi-
cap, family status, or national origin.
However, there are exceptions for
religious organizations and private clubs
if those organizations are providing rooms
for the convenience of their members on
a noncommercial basis.
If you feel you are the victim of
housing discrimination, you can file a
complaint with the US Department of
Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
or file a suit in federal or state court.
Fair market value
Fair market value is the price you would
have to pay to buy a particular asset or
service on the open market.
The concept of fair market value
assumes that both buyer and seller are
reasonably well informed of market
conditions. It also assumes that neither
is under undue pressure to buy or sell,
and that neither intends to defraud
the other.
Fallen angel
Corporate or municipal bonds that
were investment-grade when they were
issued but have been downgraded are
called fallen angels.
Bonds are down-
graded by a rating
service, such
as Moodys
Investors
Service or
Standard
& Poors
(S&P).
Down-
grading
may occur
if the
issuers
financial
situation weakens, or if the rating service
anticipates financial problems that could
lead to default.
The term fallen angel is sometimes
used more generically, to refer to stocks
or other securities that are out of favor
with investors.
Fallen angel
76
Family of funds
Many large mutual fund companies
offer a variety of stock, bond, and money
market funds with different investment
strategies and objectives. Together, these
funds make up a family of funds.
If you own one fund in a family, you
can usually transfer assets to another
fund in the same family without sales
charges. The transaction is known as
an exchange.
But unless the funds are in a tax-
deferred or tax-free retirement or
education savings plan, youll owe
capital gains taxes on increases in
value of the fund youre selling.
Investing in a family of funds can
make diversification and asset allocation
easier, provided there are funds within
the family that meet your investment
criteria. Investing in a family of funds
can also simplify recordkeeping.
However, the advantages of consolidat-
ing your assets within one fund family
are being challenged by the proliferation
of fund networks. Fund networks, some-
times called fund supermarkets, make it
easy to spread your investments among
several fund families.
Fannie Mae
Fannie Mae has a dual role in the US
mortgage market.
Specifically, the corporation buys
mortgages that meet its standards from
mortgage lenders around the country.
It then packages those loans as debt
securities, which it offers for sale,
providing the investment marketplace
with interest-paying bonds.
The money Fannie Mae raises by
selling these bonds pays for purchasing
more mortgages. Lenders use the money
they realize from selling mortgages to
Fannie Mae to make additional loans,
making it possible for more potential
homeowners to borrow at affordable rates.
Because lenders want to ensure their
mortgage loans are eligible for purchase,
most adopt Fannie Mae guidelines in
evaluating mortgage applicants.
Fannie Mae is described as a quasi-
government agency because of its special
relationship with the federal government.
Its also a shareholder-owned corporation
whose shares trade on the New York Stock
Exchange (NYSE).
Fast market
A fast market is one with heavy trading
and rapidly changing prices in some but
not necessarily all of the securities listed
on an exchange or market.
In this volatile environment, which
might be triggered by events such as an
initial public offering (IPO) that attracts
an unusually high level of attention or an
unexpectedly negative earnings report,
the rush of business may substantially
delay execution times.
The probable result is that you end up
paying much more or selling for much less
than you anticipated if you gave a market
or stop order.
While choosing not to trade in a fast
market is one way to reduce your risk, you
might also protect yourself while seeking
potential profit by giving your broker limit
or stop-limit orders. That way, you have
the possibility of buying or selling within
a price range thats acceptable to you,
but are less exposed to the frenzy of the
marketplace.
The term fast market is also used to
describe a marketplacetypically an
electronic onewhere trades are
executed rapidly.
Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation (FDIC)
The Federal Deposit Insurance
Corportion (FDIC) insures deposits in
banks and thrift institutions, assuring
bank customers that their savings and
checking accounts are safe.
Currently, the coverage limits are
$100,000 per depositor per bank for
individual, joint, and trust accounts, and
$250,000 for self-directed retirement
accounts. Business accounts are also
insured up to $100,000.
You qualify for more than $100,000
coverage at a single bank, provided
your assets are in these different types
of accounts.
For example, you are insured for up
to a total of $100,000 in all accounts
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Family of funds
77
registered in your own name and for
another $100,000 representing your share
of jointly held accounts. In addition, your
individual retirement account (IRA) is
insured up to $250,000 if the money
is invested in bank products, such as
certificates of deposit (CDs).
However, if you purchase mutual funds,
annuities, or other investment products
through your bank, those assets are not
insured by the FDIC even if they carry the
bank name.
The FDIC, which is an independent
agency of the federal government, also
regulates more than 5,000 state chartered
banks that are not members of the
Federal Reserve System.
Federal funds
When banks have more cash than
theyre required to in their reserve
accounts, they can deposit the money
in a Federal Reserve bank or lend it to
another bank overnight.
That money is called federal funds,
and the interest rate at which the banks
lend to each other is called the federal
funds rate.
The term also describes money the
Federal Reserve uses to buy government
securities when it wants to take money
out of circulation. It might do this to
tighten the money supply in the hope
of forestalling an increase in inflation.
Federal Housing Administration
(FHA)
The Federal Housing Administration
(FHA) was established by the federal
government in 1937 to make home
ownership possible for more people
and to administer the home loan insur-
ance program. It was consolidated into
the Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD) in 1965.
Among its other responsibilities, the
FHA sets credit standards and loan limits,
monitors loan quality and availability, and
insures lenders against mortgage losses.
That insurance, for which borrowers pay a
mortgage insurance premium, encourages
qualifying lenders to make FHA loans.
mortgage
(FHA) mortgages, which are offered by
private lenders, resemble conventional
mortgages in many ways, but there are
some significant differences.
An FHA mortgage is government
insured, so lenders are protected against
default. That insurance, for which borrow-
ers pay a mortgage insurance premium,
encourages qualifying lenders to make
FHA loans.
The buyers closing costs are limited
and the required down payment is lower.
There is a price ceiling on the amount a
homebuyer can borrow with an FHA
mortgage, based on the state and county
where the property is located.
Furthermore, people who may not
qualify for a conventional mortgage
because of previous credit problems
may qualify for an FHA loan.
These mortgages are assumable,
which means a new buyer can take over
the payments without having to secure
a new loan.
Federal Insurance Contributions Act
(FICA)
The Federal Insurance Contribution Act
(FICA) is the federal law that requires
employers to withhold 6.2% from their
employees paychecks, up to an annual
earnings cap.
Employers must match employee with-
holding and deposit the combined amount
in designated government accounts.
These taxes provide a variety of
benefits to qualifying workers and their
families through the program known as
Social Security. Retirement income is the
largest benefit that FICA withholding
supports, but the money also funds
disability insurance and survivor benefits.
Under this act, an additional 1.45% is
withheld, and matched by the employer,
to pay for Medicare, which provides
health insurance for qualifying disabled
workers and people 65 and older. Theres
no earnings cap for this tax.
If youre self-employed, you pay FICA
taxes as both employer and employee,
or 15.3%.
Federal Open Market Committee
(FOMC)
The Open Market Committee (FOMC) of
the Federal Reserve Board meets eight
times a year to evaluate the threat of
inflation or recession.
Based on its findings, the 12-member
FOMC determines whether to change the
discount rate or alter the money supply
to curb or stimulate economic growth.
For example, the FOMC may raise the
discount rate, which the Federal Reserve
FHA
Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC)
78
charges member banks to borrow, with
the goal of tightening credit and limiting
inflationary growth. It may lower rates
to encourage borrowing and economic
expansion. Or it may take no action.
Changes in the discount rate result
in virtually immediate changes in the
short-term rates that banks charge
consumersand each otherto borrow.
The Federal Reserve Bank of New
York implements FOMC decisions to alter
the money supply. It buys government
securities to put more money into circula-
tion and loosen credit or it sells securities
to take money out of the market and
tighten credit.
Federal Reserve Fedwire
Fedwire is an electronic transfer system
owned and operated by the 12 Federal
Reserve Banks that enables participants
to move money from an account they
maintain with the Federal Reserve to
the account of another participant in
real time during operating hours.
The payments are final and irrevo-
cable, either when the amount is credited
to the recipients account or when the
payment order is sent to the participant,
whichever occurs first.
Fedwire, which operates on the
Federal Reserves national communica-
tions network (FEDNET), connects the
Federal Reserve Banks, their branches,
the US Department of the Treasury, banks
that are members of the Federal Reserve
and those that arent, and branches or
agencies of banks based abroad.
The system is used both to handle
internal banking business, such as shift-
ing balances to reflect money transferred
by check, and to facilitate commercial
transactions between bank clients.
Federal Reserve System
The Federal Reserve System, sometimes
known as the Fed, is the central bank of
the United States.
The Federal Reserve System, which
was established in 1913 to stabilize the
countrys financial system, includes
12 regional Federal Reserve banks,
25 Federal Reserve branch banks, all
national banks, and some state banks.
Member banks must meet the Feds
financial standards.
Under the direction of a chairman, a
seven-member Federal Reserve Board
oversees the system and determines
national monetary policy. Its goal is to
keep the economy healthy and its
currency stable.
The Feds Open Market Committee
(FOMC) sets the discount rate and
establishes credit policies. The Federal
Reserve Bank of New York puts those
policies into action by buying and selling
government securities.
Fee-for-service
When youre covered by fee-for-service
health insurance, you pay your medical
bills and file a claim for reimbursement
from your insurance company.
Most fee-for-service plans pay a
percentageoften 70% to 80%of the
amount they allow for each office visit or
medical treatment. You pay the balance of
the approved charge plus any amount that
exceeds the approved charge.
Your share of the approved charge is
called coinsurance.
If you are enrolled in Original
Medicare, which is a fee-for-service plan,
your healthcare provider will file the
insurance claim on your behalf.
FICO score
Created by the Fair Isaac Corporation,
FICO is the best-known credit scoring
system in the United States.
Based on the information in your
credit report, your FICO score is
calculated using complex, proprietary
formulas that weigh the amount of
debt you carry relative to your available
credit, the timeliness of your payments,
the type of debt you carry, and a great
many other factors to assign you a credit
score between 300 and 850.
The top 20% of credit profiles receive
a score over 780 and the lowest 20%
receive scores under 620. Lenders use
your credit score to assess your credit
Federal Reserve Fedwire
79
risk, or the likelihood that you will
default on a loan and offer the best
or lowestinterest rates to credit
applicants with the highest scores.
The Equal Credit Opportunity Act
(ECOA) prohibits factors such as
race, color, gender, religion, national
origin, or marital status from being
considered in any credit scoring system,
including FICO.
Fiduciary
A fiduciary is an individual or organization
legally responsible for managing assets on
behalf of someone else, usually called the
beneficiary. The assets must be managed
in the best interests of the beneficiary,
not for the personal gain of the fiduciary.
However, the concept of acting
responsibly can be broadly interpreted,
and may mean preserving principal to
some fiduciaries and producing reason-
able growth to others.
Executors, trustees, guardians, and
agents with powers of attorney are
examples of individuals with fiduciary
responsibility. Firms known as registered
investment advisers (RIAs) are
also fiduciaries.
Fill or kill (FOK)
If an investor places an FOK order, it
means the broker must cancel the order
if it cant be filled immediately.
This type of order is typically used
as part of a trading strategy requiring
a series of transactions to occur
simultaneously.
Finance charge
The finance charge, or total dollar
amount you pay to borrow, includes
the interest you pay plus any fees for
arranging the loan.
A finance charge is expressed as an
annual percentage rate (APR) of the
amount you owe, which allows you to
compare the costs of different loans.
The Truth-in-Lending Law requires
your lender to disclose the APR youll be
paying and the way it is calculated before
you agree to the terms of the loan.
Financial Accounting Standards
Board (FASB)
The Financial Accounting Standards
Board (FASB) is an independent, self-
regulatory board that establishes and
interprets generally accepted accounting
principles (GAAP).
It operates under the principle that
the economy and the financial services
industry work smoothly when credible,
concise, and clear financial information
is available.
FASB periodically revises its rules to
make sure corporations are following its
principles. The corporations are supposed
to fully account for different kinds of
income, avoid shifting income from one
period to another, and properly categorize
their income.
Financial future
When a futures contract is linked to a
financial product, such as a stock index,
Treasury notes, or a currency, the contract
is described as a financial future.
In most cases, the hedgers who use
financial futures contracts are banks and
other financial institutions that want to
protect their portfolios against sudden
changes in value.
The changing prices of a financial
futures contract reflect the perception
that investors have of what may happen
to the market value of the under-
lying instrument.
For example, the price of a contract
on Treasury notes changes in anticipation
of a change in interest rates. Expected
increases in the rate produce falling con-
tract prices, while anticipated drops in
the rate produce rising contract prices.
Financial institution
Any institution that collects money and
puts it into assets such as stocks, bonds,
bank deposits, or loans is considered a
financial institution. There are two types
of financial institutions: depository insti-
tutions and nondepository institutions.
Depository institutions, such as banks
and credit unions, pay you interest on
your deposits and use the deposits to
make loans. Nondepository institutions,
such as insurance companies, brokerage
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firms, and mutual fund companies, sell
financial products.
Many financial institutions provide
both depository and nondepository
services.
Financial instrument
A financial instrument is a physical or
electronic document that has intrinsic
monetary value or transfers value. For
example, cash is a financial instrument,
as is a check.
Listed and unlisted securities, loans,
insurance policies, interests in a part-
nership, and precious metals are also
financial instruments. A contractual
obligation is also a financial instrument
as is a deed that records home ownership.
Financial plan
A financial plan is a document that
describes your current financial status,
your financial goals and when you want
to achieve them, and strategies to meet
those goals.
You can use your plan as a benchmark
to measure the progress youre making
and update your plan as your goals and
time frame change.
Financial planners and other invest-
ment professionals can help you create
a plan, identify appropriate investments
and insurance, and monitor your portfolio.
You may pay a one-time fee to have a plan
created, or it may be included as part of a
fee-based account with a stockbroker or
investment adviser.
Financial planner
A financial planner evaluates your
personal finances and helps you develop
a financial plan to meet both your im-
mediate needs and your long-term goals.
Some, but not all, planners have creden-
tials from professional organizations.
Some well-known credentials are
Certified Financial Planner (CFP),
Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC),
Certified Investment Management
Analyst (CIMA), and Personal Financial
Specialist (PFS).
A PFS is a Certified Public Accountant
(CPA) who has passed an exam on
financial planning. Some planners are
also licensed to sell certain investment
or insurance products.
Fee-only financial planners charge by
the hour or collect a flat fee for a specific
service, but dont sell products or earn
sales commissions. Other planners dont
charge a fee but earn commissions on
the products they sell to you. Still others
both charge fees and earn commissions
but may offset their fees by the amount
of commission they earn.
Financial pyramid
Many investors structure their portfolios
in the form of a financial pyramid. The
base of the pyramid is made up of
nonvolatile, liquid assets.
The next level includes securities
that provide both income and long-term
capital growth. At the third level, a
smaller portion of the portfolio is allo-
cated to more volatile investments with
higher potential returns and greater risk.
And at the top level, the smallest
percentage of the overall portfolio is
invested in ventures that have the highest
potential return but also pose the greatest
investment risk.
This strategic approach gives you the
potential to realize significant returns if
some of your speculative investments
succeed without risking more than you
can afford to lose.
Firm quote
A firm quote includes a bid and ask price
at which a market maker is willing to
trade a specific quantity100 shares of
stock, for example.
For example, a firm quote of
42.50/42.70 means that the market
maker will pay $42.50 for 100 shares and
is willing to sell them for $42.70. But
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those prices would not apply to trades
larger than 100 shares. Then prices would
have to be negotiated.
First dollar coverage
First dollar coverage means that your
health insurance plan typically begins
to pay its share of your covered services
from the first service you receive in the
plan network. In a fee-for-service plan,
payments for covered services begin as
soon as you have met the deductible.
Fixed annuity
A fixed annuity is a contract that allows
you to accumulate earnings at a fixed rate
during a build-up period.
You pay the required premium, either
in a lump sum or in installments. The
insurance company invests its assets,
including your premium, so it will be
able to pay the rate of return that it has
promised to pay.
At a time you select, usually after you
turn 59, you can choose to convert your
account value to retirement income.
Among the alternatives is receiving
a fixed amount of income in regular
payments for your lifetime or the life-
times of yourself and a joint annuitant.
Thats called annuitization. Or, you may
select some other payout method.
The contract issuer assumes the
risk that you could outlive your life
expectancy and therefore collect income
over a longer period than it anticipated.
You take the risk that the insurance
company will be able to meet its
obligations to pay.
Fixed-income investment
Fixed-income investments typically
pay interest or dividends on a regular
schedule and may promise to return your
principal at maturity, though that promise
is not guaranteed in most cases.
Among the examples are government,
corporate, and municipal bonds, preferred
stock, and guaranteed investment
contracts (GICs).
The advantage of holding fixed-
income securities in an investment
portfolio is that they provide regular,
predictable income.
But a potential disadvantage of
holding them over an extended period,
or to maturity in the case of bonds, is
that they may not increase in value the
way equity investments may. As a result,
a portfolio overweighted with fixed-
income investments may make you
more vulnerable to inflation risk.
Fixed-rate mortgage
A fixed-rate mortgage is a long-term
loan that you use to finance a real estate
purchase, typically a home.
Your borrowing costs and monthly
payments remain the same for the term
of the loan, no matter what happens to
market interest rates.
This predetermined expense is one of a
fixed-rate loans most attractive features,
since you always know exactly what your
mortgage will cost you.
If interest rates rise, a fixed-rate
mortgage works in your favor. But if
market rates drop, you have to refinance
to get a lower rate and reduce your
mortgage costs.
Typical terms for a fixed-rate mortgage
are 15, 20, or 30 years, though you may be
able to arrange a different length. With a
hybrid mortgage, which begins as a fixed-
rate loan and converts to an adjustable
rate, the fixed-term portion is often
seven or ten years.
Flat tax
A flat tax, also known as a regressive tax,
applies to everyone at the same rate, as
a sales tax does.
Advocates of a flat income tax for the
United States say its simpler and does
away with the kinds of tax breaks that
tend to favor the wealthy. Opponents say
that middle-income taxpayers would carry
too large a proportion of the total tax bill.
Flexible spending account (FSA)
Some employers offer flexible spending
accounts (FSAs), sometimes called
cafeteria plans, as part of their employee
benefits package.
You contribute a percentage of your
pretax salary, up to the limit your plan
Flexible spending account (FSA)
82
allows, which you can use to pay for
qualifying expenses.
Qualifying expenses include medical
costs that arent covered by your health
insurance, childcare, care for your
elderly or disabled dependents, and
life insurance.
The amount you put into the plan is
not reported to the IRS as income, which
means your taxable income is reduced.
However, you have to estimate
correctly the amount youll spend
during the year when you arrange to
have amounts deducted from your
paycheck. Once you decide on the
amount you are going to contribute to
an FSA for a year, you cannot change it
unless you have a qualifying event, such
as marriage or divorce.
If you dont spend all that you
had withheld within the yearor in
some plans within the year plus a
two-and-one-half month extensionyou
forfeit any amount thats left in
your account.
In some plans you pay for the
qualifying expenses and are reimbursed
when you file a claim. In other plans, you
use a debit card linked to your account to
pay expenses directly from the account.
Float
In investment terms, a float is the number
of outstanding shares a corporation has
available for trading.
If there is a small float, stock prices
tend to be volatile, since one large trade
could significantly affect the availability
and therefore the price of these stocks. If
there is a large float, stock prices tend to
be more stable.
In banking,
the float refers
to the time lag
between your depositing a check in the
bank and the day the funds become avail-
able for use. For example, if you deposit a
check on Monday, and you can withdraw
the cash on Friday, the float is four days
and works to the banks advantage.
Float is also the period that elapses
from the time you write a check until it
clears your account, which can work to
your advantage. However, as checks are
increasingly cleared electronically at the
point of deposit, this float is disappearing.
In a credit account, float is the amount
of time between the date you charge a
purchase and the date the payment is
due. If you have paid your previous bill in
full and on time, you dont owe a finance
charge on the amount of the purchase
during the float.
Floating an issue
When a corporation or public agency
offers new stocks or bonds to the public,
making the offering is called floating
an issue.
In the case of stocks, the securities
may be an initial public offering (IPO) or
additional issues of a company that has
already gone public. In that case, theyre
called secondary offerings.
Floating rate
A debt security or corporate preferred
stock whose interest rate is adjusted
periodically to reflect changing money
market rates is known as a floating
rate instrument.
These securities, for example five-year
notes, are initially offered with an interest
rate that is slightly below the rate being
paid on comparable fixed-rate securities.
But because the rate is adjusted from
time to time, its market price generally
remains very close to the offering price,
or par.
When a nations currency moves up
and down in value against the currency
of another nation, the relationship
between the two is described as a
floating exchange rate.
For example, the US dollar is worth
more Japanese yen in some periods and
less in others. That movement is usually
the result of whats happening in the
economy of each of the nations and in
the economies of their trading partners.
A fixed exchange rate, on the
other hand, means that two (or more)
currencies, such as the US dollar and the
Bermuda dollar, always have the same
relative value.
Floating shares
Floating shares are shares of a public
corporation that are available for trading
in a stock market.
The number of floating shares
may be smaller than the companys
outstanding shares if founding partners,
other groups with a controlling interest,
or the companys pension fund, employee
stock ownership plan (ESOP), or similar
programs hold shares in their portfolios
that they arent interested in selling.
Some equity index providers,
including Standard & Poors, use
floating shares rather than outstanding
shares in calculating their market-
capitalization weighted indexes on the
grounds that a float-adjusted index is a
more accurate reflection of market value.
Float
83
Floor broker
Floor brokers at
a securities or com-
modities exchange
handle client or-
ders to buy or sell
through a process
known as a double
action auction, in
which brokers bid
against each other
to secure the
best price.
The orders these brokers execute are
sent to the floor of the exchange from the
trading department or order room of the
brokerage firms they work for. When a
transaction is completed, the floor broker
relays that information back to the firm,
and the client is notified.
Floor trader
Unlike floor brokers, who fill client
orders, floor traders buy and sell stocks
or commodities for their own accounts on
the floor of an exchange.
Floor traders dont pay commissions,
which means they can make a profit on
even small price differences. But they
must still abide by trading rules estab-
lished by the exchange. One of those rules
is that client orders take precedence over
floor traders orders.
Foreclosure
Foreclosure occurs when your lender
repossesses your home because you have
defaulted on your mortgage loan or home
equity line of credit.
You default by failing to pay interest
and repay the principal you owe on time.
Foreclosed property is often sold at
auction to allow the lender to recover
some of or all the outstanding debt.
Foreign exchange (FOREX)
Any type of financial instrument
that is used to make payments between
countries is considered foreign exchange.
The list of instruments includes
electronic transactions, paper currency,
checks, and signed, written orders called
bills of exchange.
Large-scale currency trading,
with minimums of $1 million, is also
considered foreign exchange and can
be handled as spot price transactions,
forward contract transactions, or
swap contracts.
Spot transactions close at the market
price within two days, and the others are
set to close at an agreed-upon price and
an agreed-upon date in the future.
Form ADV
All investment advisory firms must
register by filing a Form ADV either with
the Securities and Exchange Commission
if they manage $25 million or more in
client assets or with the state securities
regulator in the state where they
principally work.
The form is divided into two sections.
Part 1 provides information about past
disciplinary actions, if any, against the
adviser. Part 2 summarizes the advisers
background, investment strategies,
services, and fees.
If an advisory firm is registered with
the SEC, you can obtain copies of Form
ADV at the SECs Investment Adviser
Public Disclosure (IAPD) website
(www.adviserinfo.sec.gov).
Otherwise, you can request it directly
from the adviser or your state securities
regulator. You can find contact informa-
tion on the website of the North American
Securities Administrators Association
(www.nasaa.org).
Formula investing
When you invest on a set schedule,
youre using a technique known as
formula investing. Youre formula
investing when you dollar cost average,
or make investments to maintain a
predetermined asset allocation.
One appeal of this approach, for
investors who follow it, is that it elimi-
nates having to agonize over when to
buy or sell. It also encourages regular
investing. But it does not guarantee your
portfolio will grow in value or that you
wont lose money.
Forward contract
A forward contract is similar to a futures
contract in the sense that both types of
contracts cover the delivery and payment
for a specific commodity at a specific
future date at a specific price.
Forward contract
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The difference is that a futures
contract has fixed terms, such as delivery
date and quantity, and its traded on a
regulated futures exchange.
A forward contract is traded over the
counter and all details of the contract are
negotiated between the counterparties,
or partners to the agreement.
The price specified in the forward
contract for foreign currency, government
securities, or other commodities may be
higher or lower than the actual market
price at the time of delivery, known as the
spot price.
But the participants have locked in a
price early specifically so they know what
they will receive or pay for the product,
eliminating market risk.
Forward price-to-earnings ratio
Stock analysts calculate a forward
price-to-earnings ratio, or forward P/E,
by dividing a stocks current price by
estimated future earnings per share.
Some forward P/Es are calculated
based on estimated earnings for the next
four quarters. Others use actual earnings
from the past two quarters with estimated
earnings for the next two.
A forward P/E may help you evaluate
the current price of a stock in relation
to what you can reasonably expect to
happen in the near future. In contrast,
a trailing P/E is based exclusively on
past performance.
For example, a stock whose price
seems high in relation to the last years
earnings may seem more reasonably
priced if earnings estimates are higher
for the next year. On the other hand, the
expectation of lower future earnings may
make the current price higher than you
are willing to pay.
Fourth market
Institutional investors, including mutual
fund companies and pension funds, who
trade large blocks of securities among
themselves are operating in whats called
the fourth market.
Usually, the transactions are handled
through electronic communications
networks (ECNs).
Among the appeals of using an ECN
are reduced trading costs, the ability to
trade after hours, and the fact that offers
to buy and sell are matched anonymously.
Fractional share
If you reinvest your dividends or invest a
fixed dollar amount in a stock dividend
reinvestment plan (DRIP) or mutual fund,
the amount may not be enough to buy a
full share.
Alternately, there may be money left
over after buying one or more full shares.
The excess amount buys a fractional
share, a unit that is less than one
whole share.
In a DRIP, a fractional share gives
you credit toward the purchase of a full
share. With a mutual fund, in contrast,
the fractional share is included in your
account value.
Freddie Mac
Freddie Mac is a shareholder-owned
corporation that was chartered in 1970
to increase the supply of mortgage money
that lenders are able to make available to
homebuyers.
To do its job, Freddie Mac buys
mortgages from banks and other lenders,
packages them as securities, and sells
the securities to investors. The money it
raises by selling these bonds pays for
purchasing the mortgages.
Lenders use the money they realize
from selling mortgages to Freddie Mac to
make additional loans. Lenders must be
approved in order to participate in the
program. Loans must meet Freddie Mac
qualifications to be eligible for purchase.
To facilitate the lending process,
Freddie Mac provides lenders with an
automated underwriting tool to help
them evaluate mortgage applications.
Freddie Mac guarantees the securities
it issues, but the bonds arent federal
debts and arent federally guaranteed.
Like its sister corporation Fannie Mae,
Freddie Mac shares are traded on the
New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
Free cash flow
A businesss free cash flow statement
may differ significantly from its cash
flow statement. The cash flow statement
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Forward price-to-earnings ratio
85
generally represents earnings before
interest, taxes, depreciation, and
amortization (EBITDA).
Cash flow and EBITDA focus specifi-
cally on the profitability of the companys
actual business operations, independent
of outside factors such as debt and taxes.
Free cash flow, however, reports the
net movement of cash in and out of
the company.
To determine free cash flow, equity
analysts add up all a companys incoming
cash and then subtract cash that a
company pays out, including taxes and
interest. The result tells you how much
cash was left over or how short of cash
the company was at the end of the
fiscal period.
Front-end load
The load, or sales charge, that you pay
when you purchase shares of a mutual
fund or annuity is called a front-end
load. Some mutual funds identify shares
purchased with a front-end load as
Class A shares.
The drawback of a front-end load is
that a portion of your investment pays the
sales charge rather than being invested.
However, the annual asset-based fees on
Class A shares tend to be lower than on
shares with back-end or level loads.
In addition, if you pay a front-end
load, you may qualify for breakpoints,
or reduced sales charges, if the assets in
your account reach a certain milestone,
such as $25,000.
Front running
If you trade stock or other investments
because you know that an upcoming
transaction by a third party is likely to
affect the market price of the investment,
youre front running.
Because front running, sometimes
known as forward trading, relies on
information that isnt available to the
general public, its considered unethical
in certain circumstances.
One example is a broker-dealer who
trades at a better price for a personal
account than for a clients account.
Full faith and credit
Federal and municipal governments
can promise repayment of debt securities
they issue because they can raise money
through taxes, borrowing, and other
sources of revenue. That power is
described as full faith and credit.
Full-service brokerage firm
Full-service brokerage firms usually
offer their clients a range of services in
addition to executing their buy and
sell orders.
These firms usually have full-time
research departments and investment
analysts who provide information the
firms brokers share with clients.
In addition, some employees of
the firm may be qualified to provide
investment advice, develop financial
plans, or design strategies for meeting
financial goals.
Full-service firms tend to charge
higher commissions and fees than
discount brokerage firms or firms that
operate only online. However, some
full-service firms offer online services
and reduce their fees for transactions
handled though a clients online account.
Fund family
A fund family, or family of funds, is a
group of mutual funds controlled by a
single investment company, bank, or
other financial institution.
The various funds within the family
have different investment objectives,
such as growth or income. If you invest
in several funds in a family, you can
transfer assets from one fund to another
by phone or online.
If its a family of load funds, there
may or may not be a sales charge for the
transfer. If its a no-load fund, no sales
charges apply.
Fund family
86
You will owe capital gains taxes on
any profit you realize from selling fund
shares that have increased in value even
if the money is reinvested in another fund.
The only way youll avoid taxes is if you
own the funds in a tax-deferred or
tax-free account.
However, if the shares have lost value
when you sell, youll have a capital loss.
Fund network
Fund networks, sometimes called fund
supermarkets, offer access to thousands
of different mutual funds from many of
the major fund families.
Investing through a fund network
can make it easier to diversify your port-
folio, or put your assets into a variety of
investments, since you have access to all
the funds through one account.
And you can usuallyalthough not
alwaystransfer assets from one fund
family in the network to another without
an exchange fee although sales charges
may apply with some funds.
In addition, capital gains taxes may be
due if youre investing through a taxable
account and the shares of the fund youre
leaving have increased in value.
Fund of funds (FOF)
A fund of funds is a pooled investment,
such as a mutual fund or a hedge fund,
whose underlying investments are other
funds rather than individual securities.
Despite some major differences,
what all funds of funds have in common
is an emphasis on diversification for
its potential to reduce risk without
significantly reducing return.
Theyre also designed to simplify
the investment process by offering
one-stop shopping.
Many mutual fund FOFs are asset
allocation funds and typically include
both stock and bond funds in a particular
combination that the FOF manager
has chosen to meet a specific objective.
A mutual fund FOF may select all its
funds from a single fund family or it
may choose funds offered by different
investment companies.
A hedge fund FOF, which owns stakes
in other hedge funds, allows investors to
commit substantially less money to gain
exposure to this investment category than
it would cost to invest in even one fund.
A major drawback with all funds of
funds is that the fees tend to be higher
than you would pay owning the under-
lying funds directly.
Fundamental analysis
Fundamental analysis is one of two
main methods for analyzing a stocks
potential return.
Fundamental analysis involves
assessing a corporations financial history
and current standing, including earnings,
sales, and management. It also involves
gauging the strength of the corporations
products or services in the marketplace.
A fundamental analyst uses these
details as well as the current state of
the economy to assess whether the stock
is likely to increase or decrease in value
in the short- and long-term and whether
the stocks current price is an accurate
reflection of its value.
Fungible
When two or more things are inter-
changeable, can be substituted for
each other, or are of equal value, they
are described as fungible.
For example, shares of common stock
issued by the same company are fungible
at any point in time since they have the
same value no matter who owns them.
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Forms of money, such as dollar bills
or euros, are fungible since each can be
exchanged or substituted for another of
the same currency.
Similarly, put and call futures
contracts on the same commodity that
expire on the same date are fungible
since a contract to buya callcan
offset, or neutralize, a futures contract
to sella put.
On the other hand, multiple classes of
the same stock may not be fungible. For
example, in some markets citizens of the
country are eligible to buy one class of
stock and noncitizens a different class.
Typically, the shares have different prices
and may not be exchanged for each other.
Futures Commission Merchant (FCM)
A futures commission merchant (FCM)
is a person or a firm that acts as an agent
to execute buy or sell orders for futures
contracts or commodity options.
You may open an account directly
with an FCM or place your orders through
an introducing broker or commodity
trading adviser.
Futures contract
Futures contracts, when they trade on
regulated futures exchanges, obligate you
to buy or sell a specified quantity of the
underlying product for a specific price on
a specific date.
The underlying product could be
a commodity, stock index, security,
or currency.
Because all the terms of a listed
futures contract are structured by the
exchange, you can offset your contract
and get out of your obligation by buying
or selling an opposing contract before
the settlement date.
Futures contracts provide some
investors, called hedgers, a measure of
protection from price volatility on the
open market.
For example, wine manufacturers are
protected when a bad crop pushes grape
prices up on the spot market if they hold
a futures contract to buy the grapes at
a lower price. Grape growers are also
protected if prices drop dramaticallyif,
for example, theres a surplus caused by
a bumper cropprovided they have a
contract to sell at a higher price.
Unlike hedgers, speculators use
futures contracts to seek profits on price
changes. For example, speculators can
make (or lose) money, no matter what
happens to the grapes, depending on
what they paid for the futures contract
and what they must pay to offset it.
Futures exchange
Traditionally, futures contracts and
options on those contracts have been
bought and sold on a futures exchange, or
trading floor, in a defined physical space.
In the United States, for example,
there are futures exchanges in Chicago,
Kansas City, Minneapolis, and New York.
As electronic trading of these
products expands, however, buying and
selling doesnt always occur on the floor
of an exchange. So the term is also used
to describe the activity of trading
futures contacts.
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88
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Gainer
Stocks that increase in value over the
course of the trading day are described as
gainers or advancers.
Those that increase the most in
relation to their opening price are
called percentage gainers, or percentage
winners. Those that go up the greatest
number of points are called net gainers,
or dollar winners.
On a day that the stock market indexes
go up, there are typically more gainers
than there are losers or laggardsstocks
that have lost value. And on a day where
theres little change, there are likely to
be similar numbers of gainers and losers.
General account
A general account is a deposit account.
In the insurance industry, a general
account is the account into which all
incoming funds, except those designated
for a separate account, are deposited.
Deposits to a general account include
premiums for life insurance and fixed
annuities, plus assets in the fixed port-
folios of variable annuities.
Assets in a general account can be
used to cover company expenses and
are vulnerable to creditors claims. In
fact, this account can be sued to pay the
firms obligations. Thats one reason
that contract holders are cautioned
that payouts are subject to the insurers
ability to pay its claims.
The Federal Reserve considers
brokerage firms margin accounts that
are governed by Regulation T as general
accounts. The Fed requires that all
margin transactions made on behalf of
clients be conducted through the clients
individual general accounts.
General Agreement on Tariffs and
Trade (GATT)
A General Agreement on Tariffs and
Trade was signed in 1947 to provide an
international forum to encourage free
trade, reduce tariffs, and provide a
mechanism for resolving trade disputes.
The Uruguay Round Agreements Act
was ratified by Congress in 1994 to foster
trade by cutting international tariffs,
standardizing copyright and patent pro-
tection, and liberalizing trade legislation.
General obligation (GO) bond
State and local governments issue general
obligation (GO) municipal bonds and pay
the interest and repay the principal from
general revenues.
GO bonds are considered somewhat
less risky, and so pay slightly lower rates,
than the same municipalitys revenue
bonds, which are backed by income from
a specific project or agency.
A municipalitys general revenues
come from the taxes it is able to raise
and money it can borrow. Those powers
are sometimes described as its full faith
and credit.
Gift tax
A gift tax is a tax on the combined total
value of the taxable gifts you make that
exceed your lifetime federal tax-exempt
limit of $1 million. The tax is figured as a
percentage of the value of your gifts over
that amount.
For example, if during your lifetime
you make taxable gifts of money and
property valued at $1.2 million, you will
owe federal gift tax on $200,000. You
might also owe state gift tax, depending
on where you live.
However, you can make annual tax-free
gifts to as many individuals and nonprofit
institutions as you like. As long as the
value of the gifts to each individual is less
than the annual limit set by Congress,
that amount doesnt count against your
lifetime tax-free limits.
Gifts to nonprofits are not taxed
and dont count against your lifetime
limit either.
If youre married, you can give your
spouse gifts of any value at anytime,
totally tax free, provided he or she is a
US citizen. There are limits on spousal
gifts when the spouse is not a citizen.
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You are not required to report the
tax-free gifts on your tax return, but you
must report taxable gifts whose value
exceeds the annual tax-free limit on
IRS Form 709 for the year you make
them. The tax becomes due when the
cumulative total exceeds $1 million.
However, the law setting the $1 million
limit is set to expire at the end of 2010.
Unless Congress acts before that date,
the lifetime tax-exempt limit will fall
back to $675,000.
Gilt-edged security
When the term gilt-edged is applied to
bonds, its the equivalent of describing a
stock as a blue chip.
Both terms mean that the issuing
corporation has a long, strong record for
meeting its financial obligations to its
investors. That includes making interest
and dividend payments on time and
redeeming bonds on schedule.
Global depositary receipt (GDR)
To raise money in more than one market,
some corporations use global depositary
receipts (GDRs) to sell their stock on
markets in countries other than the one
where they have their headquarters.
The GDRs are issued in the currency
of the country where the stock is trading.
For example, a Mexican company might
offer GDRs priced in pounds in London
and in yen in Tokyo.
Individual investors in the countries
where the GDRs are issued buy them to
diversify into international markets.
GDRs let you do this without having to
deal with currency conversion and other
complications of overseas investing.
However, since GDRs are frequently
offered by newer or less-known compa-
nies, the prices are often volatile and
the stocks may be thinly traded. That
makes buying GDRs riskier than buying
domestic stocks.
Global fund
Global, or world, mutual funds invest in
US securities as well as those of other
countries. In that way, they differ from
international funds, which invest only
in non-US markets.
Although global funds may keep as
much as 75% of their assets invested in
the United States, fund managers are able
to take advantage of opportunities they
see in various overseas markets.
Go long
When you go long, you buy a security or
other financial product that you intend to
hold for a period of time or one that you
expect to increase in value so that you
can sell it at a profit.
For example, if youre buying and
selling options or futures contracts, you
go long when you enter a contract to buy
the underlying instrument. In the case of
stock, you go long when you buy shares
to hold in your portfolio, at least for the
next term.
Go public
A corporation goes public when it issues
shares of its stock in the open market for
the first time, in what is known as an
initial public offering (IPO).
That means that at least some of the
shares will be held by members of the
public rather than exclusively by the
investors who founded and funded the
corporation initially or the current
owners or management.
Go short
When you enter a futures contract
that commits you to sell or deliver the
underlying product, you go short or
have a short position.
Youre also going short when you
write an options contract, giving the
buyer the right to exercise the contract.
With stocks, you go short when you
borrow shares of stock through your
broker and sell them at their current
market price.
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Gold standard
The gold standard is a monetary system
that measures the relative value of a
currency against a specific amount
of gold.
It was developed in England in the
early 18th century when the scientist Sir
Isaac Newton was Master of the English
Mint. By the late 19th century, the gold
standard was used throughout the world.
The United States was on the gold
standard until 1971, when it stopped
redeeming its paper currency for gold.
Good til canceled (GTC)
If you want to buy or sell a security at a
specific price, you can ask your broker
to issue a good til canceled (GTC)
order. When the security reaches the
price youve indicated, the trade will
be executed.
This order stays in effect until it is
filled, you cancel it, or the brokerage
firms time limit on GTC orders expires.
A GTC, also called an open order,
is the opposite of a day order, which is
automatically canceled at the end of the
trading day if it isnt filled.
In addition, some firms offer good
through month (GTM) or good through
week (GTW) orders.
Good faith deposit
A good faith deposit is a sum of money
provided by a buyer to a seller, which
demonstrates the buyers intention
to purchase.
For instance, if youve decided on a
home you want to buy, you generally make
a good faith deposit to support your bid.
A good faith deposit, also called a
binder or earnest money, is usually a fixed
amount thats standard in the community
where youre buying. Its different from
a down payment. Thats a larger cash
payment, figured as a percentage of the
purchase price, which you make when
you sign the contract to purchase
the property.
If you and the seller cant agree on the
terms of the sale, you generally get your
good faith deposit back.
Good faith estimate
A good faith estimate is a written
summary provided by your mortgage
lender. It shows the amount you can
expect to pay at your real estate closing
to cover all the fees and expenses that
are part of arranging your mortgage loan.
It includes, among other things, the
title search and title insurance, lawyers
fees, transfer taxes, and filing fees. The
total amount of a good faith estimate is
in addition to the down payment you
will make.
Good will
When the term good will is used in
connection with evaluating a company,
it covers the intangible value of its
reputation, its satisfied clients, and its
productive work force. Those factors
are all considered evidence of the
corporations potential to produce
strong earnings.
Government bond
The term government bond is used to
describe the debt securities issued by
the federal government, such as US
Treasury bills, notes, and bonds. Theyre
also known as government obligations.
You can buy and sell these issues
directly using a Treasury Direct account
or through a broker.
Treasurys are backed by the full
faith and credit of the US government,
and the interest they pay is exempt
from state and local, though not federal,
income taxes. The cash raised by the sale
of Treasurys is used to finance a variety
of government activities.
Debt instruments issued by govern-
ment agencies are also described as
government bonds, or government
securities, though they are not backed
by the governments ability to collect
taxes to pay them off.
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For example, bonds issued by
the Government National Mortgage
Association (Ginnie Mae) and the
Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) are
government bonds.
Government National Mortgage
Association (Ginnie Mae)
The Government National Mortgage
Association, known as Ginnie Mae,
guarantees mortgage-backed securities
issued by approved private institutions
and marketed to investors through
brokerage firms.
The agencys dual mission is to
provide affordable mortgage funding
while creating high-quality investment
securities that offer safety, liquidity, and
an attractive yield.
Ginnie Mae securities are backed by
mortgages that are insured by either the
Federal Housing Administration (FHA)
or the Rural Housing Service (RHS), or
guaranteed by the Department of
Veterans Affairs (VA).
Ginnie Mae securities are sold in large
denominationsusually $25,000. But you
can buy Ginnie Mae mutual funds, which
allow you to invest more modest amounts.
Ginnie Mae is an agency of the US
Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD).
Grace period
A grace period is the number of days
between the date a credit card issuer
calculates your new balance and the
date your payment is due.
In most cases, if you have paid the
previous balance in full and on time,
and you havent taken any cash with-
drawals, no finance charges are added
to the amount of your purchases.
If you generally pay the entire balance
due on time, you may want to choose a
card with a longer rather than a shorter
grace period, assuming the other terms
are comparable. That gives you more time
to be sure your payments arrive on time.
However, a minority of credit arrange-
ments include a minimum finance charge,
even if you do pay on time. Other lenders
go back two billing cycles and will add
finance charges if you have not paid the
full amount due each time.
The grace period on a student loan
allows you to defer repayment so that
the first installment isnt due until six
or nine months after you graduate or are
no longer enrolled at least half time. The
timing depends on the type of loan.
You also have a grace period in which
to pay the premium on an insurance
policy before the policy is cancelled. Its
usually one month after the due date.
Green fund
A mutual fund that selects investments
based on a commitment to environmental
principles may be described as a
green fund.
Not all green funds stress exactly
the same values. A fund that seeks en-
vironmentally friendly businessessay
those that use alternative fuelsmay
not be concerned about what those
companies manufacture.
Another fund may avoid any company
in what it considers an unacceptable
industry, despite the companys individual
environmental record. In every case,
the funds approach is described in
its prospectus.
Green shoe clause
A green shoe clause allows the group of
investment banks that underwrite an
initial public offering (IPO) to buy and
offer for sale 15% more shares at the same
offering price than the issuing company
originally planned to sell.
The clause is activated if demand
for shares is more enthusiastic than
anticipated and the stock is trading
in the secondary market above the
offering price.
Green shoe clause
92
But if demand is weak, and the stock
price falls below the offering price, the
syndicate doesnt exercise its option for
more shares.
This contract provision, which may
be acted on for up to 30 days after the
IPO, gets its name from the Green Shoe
Company, which was the first to agree
to sell extra shares when it went public
in 1960.
Gross domestic product (GDP)
The total value of all the goods and
services produced within a countrys
borders is described as its gross
domestic product.
When that figure is adjusted for
inflation, it is called the real gross
domestic product, and its generally
used to measure the growth of the
countrys economy.
In the United States, the GDP is
calculated and released quarterly by the
Department of Commerce.
Gross margin
Gross margin is the percentage by which
profits exceed production costs. To find
gross margin you divide sales minus pro-
duction costs by sales.
For example, if you want to calculate
your gross margin on selling handmade
scarves, you need to know how much you
spent creating the scarves, and what you
collected by selling them.
If you sold 10 scarves at $15 a piece,
and spent $8 per scarf to make them,
your gross margin would be 46.7%, or $150
in sales minus $80 in production costs
divided by $150. Gross margin is not the
same as gross profit, which is simply sales
minus costs. In this example, its $70, or
$150 minus $80.
If youre doing research on a company
youre considering as an investment, you
can look at the gross margin to help you
see how efficiently it uses its resources.
If the company has a higher gross
margin than its competition, it can
command higher prices or spend less
on production. That might mean it can
allocate more resources to developing
new products or pursuing other projects.
Gross national product (GNP)
The gross national product is a measure
of a countrys economic outputthe total
value of all the goods and services that it
produces in a particular year. The GNP
is similar to the gross domestic product
(GDP), but not exactly the same.
Unlike the GDP, the GNP includes the
income generated by investments owned
outside the country by its citizens, and
excludes any income earned on domestic
soil by noncitizens or organizations
based elsewhere.
Gross spread
In an initial public offering (IPO), the
gross spread is the difference between
what the underwriters pay the issuing
company per share and the per share
price that investors pay. Its usually
about 7%.
For example, if a stock is to be offered
to the public at $10 a share, the under-
writers may pay the issuing company
around $9.30 per share. With millions of
shares being sold, the 70 cents per share
adds up to millions of dollars for the
investment bank.
Growth
Growth is an increase in the value of an
investment over time. Unlike investments
that produce income, those that are
designed for growth dont necessarily
provide you with a regular source
of cash.
A growth company is more likely to
reinvest its profits to build its business.
If the company prospers, however, its
stock typically increases in value.
Stocks, stock mutual funds, and real
estate may all be classified as growth
investments, but some stocks and
mutual funds emphasize growth more
than others.
Growth and income fund
Growth and income mutual funds invest
in securities that provide, as their name
suggests, a combination of growth
and income.
This type of fund generally funnels
assets into common stocks of well-
established companies that pay regular
dividends and increase in value at a
regular, if modest, rate. The balance of
the funds portfolio is in high-rated bonds
and preferred stock.
Growth rate
A growth rate measures the percentage
increase in the value of a variety of
markets, companies, or operations.
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Gross domestic product (GDP)
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For example, a stock research firm
typically tracks the rate at which a
companys sales and earnings have
grown as one of the factors in evaluating
whether to recommend that investors
purchase, hold, or sell its shares.
Similarly, the rate at which the gross
domestic product grows is a measure of
the strength of the US economy.
If you want to compare the vigor of
entities or elements of different sizes,
its more accurate to look at growth rate
than it is to look at the actual numerical
change in value. For example, an
emerging market might be growing at a
much faster rate than a developed one
even though the size of those economies
is vastly different.
Guaranteed investment contract
(GIC)
A guaranteed investment contract, or
GIC (pronounced gick), promises to
preserve your principal and to provide
a fixed rate of return when you begin to
withdraw from the contract, typically
after you retire.
You can invest in a GIC through a
salary reduction plan, such as a 401(k)
or 403(b) sponsored by your employer,
provided that investment option
is offered.
Because of their fixed rates, GICs are
vulnerable to inflation. And you may have
to pay a penalty if you decide to change
from a GIC to a different investment.
Insurance companies that offer GICs
assume the risk that the rate they earn
on their investments will outperform the
rates theyve guaranteed on the GICs.
Guaranteed renewable policy
Your insurance company cant cancel
a guaranteed renewable life insurance
policy as long as you pay the premium
on time.
With this type of policy, your
payments can be increased only if
theyre raised for everyone with the
same policy. Today, all newly issued
policies are guaranteed renewable.
Guarantor
If lenders are concerned about your
income, your credit history, or other risk
factors when you apply for a loan, they
may require a guarantor, or cosigner.
The guarantor signs the loan with you
and agrees to pay your debt if you default.
For example, lenders may fear that your
income may not be high enough to meet
your payments if you encounter any
unexpected financial setbacks.
Laws governing who may serve
as a guarantor vary from state to state.
Some states require that your guarantor
be a resident of the state where youre
obtaining the loan, while others will
accept guarantors from out of state
as well.
Guardian
A guardian is someone you designate to
be legally responsible for your minor
children or other dependents who are
unable to take care of themselves if you
are unavailable to provide for their care.
You may name the guardian in your
will or while you are still alive. In most
cases, a guardian makes both personal
and financial decisions for his or
her ward.
However, you may name two guardians
with different areas of responsibility
perhaps one for financial matters if you
have a substantial estate. If you become
disabled or otherwise unable to manage
your own affairs, the appropriate court
in your state may name a guardian to
manage your affairs.

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H
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Haircut
A haircut, in the financial industry, is
a percentage discount thats applied
informally to the market value of a stock
or the face value of a bond in an attempt
to account for the risk of loss that the
investment poses.
So, for example, a stock with a market
value of $30 may get a haircut of 20%, to
$24, when an analyst or money manager
tries to anticipate what is likely to happen
to the price.
Similarly, when a broker-dealer
calculates its net capital to meet the
15:1 ratio of debt to liquid capital
permissible under Securities and
Exchange Commission (SEC) rules, it
typically gives volatile securities in its
portfolio a haircut to reduce the
potential for being in violation.
The only securities that consistently
escape a haircut are US government
bonds because they are considered
free of default risk.
Hard assets
Hard assets are the tangible property
of a company or partnership, such as
the buildings, furniture, real estate, and
other equipment it owns.
When you make a direct investment
in hard assets, as you do when you invest
in a direct participation program (DPP),
you have an ownership interest in the
actual assets rather than in shares of
the corporation.
The profit, if any, that you realize from
hard assets is dependent on their ability
to produce revenue, as a rental property
or a leased airplane might.
Hardship withdrawal
A hardship withdrawal, also known as a
hardship distribution, occurs when you
take money out of your 401(k) or other
qualified retirement savings plan to
cover pressing financial needs.
You must qualify to withdraw by
meeting the conditions your plan imposes
in keeping with Internal Revenue Service
(IRS) guidelines. For example, you may
have to demonstrate how urgent the
situation is and prove you have no
other resources.
Some allowances are purchasing your
primary home, covering out-of-pocket
medical expenses for yourself or a
dependent, and paying college tuition
for yourself or a dependent.
However, if youre younger than 59,
you must pay a 10% penalty plus income
tax on the amount you withdraw. You also
may not be permitted to contribute to the
plan again for six months.
Head of household
Head of household is an IRS filing status
that you can use if you are unmarried or
considered unmarried on the last day of a
tax year and provide at least half the cost
of maintaining a home for one or more
qualifying dependents.
That may be your child, grandchild,
or other relative who lives in that home
for more than half the year, or a parent
whether or not he or she lives in
your home.
The advantage of filing as head of
household is that you can take a higher
standard deduction than if you filed as a
single taxpayer and you owe less federal
income tax than you would as a single,
assuming all other details were the same.
Filing as head of household also means
you qualify for certain deductions and
credits that would not be available to you
if you used the married filing separate
returns status.
Health insurance
Health insurance covers some of or all
the cost of treating an insured persons
illnesses or injuries. In some cases, it
pays for preventive care, such as annual
physicals and diagnostic tests.
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95
You may have health insurance as an
employee benefit from your job or, if you
qualify, through the federal governments
Medicare or Medicaid programs.
You may also buy individual health
insurance directly from an insurance
company or be eligible through a plan
offered by a group to which you belong.
As you do with other insurance contracts,
you pay premiums to purchase coverage
and the insurer pays some of or all your
healthcare costs, based on the terms of
your contract.
Some health insurance requires that
you meet an annual deductible before
the insurer begins to pay. There may also
be coinsurance, which is your share, on
a percentage basis, of each bill, or a
copayment, which is a fixed dollar
amount, for each visit.
Health insurance varies significantly
from plan to plan and contract to
contract. Generally, most plans cover
hospitalization, doctors visits, and other
skilled care. Some plans also cover some
combination of prescription drugs, re-
habilitation, dental care, and innovative
therapies or complementary forms of
treatment for serious illnesses.
Health savings account (HSA)
A health savings account is designed to
accumulate tax-free assets to pay current
and future healthcare expenses. To open
an HSA, you must have a qualifying high
deductible health plan (HDHP) either
through your employer or as an individual.
If you have an employers plan, your
contributions to the HSA are made
with pretax income, and your employer
may contribute as well. If you have an
individual plan, you may deduct your
contributions in calculating your adjusted
gross income (AGI).
Congress sets an annual limit on
the amount you can contribute to an
HSA, which you set up with a financial
institution such as a bank, brokerage
firm, insurance company, or mutual fund
company that offers these accounts.
No tax is due on money you withdraw
from the HSA to pay qualified medical
expenses such as doctors visits, hospital
care, eyeglasses, dental care, and
medications for yourself, your spouse,
and your dependants.
Any money thats left over in your
HSA at the end of the year is rolled over
and continues to accumulate tax-free
earnings, which you can use for future
healthcare costs.
Once youre 65, you can use the money
in the HSA for non-medical expenses
without paying a penalty, but youll owe
income taxes on those withdrawals. If you
are younger than 65, you can also spend
from your HSA on non-medical expenses,
but youll owe income taxes plus a 10%
tax penalty on the amount you take out.
Hedge fund
Hedge funds are private investment
partnerships open to institutions and
wealthy individual investors. These funds
pursue returns through a number of
alternative investment strategies.
Those might include holding both
long and short positions, investing in de-
rivatives, using arbitrage, and speculating
on mergers and acquisitions. Some hedge
funds use leverage, which means investing
borrowed money to boost returns.
Because of the substantial risks
associated with hedge funds, securities
laws limit participation to accredited
investors whose assets meet or exceed
(SEC) guidelines.
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Hedger
Hedgers in the futures market try to
offset potential price changes in the
spot market by buying or selling a
futures contract.
In general, they are either producers
or users of the commodity or financial
product underlying that contract. Their
goal is to protect their profit or limit
their expenses.
For example, a cereal manufacturer
may want to hedge against rising wheat
prices by buying a futures contract that
promises delivery of September wheat
at a specified price.
If, in August, the crop is destroyed,
and the spot price increases, the
manufacturer can take delivery of the
wheat at the contract price, which will
probably be lower than the market price.
Or the manufacturer can trade the
contract for more than the purchase
price and use the extra cash to offset
the higher spot price of wheat.
Hedging
Hedging is an investment technique
designed to offset a potential loss on
one investment by purchasing a second
investment that you expect to perform in
the opposite way.
For example, you might sell short one
stock, expecting its price to drop. At the
same time, you might buy a call option
on the same stock as insurance against
a large increase in value.
High deductible health plan (HDHP)
A high deductible health plan (HDHP)
requires substantially higher than
average out-of-pocket expenses before
the insurance company will start paying
for your medical expenses.
However, the premiums for an HDHP
are generally lower than the premiums for
traditional fee-for-service, participating
provider organization (PPO), or a health
maintenance organization (HMO) plan.
The HDHP may also pay a larger
percentage of your expenses once you
have satisfied the deductible. If you have
an HDHP, you may be eligible for a health
savings account (HSA), which allows you
to make tax-free withdrawals to pay for
medical care thats not covered by
your plan.
Money you put in an HSA or that an
employer contributes to your account
and that you dont spend for qualified
expenses can be rolled over and used in
later years.
High-yield bond
High-yield bonds are bonds whose
ratings from independent rating services
are below investment grade.
As a result, to attract investors,
issuers of high-
yield bonds
must pay a
higher rate
of interest
than the rates
that issuers of
higher-rated
bonds with the
same maturity
are paying. The
higher rate
translates to
more income,
which is the higher yield.
High-yield bonds may also be de-
scribed, somewhat more graphically, as
junk bonds.
Highly compensated employees
Highly compensated employees are
people whose on-the-job earnings are
higher than the level the government has
established to differentiate this category
of worker.
In 2007, that amount is $100,000. It is
increased from time to time to reflect the
impact of inflation.
The major consequence of being a
member of this group is that the percent-
age of earnings that highly compensated
employees may contribute to their 401(k)
or similar plan is determined by the
contribution rates of other plan
participants who earn less.
If lower-paid employees contribute
an average of 2% or less, higher-paid
employees may contribute up to twice
that percentage.
If the average is 3% to 8%, higher-
paid employees may contribute two
percentage points more than the average.
And if the average is 8% or higher, the
maximum for highly compensated
employees is 1.25 times that average.
Hold
A securities analysts recommendation
to hold appears to take a middle ground
between encouraging investors to buy and
suggesting that they sell.
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However, in
an environment
where an analyst
makes very few
sell recommenda-
tions, you may
interpret that
persons hold as
an indication that
it is time to sell.
Hold is also
half of the invest-
ment strategy
known as buy-
and-hold. In this
context, it means to keep a security in
your portfolio over an extended period,
perhaps ten years or more.
The logic is that if you purchase an
investment with long-term potential
and keep it through short-term ups and
downs in the marketplace, you increase
the potential for building portfolio value.
Holding company
By acquiring enough voting stock in
another company, a holding company,
also called a parent company, can exert
control over the way the target company
is run without actually owning it outright.
The advantages of this approach,
provided that the holding company owns
at least 80% of the voting shares, are
that it receives tax-free dividends if the
subsidiary prospers and can write off
some of the operating losses if the
subsidiary falters.
Because of its shareholder status,
however, the holding company is
insulated to some extent from the
target companys liabilities.
Holding period
A holding period is the length of time
you keep an investment.
In some cases, a specific holding
period is required in order to qualify for
some benefit. For example, you must hold
US savings bonds for a minimum of five
years to collect the full amount of interest
that has accrued.
Home equity line of credit (HELOC)
Sometimes referred to as a HELOC, a
home equity line of credit lets you
borrow against the equity youve built
in your home, usually by using a debit
card or writing checks against your
available balance.
Your credit line, or limit, is fixed,
but you can draw against it up to that
limit rather than receive the entire loan
amount as a lump sum. Whatever you
borrow reduces your available balance
until you repay it. Then you can borrow
it again.
Home equity lines of credit have
variable interest rates. The terms of
repayment vary and are spelled out in
your agreement.
In some cases, you begin to repay
principal and interest as soon as you
borrow. In others, you pay interest only
and make a one-time full payment of
principal at some set date. Or you may
make interest-only payments for a specific
period, and then begin to repay principal
as well.
Its important to keep in mind that
because your home serves as collateral
for the line of credit, your home could
be at risk if you default, or fall behind
on repayment.
Home equity loan
A home equity loan, sometimes called a
second mortgage, is secured by the equity
in your home.
You receive the loan principal, minus
fees for arranging the loan, in a lump sum.
You then make monthly repayments over
the term of the agreement, just as you do
with your first, or primary, mortgage.
The interest rates on home equity
loans are generally lower than the rates
on unsecured loans. However, when you
borrow against your equity you run the
risk of foreclosure if you default on the
loan, even if you have continued to
make the required payments on your
first mortgage.
Homeowners insurance
Homeowners insurance is a contract
between an insurance company and a
homeowner to cover certain types of
damage to the property and its contents,
theft of personal possessions, and liability
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in case of lawsuits based on incidents or
events that occur on the property.
To obtain the insurance, which is
based on the value of the home and
what is covered in the policy, you pay a
premium set by the insurance company.
For each claim theres generally a
deductiblea dollar amountthat you
must pay before the insurer is respon-
sible for its share. If you have a mortgage
loan, your lender will require you to have
enough homeowners insurance to cover
the amount you owe on the loan.
Homeowners insurance policies vary
substantially from contract to contract
and from insurer to insurer as well as
from region to region. Almost all policies
have exclusions, which are causes of loss
that are not covered. All the coverage
and exclusions of a particular policy are
spelled out in the terms and conditions.
Hope scholarship credit
You may qualify for a Hope scholarship
tax credit for money you spend on
qualified educational expenses for your-
self, your spouse, or a dependent child.
To qualify, the student must be
enrolled at least halftime in the first
or second year of a qualified higher
education institution pursuing a degree
or other credential.
Qualified institutions include liberal
arts colleges, universities, and vocational,
trade, or technical schools. If two qualify-
ing students are enrolled at the same
time, you may take two Hope tax credits.
To qualify for this credit, your modified
adjusted gross income must fall within
the annual limits that Congress sets.
Those amounts tend to increase slightly
each year.
If you claim the credit while youre
taking withdrawals from tax-free college
savings plans such as a Section 529 plan
or an education savings account (ESA),
youll have to plan carefully. Your with-
drawals will lose their qualified status
and be subject to tax and penalty if you
use them to pay for the same expenses
for which you claim the tax credit.
You cant take the credit, either, if
you claim a tuition and fees deduction in
calculating your adjusted gross income.
Hot issue
If a newly issued security rises steeply in
price after its initial public offering (IPO)
because of intense investor demand, it is
considered a hot issue.
Hybrid annuity
With a hybrid annuity, you allocate part
of your annuitys assets to providing fixed
income payments and part to making vari-
able income payments.
For example, you could buy a
hybrid immediate annuity with a lump
sum of $50,000, and allocate $35,000
to fixed payments and $15,000 to
variable payments.
The fixed portion would lock in a
specific yearly income, while income
from the variable portion would depend
on the performance of the underlying
investments you selected.
This approach allows you to
combine the advantages of both types
of annuitiesregular income from the
fixed and growth potential from the
variablein a single package.
Hope scholarship credit
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Hybrid mortgage
Sometimes called an intermediate
ARM, a fixed-period ARM, or a multiyear
mortgage, a hybrid mortgage combines
aspects of fixed-rate and adjustable-
rate mortgages.
The initial rate is fixed for a specific
periodusually three, five, seven, or ten
yearsand then is adjusted to market
rates. The adjustment may be a one-time
change, or more typically, a change that
occurs regularly over the balance of the
loan term, usually once a year.
In many cases, the interest rate
changes on a hybrid mortgage are capped,
which can help protect you if market
rates rise sharply.
One advantage of the hybrid mortgage
is that the interest rate for the fixed-rate
portion is usually lower than with a
30-year fixed-rate mortgage. The lower
rate also means its easier to qualify for
a mortgage, since the monthly payment
will be lower.
And if you move or refinance before
the interest rate is adjustedthe
typical mortgage lasts only seven
yearsyou dont have to worry about
rates going up.
However, some hybrid mortgages carry
prepayment penalties if you refinance or
pay off the loan early. While prepayment
penalties are illegal in many states, they
are legal in others.
Hypothecation
Hypothecation means pledging an asset
as collateral for a loan.
If you use a margin account to buy
on margin or sell short, for example, you
pledge securities (stocks, bonds, or other
financial instruments) as collateral for
the debt. If the brokerage firm issues a
margin call that you dont meet, it can
sell those securities to cover its losses.
Similarly, if you arrange a mortgage on
your home, you give the lender the right
to sell your home if you fail to meet your
obligation to make mortgage payments.
Hypothecation may make it easier for
you to secure a loan, but you do run the
risk of losing the asset if for some reason
you default on your obligation to repay
according the terms of the agreement.
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Identity theft
Identity theft is
the unauthorized
use of your per-
sonal information,
such as your name,
address, Social
Security number,
or credit account
information.
People usually
steal your identity
to make purchases
or obtain credit,
though they may
also use the data
to apply for a drivers license or other
form of official identification.
Immediate annuity
You buy an immediate annuity contract
with a lump-sum purchase. You begin
receiving income from the annuity either
right away or within 13 months.
A fixed immediate annuity guarantees
the amount of income youll receive in
each payment, based on the claims paying
ability of the insurance company selling
the contract.
A variable immediate annuity pays
income based on the performance of the
annuity funds, or subaccounts, you select
from those available through the contract.
Immediate annuities appeal to people
who want to convert a sum of money to a
source of regular income, either for them-
Identity theft
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selves or for another person. One way
theyre frequently used is as a source of
retirement income.
Imputed interest
Imputed interest is interest you are
assumed to have collected even if that
interest was not paid.
For example, you pay income tax on
the imputed interest of a zero-coupon
bond you hold in a taxable account even
though the interest is not paid until the
bond matures.
Similarly, you may be required to
pay income tax on imputed interest if
you make an interest-free loan, even if
that loan is to your children or another
member of your family. The governments
position, in this case, is that you should
have charged interest even though you
didnt do so.
Incentive stock option (ISO)
Corporate executives may be granted
incentive stock options (ISOs), also called
qualifying stock options. These options
arent taxed when theyre granted or
exercised, but only when the underlying
shares are sold.
If, after exercising the options,
participating executives keep the shares
for the required period, any earnings from
selling the shares are taxed at the owners
long-term capital gains rate.
However, stock option transactions
may make sellers vulnerable to the
alternative minimum tax (AMT).
Income annuity
An income annuity, sometimes called
an immediate annuity, pays an annual
income, usually in monthly installments.
Your income is based on the annuitys
price, your age (and your joint annuitants
age if you name one), the term length, and
the specific details of the contract. Its
also dependent on the annuity providers
ability to meet its obligations.
You might buy an income annuity with
assets from your 401(k) plan, or your
plan may buy an income annuity on your
behalf. In that case, the annuity provider
guarantees an income that will satisfy
your minimum required distribution.
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Indenture
Income fund
Income funds are mutual funds whose
investment objective is to produce current
income rather than long-term growth,
typically by investing in bonds or some-
times a combination of bonds and
preferred stock.
Investors, especially those who have
retired or are about to retire, may prefer
income funds to potentially more volatile
growth funds.
The amount of income a fund may
generate is related to the risk posed by
the investments that the fund makes and
the return they generate.
A fund that buys lower-grade bonds
may provide substantially more income
than a fund buying investment-grade
bonds. But the same fund may also put
your principal, or investment amount,
at substantial risk.
Income in respect of a decedent
Any income your beneficiary receives
after your death that would have gone to
you if you were still alive is described as
income in respect of a decedent.
One example is the income your
beneficiary gets as a minimum required
distribution from your 401(k) or IRA. In
this case, your beneficiary pays tax on
that income at his or her ordinary rate,
as you would have.
Income statement
An income statement, also called a profit
and loss statement, shows the revenues
from business operations, expenses of
operating the business, and the resulting
net profit or loss of a company over a
specific period of time.
In assessing the overall financial
condition of a company, youll want to
look at the income statement and the
balance sheet together, as the income
statement captures the companys
operating performance and the
balance sheet shows its net worth.
Income stock
Stock that pays income in the form of
regular dividends over an extended period
is often described as income stock.
The advantage of owning income stock
is that it can supplement your budget or
provide new capital to invest. Unless you
own the stock in a tax-deferred or tax-free
account, youll owe income tax each year
on the dividends you receive.
But dividends on qualifying stock,
including most US stock and some
international stock, are usually taxed
at your lower long-term capital gains rate.
Income stock is an important component
of most equity income funds and growth
and income funds.
Incorporation
When a business incorporates, it receives
a state or federal charter to operate as a
corporation. A corporation has a separate
and distinct legal and tax identity from
its owners.
In fact, in legal terms, a corporation
is considered an individualit can own
property, earn income, pay taxes, incur
liabilities, and be sued.
Incorporating can offer many advan-
tages to a business, among them limiting
the liability of the companys owners.
This means that shareholders are not
personally responsible for the companys
debts. Another advantage is the ability to
issue shares of stock and sell bonds, both
ways to raise additional capital.
You know that a business is a
corporation if it includes the word
Incorporatedor the short form,
Inc.in its official name.
Indemnity insurance
An indemnity insurance policy pays up to
a fixed amount when you make a claim,
often on a per-day basis.
The premiums on health insurance
indemnity plans may be lower than on
other heathcare plans, but the fixed
payments may cover only a portion of
your medical bills.
Some people use indemnity plans
as supplements to, rather than sub-
stitutes for, more comprehensive health
insurance. Others use low-cost indemnity
plans for short-term coverage.
Indenture
An indenture is a written contract
between a bond issuer and bond holder
that is proof of the bond issuers indebt-
edness and specifies the terms of the
arrangement, including the maturity
date, the interest rate, whether the bond
is convertible to common stock, and, if so,
the price or ratio of the conversion.
The indenture, which may be called a
deed of trust, also includes whether the
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bond is callableor can be redeemed
by the issuer before it matureswhat
property, if any, is pledged as security,
and any other terms.
Independent 401(k)
The independent 401(k)also known
as a solo 401(k), indy-k, or uni-kis a
variation of the 401(k) designed for
people who are self-employed or operate
a small business with a partner, spouse,
or other immediate family members.
The annual contribution limit is the
same as it is for other 401(k) plans, and
catch-up contributions are allowed for
participants 50 and older.
The plans are easier and less
expensive to administer than traditional
401(k)s, and they have certain potential
advantages over other retirement plans
for small businesses as well, including
high contribution limits, access to tax-free
loans, and the ability to roll over savings
from most other retirement plans.
Most business entities qualify
to set up an independent 401(k),
including partnerships, corporations,
S-corporations, limited liability partner-
ships (LLPs), limited liability companies
(LLCs), and sole proprietorships.
Index
An index reports changes up or down,
usually expressed as points and as a
percentage, in a specific financial market,
in a number of related markets, or in an
economy as a whole.
Each indexand there are a large
number of themmeasures the market
or economy it tracks from a specific
starting point. That point might be as
recent as the previous day or many years
in the past.
For those reasons, indexes are
often used as performance benchmarks
against which to measure the return of
investments that resemble those tracked
by the index.
A market index may be calculated
arithmetically or geometrically. Thats
one reason two indexes tracking similar
markets may report different results.
Further, some indexes are weighted and
others are not.
Weighting means giving more
significance to some elements in the
index than to others. For example, a
market capitalization weighted index is
more influenced by price changes in
the stock of its largest companies than
by price changes in the stock of its
smaller companies.
Index fund
An index fund is designed to mirror the
performance of a stock or bond index,
such as Standard & Poors 500 Index
(S&P 500) or the Russell 2000 Index.
To achieve that goal, the fund
purchases all the securities in the index,
or a representative sample of them, and
adds or sells investments only when the
securities in the index change. Each
index fund aims to keep pace with its
underlying index, not outperform it.
This strategy can produce strong
returns during a bull market, when the
index reflects increasing prices. But it
may produce disappointing returns during
economic downturns, when an actively
managed fund might take advantage of
investment opportunities if they arise to
outperform the index.
Because the typical index funds
portfolio is not actively managed, most
index funds have lower-than-average
management costs and smaller expense
ratios. However, not all index funds
tracking the same index provide the
same level of performance, in large part
because of different fee structures.
Index of Leading Economic Indicators
This monthly composite of ten economic
measurements was developed to track
and help forecast changing patterns
in the economy. It is compiled by
The Conference Board, a business
research group.
The components are adjusted from
time to time to help improve the accuracy
of the index. In the past, it has success-
fully predicted major downturns, although
it has also warned of some that did
not materialize.
Consumer-related components
include the number of building permits
issued, manufacturers new orders for
consumer goods, and the index of
consumer expectations.
Financial components include the
S&P 500 Index of widely held stocks,
the real money supply, and the interest
rate spread.
INDEX
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Business-related components
include the average work week in the
manufacturing sector, average initial
claims for unemployment benefits, non-
defense plant and equipment orders, and
vendor performance, which reflects how
quickly companies receive deliveries
from suppliers.
Index option
Index options are puts and calls on a
stock index rather than on an individual
stock. They give investors the opportunity
to hedge their portfolios or speculate on
gains or losses in a segment of the market.
For example, if you own a group of
technology stocks but think technology
stocks are going to fall, you might buy a
put option on a technology index rather
than selling short a number of different
technology stocks.
If the value of the index does fall, you
could exercise the option and collect cash
to partially offset a drop in the value of
your portfolio.
However, to use this strategy success-
fully, the index you choose must perform
the way the portion of the portfolio youre
trying to hedge performs.
And since changes in an index are
difficult to predict, index options tend to
be volatile. The more time there is until
an index option expires, the more volatile
the option tends to be.
Indexed annuity
An indexed annuity is a deferred annuity
whose return is tied to the performance
of a particular equity market index.
Your investment principal is usually
protected against severe market down-
turns, in that you may have an annual
return of 0% but not less than 0%.
However, earnings are generally
capped at a fixed percentage, so any
index gains that are above the cap are
not reflected in your annual return.
Indexed annuity contracts generally
require you to commit your assets for
a particular term, such as 5, 10, or 15
years. Some but not all contracts limit
your participation rate, which means that
only a percentage of your premium has
a potential to earn a rate higher than a
guaranteed rate.
Individual retirement account
Individual retirement accounts are one
of two types of individual retirement
arrangements (IRAs) that provide tax ad-
vantages as you save for retirement. The
other is an individual retirement annuity.
Both have the same annual contribu-
tion limits, catch-up provisions if youre
50 or older, and withdrawal requirements.
In addition, both are available in three
varieties: traditional deductible,
traditional nondeductible, and Roth.
The primary difference between the
two is in the investments you make with
your contributions.
You open an individual retirement
account with a financial services firm,
such as a bank, brokerage firm, or
investment company, as custodian. The
accounts are self-directed, which means
you can choose among the investments
available through your custodian.
In common practice, however, perhaps
because more people have individual
retirement accounts, the acronym IRA
tends to be used to refer to an account
rather than annuity or arrangement.
Individual retirement annuity
An individual retirement annuity
is one type of individual retirement
arrangement.
It resembles the better-known
individual retirement account in most
ways, such as annual contribution limits,
catch-up provisions if youre 50 or older,
and withdrawal requirements.
In addition, the two share a common
acronymIRAand come in three
varieties: traditional nondeductible,
traditional deductible, and Roth.
The key difference between the two
is that with an individual retirement ac-
count you may invest your contributions
in any of the alternatives available
through your account custodian. With
an individual retirement annuity, your
money goes into either a fixed or variable
annuity offered by the insurance company
you have chosen as custodian.
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104
Individual retirement arrangement
(IRA)
An individual retirement arrangement
(IRA), which may be set up as either an
account or an annuity, allows people with
earned income to contribute to a tax-
deferred traditional IRA or a tax-free
Roth IRA.
Your contribution can be as much as
the annual cap, though it cant be more
than you earn. The cap is $4,000 for 2007
and $5,000 for 2008. If you are 50 or older,
you can make an additional catch-up
contribution of $1,000 a year.
You can contribute to a traditional IRA
regardless of your income, and you may
qualify to deduct your contribution if your
modified adjusted gross income is less
than the ceiling for your tax filing status.
You may also qualify if youre not eligible
to participate in an employer sponsored
plan where you work.
You qualify for a Roth if your modified
adjusted gross income is less than the
ceiling for your filing status.
If you open a traditional IRA, you
usually cant withdraw without penalty
before you turn 59 and you must begin
minimum required distributions (MRDs)
by April 1 of the year following the year
you turn 70.
Income taxes figured at your regular
rate are due on your earnings and on any
contributions you deducted on your tax re-
turn in the year for which you made them.
With a Roth IRA your withdrawals are
free of federal income tax provided youre
at least 59 and your account has been
open at least five years. There are no
required withdrawals.
Inefficient market
In an inefficient market, investors may
not have enough information about the
securities in that market to make
informed decisions about what to buy
or the price to pay.
Markets in emerging nations may be
inefficient, since securities laws may not
require issuing companies to disclose
relevant information. In addition, few
analysts follow the securities being
traded there.
Similarly, there can be inefficient
markets for stocks in new companies,
particularly for new companies in new
industries that arent widely analyzed.
An inefficient market is the opposite
of an efficient one, where enormous
amounts of information are available for
investors who choose to use it.
Inflation
Inflation is a persistent increase in prices,
often triggered when demand for goods is
greater than the available supply or when
unemployment is low and workers can
command higher salaries.
Moderate inflation typically
accompanies economic growth. But
the US Federal Reserve Bank and
THE INFLATION CYCLE
1.
Increasing
demand
boosts
prices
3.
Lower prices
increase
demand,
and cycle
begins again
2.
Rising prices
decrease
demand, so
prices drop
Individual retirement arrangement (IRA)
105
central banks in other nations try to
keep inflation in check by decreasing
the money supply, making it more difficult
to borrow and thus slowing expansion.
Hyperinflation, when prices rise by
100% or more annually, can destroy
economic, and sometimes political,
stability by driving the price of necessities
higher than people can afford.
Deflation, in contrast, is a widespread
decline in prices that also has the poten-
tial to undermine the economy by stifling
production and increasing unemployment.
Inflation rate
The inflation rate is a measure of
changing prices, typically calculated on
a month-to-month and year-to-year basis
and expressed as a percentage.
For example, each month the
Bureau of Labor Statistics calculates
the inflation rate that affects average
urban US consumers, based on the prices
for about 80,000 widely used goods and
services. That figure is reported as the
Consumer Price Index (CPI).
Inflation-adjusted return
Inflation-adjusted return is what you earn
on an investment after accounting for the
impact of inflation.
For example, if you earn 7% on a bond
during a period when the inflation rate
averages 3%, your inflation-adjusted
return is 4%.
Inflation-
adjusted return
is also known as
real return.
Since inflation
diminishes the
buying power of
your money, its
important that
the rate of return
on your overall
investment port-
folio be greater
than the rate of
inflation. That way, your money grows
rather than shrinks in value over time.
Inflation-protected security (TIPS)
US Treasury inflation-protected securities
(TIPS) adjust the principal twice a year to
reflect inflation or deflation measured by
the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
The interest rate is fixed and is paid
twice a year on the adjusted principal.
So if your principal is larger because of
inflation you earn more interest. If its
lower because of deflation, you earn less.
You can buy TIPS with terms of 5, 10,
or 20 years at issue using a Treasury
Direct account or in the secondary
market. At maturity you receive either
the adjusted principal or par value, which-
ever is greater.
You owe federal income tax on
the interest you earn and on inflation
adjustments in each year theyre added
even though you dont receive the
increases until the security matures.
However, TIPS earnings are exempt from
state and local income taxes.
These securities provide a safeguard
against deflation as well as against
inflation since they guarantee that youll
get back no less than par, or face value,
at maturity.
Inherited IRA
An inherited IRA is an IRA that passes
to a beneficiary at the death of the IRA
owner. If you name your spouse as the
beneficiary of your IRA, your spouse
inherits the IRA at your death. At that
point, it is your spouses property.
But if you name anyone other than
your spouse, that beneficiary inherits the
rights to income from your IRA, which
continues to be registered in your name,
but not the IRA itself.
Initial public offering (IPO)
When a company reaches a certain stage
in its growth, it may decide to issue stock,
or go public, with an initial public offering
(IPO). The goal may be to raise capital,
to provide liquidity for the existing share-
holders, or a number of other reasons.
Any company planning an IPO must
register its offering with the Securities
and Exchange Commission (SEC).
In most cases, the company works with
an investment bank, which underwrites
the offering. That means marketing the
shares being offered to the public at a
set price with the expectation of making
a profit.
Insider trading
If managers of a publicly held company,
members of its board of directors, or
anyone who holds more than 10% of the
company trades its shares, its considered
insider trading.
This type of trading is perfectly legal,
provided its based on information
available to the public.
Its only illegal if the decision is based
on knowledge of corporate developments,
such as executive changes, earnings
reports, or acquisitions or takeovers
that havent yet been made public.
Insider trading
106
It is also illegal for people who are not
part of the company, but who gain access
to private corporate information, to trade
the companys stock based on this inside
information. The list includes lawyers,
investment bankers, journalists, or
relatives of company officials.
Instinet
Instinet is the worlds largest agency
brokerage firm.
As an agency firm, it doesnt trade
stock for its own account as traditional
brokerage houses do. That way, it doesnt
bid against the mutual funds, insurance
companies, pension funds, and other
institutional investors who are its
primary clients.
Using Instinets sophisticated
electronic network, these investors can
trade directly and anonymously with each
other in more than 40 global markets.
Or, using Instinet brokers, the investors
can place orders on all US exchanges and
many overseas exchanges, including
those that arent automated.
Institutional fund
An institutional fund is a mutual fund
thats available to large investors, such as
pension funds and not-for-profit organiza-
tions, with substantial amounts to invest.
Typical institutional funds have higher
minimum investments but lower fees than
the retail funds that are available to the
general public.
Among the reasons institutional funds
may cost less to operate is that they tend
to have low turnover rates and their
investors redeem shares less often
than retail investors.
Institutional investor
Institutional investors buy and sell
securities in large volume, typically 10,000
or more shares of stock, or bonds worth
$200,000 or more, in a single transaction.
In most cases, the investors are
organizations with large portfolios, such
as mutual funds, banks, university
endowment funds, insurance companies,
pension funds, and labor unions.
Institutional investors may trade
their own assets or assets that they are
managing for other people.
Insufficient funds
If you dont have enough money available
in your checking account to cover the
checks youve written or electronic debits
youve authorized, you have insufficient
funds (ISF) or nonsufficient funds (NSF).
A check written against insufficient
funds is informally called a returned
check, a bounced check, or a bad check.
If you write one, your account is
considered overdrawn.
Unless you have overdraft protection,
which is a line of credit linked to your
checking account, your bank will charge
you an NSF fee, usually $20 to $35
per check.
The check or an electronic copy
is returned unpaid to the person who
deposited it. The payees bank may
also charge a fee for depositing a check
written against insufficient funds.
Insurance trust
You set up an insurance trust to own a
life insurance policy on your life. When
you die, the face value of the policy is
paid to the trust.
That keeps the insurance payment
out of your estate, while making money
available to the beneficiary of the trust to
pay any estate tax that may be due, or to
use for any other purpose.
If youre married, you may set up an
insurance trust to buy a second-to-die
policy, which pays the face value of the
policy at the death of the second spouse.
That allows the first to die to leave all
assets to the other, postponing potential
estate tax until the survivor dies. At that
point, the insurance benefit is available
to pay any tax that might be due.
Insured bond
An insured bond is a municipal bond
whose interest and principal payments
are guaranteed by a triple-A rated
bond insurer.
Insurance protects municipal bond-
holders against default by the issuer and
protects bonds in case theyre down-
graded by ratings agencies, which can
decrease market value.
Insured bonds generally offer a
slightly lower rate of interest than
uninsured bonds.
Instinet
107
Integrated pension plan
In an integrated pension plan, your
employer counts part of your Social
Security benefit in the defined benefit
pension youre entitled to and takes that
amount out of your income.
You still collect from both sources, but
you receive less from your employer than
you would if your plan wasnt integrated.
There is some protection, though. By
law, an employer using an integrated
pension plan cant reduce your private
pension by more than 50%.
Interest
Interest is what you pay to borrow
money using a loan, credit card, or line
of credit. It is calculated at either a fixed
or variable rate thats expressed as a
percentage of the amount you borrow,
pegged to a specific time period.
For example, you may pay 1.2% interest
monthly on the unpaid balance of your
credit card.
Interest also refers to the income,
figured as a percentage of principal,
that youre paid for purchasing a bond,
keeping money in a bank account, or
making other interest-paying investments.
If it is simple interest, earnings are
figured on the principal. If it is compound
interest, the earnings are added to the
principal to form a new base on which
future income is calculated.
Interest is also a share or right in a
property or asset. For example, if you are
half-owner of a vacation home, you have a
50% interest.
Interest rate
Interest rate is the percentage of the face
value of a bond or the balance in a deposit
account that you receive as income on
your investment.
If you multiply the interest rate by the
face value or balance, you find the annual
amount you receive.
For example, if you buy a bond with
a face value of $1,000 with a 6% interest
rate, youll receive $60 a year. Similarly,
the percentage of principal you pay for
the use of borrowed money is the loans
interest rate.
If there are no other costs associated
with borrowing the money, the interest
rate is the same as the annual percentage
rate (APR).
Interest-only mortgage
With an interest-only mortgage loan,
you pay only the interest portion of each
scheduled payment for a fixed term, often
five to seven years.
After that, your payments increase,
often substantially, to cover the accumu-
lated unpaid principal plus the balance of
the loan and the interest.
Before the higher payments begin, you
may renegotiate your loan at the current
interest rate or pay off the outstanding
balance. However, its possible that
interest rates may have risen, in which
case you will end up paying a higher rate
on the entire unpaid principal.
If you have regularly invested the
principal you werent repaying and
realized a return higher than the loans
interest rate, you could come out ahead.
However, many borrowers dont invest
the savings.
One risk with interest-only loans is
that you may not be able to meet the
higher payments once full repayment
begins, especially if the interest-only
payments themselves were a stretch.
Interest-rate risk
Interest-rate risk describes the impact
that a change in current interest rates
is likely to have on the value of your
investment portfolio.
You face interest-rate risk when you
own long-term bonds or bond mutual
funds because their market value will
drop if interest rates increase.
That loss of value occurs because
investors will be able to buy bonds with
a new, higher interest rate, so they wont
pay full price for an older bond paying a
lower interest rate.
Intermediate-term bond
Intermediate-term bonds mature in two
to ten years from the date of issue.
Typically, the interest on these bonds is
greater than that on short-term bonds
of similar quality but less than that on
comparably rated long-term bonds.
INTEREST RATE
Rate x
Face value
ANNUAL INTEREST
6% x
$1,000
$60 PER YEAR
INTEREST RATE
INTEREST RATE
Intermediate-term bond
108
Intermediate-term bonds work
well in an investment strategy known
as laddering. Laddering involves buying
bonds with different maturity dates so
that portions of your fixed income port-
folio mature in a stepped pattern over a
number of years.
Internalization
Internalization occurs when a securities
trade is executed within a brokerage
firm rather than though an exchange.
For example, if you give your broker an
order to buy, the brokerage firm, acting
as dealer, sells you shares it holds in its
own account.
Similarly, if you give an order to sell,
the firm buys your shares. The transaction
is reported to the exchange or market
where the stock is listed but the trade is
settled within the firm.
Your broker might choose an
internalized trade, sometimes called a
principal transaction, because it results
in the fastest trade at the best price.
The firm keeps the spread, which is
the difference between the price the
buyer pays and the amount the seller
receives. But if the spread is smaller than
it would be with a different execution,
you, as buyer or seller, benefit.
Your broker may also execute your
order by going directly to another firm.
In that case, the transaction is reported
to the appropriate market just as an
internalized trade is, but the record-
keeping and financial arrangements are
handled between the firms.
International fund
This type of mutual fund invests in stocks,
bonds, or cash equivalents that are traded
in overseas markets, or in indexes that
track international markets.
Like other funds, international
funds have investment objectives and
strategies, and pose some level of risk,
such as the risk that currency fluctuations
may greatly affect the funds value.
Some international funds focus on
countries with established economies,
some on emerging markets, and some on
a mix of the two.
US investors may buy funds that
invest in other markets to diversify their
portfolios, since owning a fund is usually
simpler than investing in individual
securities abroad.
A different group of funds, called
global or world funds, also invest in
overseas markets but typically keep a
substantial portion of their portfolios in
US securities.
International Monetary Fund (IMF)
The IMF was set up as a result of the
United Nations Bretton Woods Agreement
of 1944 to help stabilize world currencies,
lower trade barriers, and help developing
nations pay off debt.
The IMFs activities are funded by
developed nations and are sometimes the
subject of intense criticism, either by the
nations the IMF is designed to help, the
nations footing the bill, or both.
Intestate
A person who dies without a will is said to
have died intestate.
In this case, the probate court in the
persons home statesometimes known
as surrogates court or orphans court
determines who has the right to inherit
the persons assets and who should be
named guardian of any minor children.
The process, known as administration,
can be time consuming and expensive,
and the outcome may or may not reflect
what the intestate person would
have wanted.
In-the-money
An option is in-the-money at any point up
to expiration if the exercise price is below
the market price of a call option or above
the market price of a put option. That
means an in-the-money option has value.
For example, if you hold an equity call
option with a strike price of 50, and the
current market price of the stock is $52,
the option is in-the-money.
As the option holder, you could buy
the stock at $50 and either sell it at
$52 or add it to your portfolio. Or, if you
preferred, you could sell the option,
potentially at a profit.
In-the-money options are generally
among the most actively traded, especially
as the expiration date approaches.
Intrinsic value
A companys intrinsic value, or under-
lying value, is used to calculate its
projected worth.
You determine intrinsic value by
subtracting long-term debt from antici-
pated future assets, including profits, the
potential for increased efficiency, and
the sale of new stock.
Another approach is to calculate
intrinsic value by dividing the companys
estimated future earnings by the number
of its existing shares. This method weighs
the current price of a stock against its
future worth.
Critics of using intrinsic worth as a
way to evaluate potential investments
Internalization
109
point out that all the numbers except
debt are hypothetical.
The term is also used in options
trading to indicate the amount by which
an option is in-the-money. For example,
an equity call option with a strike price
of 35 has an intrinsic value of $4 if the
market price of the underlying stock is
$39. But if the market price drops to $34,
the option has no intrinsic value.
Introducing broker (IB)
An introducing broker (IB) is a person
or firm that takes orders to buy or sell
futures contracts from clients and passes
those orders to a futures commission
merchant (FCM) for execution.
Payment is handled by the FCM, not
the introducing broker. Guaranteed
introducing brokers refer clients to just
one futures commission merchant while
independent introducing brokers can
refer clients to any registered FCM.
Investment bank
An investment bank is a financial
institution that helps companies take
new bond or stock issues to market,
usually acting as the intermediary
between the issuer and investors.
Investment banks may underwrite
the securities by buying all the available
shares at a set price and then reselling
them to the public. Or the banks may
act as agents for the issuer and take a
commission on the securities they sell.
Investment banks are also responsible
for preparing the company prospectus,
which presents important data about the
company to potential investors.
In addition, investment banks handle
the sales of large blocks of previously
issued securities, including sales to
institutional investors, such as mutual
fund companies.
Unlike a commercial bank or a savings
and loan company, an investment bank
doesnt usually provide retail banking
services to individuals.
Investment club
If youre part of an
investment club,
you and the other
members jointly
choose the invest-
ments the club
makes and decide
on the amount each of you will contribute
to the clubs account.
Among the reasons that clubs are
popular are that they allow investors to
commit only modest amounts, share in
a diversified portfolio, and benefit from
each others research.
While clubs may establish themselves
informally, many groups use the resources
of BetterInvesting, an investor education
membership organization.
Its website, www.betterinvesting.org,
provides information on how to start an
investment club and support services to
existing clubs.
Investment company
An investment company is a firm that
offers open-end funds, called mutual
funds, closed-end funds, sometimes called
investment trusts, or exchange traded
funds to the public.
By describing a company offering the
funds as an investment company, its
easier to distinguish the company from
the funds that it offers.
For example, a single investment
company might offer an aggressive-
growth fund, a growth and income fund,
a US Treasury bond fund, and a money
market fund.
Or a closed-end investment company
might offer an international fund focused
on a single country, such as Ireland, or a
region, such as Latin America.
Investment grade
When a bond is rated investment grade,
its issuer is considered able to meet its
obligations, exposing bondholders to
minimal default risk.
Most US corporate and municipal
bonds are rated by independent services
such as Moodys Investors Service and
Standard & Poors (S&P).
The ratings are based on a number of
criteria, including the likelihood that the
bond issuer will be able to make interest
payments and repay the principal in full
and on time.
The four categories of bonds rated BBB
and higher by S&P or Baa and higher by
Moodys are considered investment grade.
Investment horizon
Your investment horizon is the point
in time when you hope to achieve a
particular investment goal. That horizon,
Investment horizon
110
sometimes called your time frame, may
be fixed or flexible, depending on the
nature of the goal and the investment
decisions you take.
For example, paying for college is often
a fixed goal because most students enroll
the year they graduate from high school.
Retirement may be a more flexible goal
if you have the choice about when you
will stop working.
The landscape can be more
complicated if you have more than one
investment goal, and therefore theres
more than one horizon in the picture.
Investment income
Investment incomesometimes called
unearned incomeis the money that you
collect from your investments.
It may include stock dividends,
mutual fund distributions, and interest
from CDs, interest-bearing bank accounts,
bonds, and other debt instruments. You
may also have rental income from real
estate or other assets you own for
investment purposes.
Capital gains you realize from sell-
ing investments for more than you paid
to acquire them may also be considered
investment income. Your net investment
income is what you have left over after
you subtract your investment expenses,
such as fees and commissions.
Investment objective
An investment objective is a financial
goal that helps determine the type of
investments you make. For example, if
you want a source of regular income, you
might select a portfolio of high-rated
bonds and dividend-paying stocks.
Each mutual fund describes its
investment objective in its prospectus,
along with the strategy the fund manager
follows to meet that objective. Mutual
fund investors often look for funds whose
stated objectives are compatible with
their own goals.
IRA rollover
If you move assets from an employer
sponsored retirement plan to an IRA,
youve completed an IRA rollover.
You owe no income tax on the money
you move if you deposit the full amount
into the new IRA within 60 days or
arrange a direct transfer from the
existing account to the new account.
If youre moving money from an
employers retirement plan to an IRA
yourself, the plan administrator is
required to withhold 20% of the total.
That amount is refunded after you file
your income tax return, provided youve
deposited the full amount into the new
account on time, including the 20%
thats been withheld. Any amount you
dont deposit within the 60-day period is
considered an early withdrawal and youll
have to pay tax on it.
You might also have to pay a penalty
for early withdrawal if youre younger
than 59. But if you arrange a direct
transfer from your plan to the rollover
IRA nothing is withheld.
Irrevocable trust
An irrevocable trust is a legal agreement
whose terms cannot be changed by the
creator, or grantor, who establishes
the trust, chooses a trustee, and names
the beneficiary or beneficiaries.
The trust document names a trustee
who is responsible for managing the
assets in the best interests of the
beneficiary or beneficiaries and carrying
out the wishes the creator has expressed.
You typically use an irrevocable trust
for the tax benefits it can provide by
removing assets permanently from
your estate.
In addition, through the terms of the
trust you can exert continuing control
over the way your property is distributed
to your beneficiaries. Trusts have the ad-
ditional advantages of being more difficult
to contest than a will and more private.
If you establish an irrevocable trust
while youre still alive, its called a living
or inter vivos trust. If you establish the
trust in your will, so that it takes effect
at the time of your death, its called a
testamentary trust.
Issue
When a corporation offers a stock or bond
for sale, or a government offers a bond,
the security is known as an issue, and the
company or government is the issuer.
Issuer
An issuer is a corporation, government,
agency, or investment trust that sells
securities, such as stocks and bonds, to
investors. Issuers may sell the securities
through an underwriter as part of a
public offering or as a private placement.

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111
January effect
Each year, the stock market tends
to increase slightly in value between
December 31 and the end of the first
week of January.
Known as the January effect, this
rise starts when investors sell under-
performing stocks at year-end to claim
capital losses on their tax returns.
After the new tax year begins on
January 1, the same investors tend to
reinvest the money from those sales,
heightening demand temporarily, and
making the overall market rise slightly
during that week.
Jumbo CD
Jumbo CDs are large-denomination
certificates of deposit with balances of
at least $100,000, and sometimes
$1 million or more.
They tend to pay higher rates than
smaller CDs and are purchased primarily
by institutional investors. However, theyre
increasingly marketed to individual inves-
tors as low-risk, fixed-income assets.
Jumbo CDs may be negotiable or
non-negotiable. Negotiable CDs may be
traded in the secondary market and are
often issued in bearer form, which means
that physical possession of the paper
document is the sole proof of ownership.
The banks that sell bearer CDs keep no
records of ownership.
Non-negotiable Jumbo CDs, like
conventional CDs, remain on deposit in
the bank that issued them and are held in
the name of the purchaser.
These Jumbo CDs, like other bank
deposits, are FDIC insured, up to $100,000
per depositor in different categories of
taxable accounts in each bank and up to
$250,000 if they are held in self-directed
retirement accounts, such as an individual
retirement account (IRA).
Junior security
In the world of bonds, the term junior
means having less claim to repayment.
If you own a junior security and the
issuing company goes out of business,
you have less claim on any assets than an
investor who owns a senior security issued
by the same company.
But all bondholders, whether they own
junior or senior securities, are senior to,
or have a greater claim than, holders of
preferred stock, who in turn are senior to
holders of common stock.
Junk bond
Junk bonds carry a higher-than-average
risk of default, which means that the
bond issuer may not be able to meet
interest payments or repay the loan
when it matures.
Except for bonds that are already
in default, junk bonds have the lowest
ratings, usually Caa or CCC, assigned by
rating services such as Moodys Investors
Service and Standard & Poors (S&P).
Issuers offset the higher risk of default
on junk bonds by offering substantially
higher interest rates than are being paid
on investment-grade bonds. Thats why
junk bonds are also known, more
positively, as high-yield bonds.
J
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JANUARY
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29 30 31
2
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Keogh plan
A group of qualified retirement plans,
including profit sharing plans, money
purchase defined contribution plans, and
a defined benefit plan, is available to
self-employed people, small-business
owners, and partners in companies that
file an IRS Schedule K, among others.
Together these plans are sometimes
described as Keogh plans in honor of
Eugene Keogh, a US representative from
Brooklyn, NY, who was a force behind
their creation in 1963.
The employer, not the employee,
makes the contributions to Keogh plans,
but the employee typically chooses the
way the contributions are invested.
Like other qualified plans, there
are contribution limits, though they are
substantially higher than with either
401(k)s or individual retirement plans,
and on a par with contribution limits for a
simplified employee pension plan (SEP).
Any earnings in an employees account
accumulate tax deferred, and with-
drawals from the account are taxed at
regular income tax rates.
If you participate in a Keogh plan, a
10% federal tax penalty applies to with-
drawals you take before you turn 59, and
minimum required distributions (MRD)
must begin by April 1 of the year following
the year that you turn 70 unless youre
still working. In that case, you can
postpone MRDs until April 1 of the year
following the year you actually retire.
The only exceptionand it is more
common here than in other retirement
plansis if you own more than 5% of the
company. If you leave your job or retire,
you can roll over your account value to
an individual retirement account (IRA).
If youre eligible to establish a quali-
fied retirement plan, a Keogh may be
attractive because there are several ways
to structure the plan, you may be able
to shelter more money than with other
plans by electing the defined benefit
alternative, and you have more control
in establishing which employees qualify
for the plan.
But the reporting requirements can
be complex, making it wise to have
professional help in setting up and
administering a plan.
Keogh plan
K
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Laddering
Laddering is an investment strategy that
calls for establishing a pattern of rolling
maturity dates for a portfolio of fixed-
income investments. Your portfolio might
include intermediate-term bonds or
certificates of deposit (CDs).
For example, instead of buying one
$15,000 CD with a three-year term, you
buy three $5,000 CDs maturing one year
apart. As each CD comes due, you can re-
invest the principal to extend the pattern.
Or you could use the money for a
preplanned purchase, have it available
to take advantage of a new investment
opportunity, or use it to cover
unexpected expenses.
You can use laddering to pay for
college expenses, with a series of zero
coupon bonds coming due over four years,
in time to pay tuition each year.
And if you ladder, you can avoid having
to liquidate a large bond investment if you
need just some of the money or to reinvest
your entire principal at a time when
interest rates may be low.
Lapse
A lapse causes a policy, right, or privilege
to end because the person or institution
that would benefit fails to live up to its
terms or meet its conditions.
For example, if you have a subscription
right to buy additional shares of a stock
at a price below the public offering price,
you must generally act before a certain
date. If that date passes, your right is
said to lapse.
Similarly, if you have a life insurance
policy that requires you to pay annual
premiums, the policy will lapse if you fail
to pay the premiums in time.
Large-capitalization (large-cap) stock
The stock of companies with market
capitalizations typically of $10 billion or
more is known as large-cap stock. Market
cap is figured by multiplying the number
of either the outstanding or floating
shares by the current share price.
Large-cap stock is generally consid-
ered less volatile than stock in smaller
companies, in part because the bigger
companies may have larger reserves to
carry them through economic downturns.
However, market capitalization is
always in flux. Todays large-cap stock can
drop out of that category if the share price
plunges either in a general market down-
turn or as a result of internal problems.
And the opposite is true as well. Many
of the countrys largest companies began
life as start-ups.
Last trading day
The last trading day is the final day on
which an order to buy or sell an options
contract or futures contract can
be executed.
In the case of an options contract, for
example, the last trading day is usually
the Friday before the third Saturday of
the month in which the option expires,
though a brokerage firm may set an
earlier deadline for receiving orders.
If you dont act on an option you own
before the final trading day, the option
may simply expire, or if it is in-the-money
it may be automatically executed on your
behalf by your brokerage firm or the
unless you request that it not be.
But if a futures contract isnt offset,
the contract seller is obligated to
deliver the physical commodity or
cash settlement to the contract buyer.
L
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BUY
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Matures 2019
Matures 2021
Bond
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Matures 2011
Matures 2007
Bond
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Last trading day
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Lead underwriter
When a company wants to raise capital by
selling securities to investors, it partners
with an investment bank, known as the
lead underwriter.
That bank has the primary responsi-
bility for organizing and managing an
initial public offering (IPO), a secondary
stock offering, or a bond offering.
In the case of an IPO, the lead under-
writer agrees to buy some or all the shares
from the company and helps it determine
an initial offering price for the security,
create a prospectus, and organize a
syndicate of other investment banks to
help sell the securities to investors.
In return for assuming the financial
risk of the IPO, the lead underwriter
receives a fee, which is usually a percent-
age of the price of each share of the IPO.
Lease
A lease is a legal agreement that
provides for the use of something
typically real estate or equipmentin
exchange for payment.
Once a lease is signed, its terms, such
as the rent, cannot be changed unless
both parties agree. A lease is usually
legally binding, which means you are held
to its terms until it expires. If you break a
lease, you could be held liable in court.
Level load
Some load mutual funds impose a
recurring sales charge, called a level load,
each year you own the fund rather than a
sales charge to buy or sell shares.
The level-load rate is generally lower
than the sales charge for front- or back-
end loads. But the annual asset-based
management fee on these funds is higher
than for front-load funds.
This means the total amount you
pay over time with a level load can be
substantially more than a one-time sales
charge, especially if you own the fund for
a number of years.
If a fund company offers you a choice
of the way you prefer to pay the load,
level-load funds are generally identified
as Class C shares. Front-end loads are
Class A shares and back-end loads are
Class B shares.
Level term insurance
With a level term life insurance policy,
your annual premium remains the same
for the term, which may be as long as
10 or 20 years.
The death benefit also remains
the same. If the policy is guaranteed
renewable, you can extend coverage for
an additional term without having to
qualify again, though the annual premium
will increase because youre older.
Although the cost of insurance in the
first few years will probably be higher
for a level term than an increasing term
policy, the total cost of a level term with
the same benefit is usually less. As with
all term policies, you dont build up a
cash reserve and your coverage ends at
the end of the term or at any time you
stop making payments.
Level yield curve
A level yield curve results when the
yield on short-term US Treasury issues
is essentially the same as the yield on
long-term Treasury bonds.
You create the curve by plotting a
graph with yield on the vertical axis and
maturity date on the horizontal axis and
connecting the dots.
In most periods, the yield on long-term
bonds is higher and the yield curve is
positive because investors demand
more for tying up their money for a
longer period.
There are also times, when short-term
T-bills yields are higher, that the pattern
is reversed and the yield curve is negative,
or inverted.
Leverage
Leverage is an investment technique in
which you use a small amount of your
own money to make an investment of
much larger value. In that way, leverage
gives you significant financial power.
For example, if you borrow 90% of the
cost of a home, you are using the leverage
to buy a much more expensive property
than you could have afforded by
paying cash.
If you sell the property for more than
you borrowed, the profit is entirely yours.
The reverse is also true. If you sell at a
loss, the amount you borrowed is still due
and the entire loss is yours.
Lead underwriter
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Buying stock on margin is a type
of leverage, as is buying a futures or
options contract.
Leveraging can be risky if the under-
lying instrument doesnt perform as you
anticipate. At the very least, you may lose
your investment principal plus any money
you borrowed to make the purchase.
With some leveraged investments,
you could be responsible for even larger
losses if the value of the underlying
product drops significantly.
Leveraged buyout
A leveraged buyout occurs when a group
of investors using borrowed money, often
raised with high yield bonds or other
kinds of debt, takes control of a company.
These buyouts are usually hostile
takeovers, and if they are successful,
the investors will usually start to sell off
assets to pay down the substantial debt
they have incurred.
Liability
In personal finance, liabilities are the
amounts you owe to creditors, or the
people and organizations that lend you
money. Typical liabilities include your
mortgage, car and educational loans, and
credit card debt.
When you figure your net worth, you
subtract your liabilities, or what you owe,
from your assets. The result is your net
worth, or the cash value of what you own.
In business, liabilities refer to money
a company owes its creditors and any
claims against its assets.
Lien
A lien exists when you owe money to a
lender on a particular vehicle or other
asset, such as real estate, that has been
used as collateral on a loan.
An asset on which theres a lien cant
be sold until the lienholder has been
repaid. When you own an asset on which
theres a lien, you risk having it repos-
sessed if you default and dont make the
required payments in full and on time.
Lienholder
A lienholder is the bank, finance
company, credit union, other financial
institution, or individual with whom you
signed an agreement to borrow money
using a particular asset, such as a car,
as collateral.
As long as there is a balance due on
the loan, the lienholder must be repaid
before you are free to sell the asset.
Life expectancy
Your life expectancy is the age to which
you can expect to live. Actuarial tables
establish your official life expectancy,
which insurance companies use to
evaluate the risk they take in selling you
life insurance or an annuity contract.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
also uses life expectancy to determine
the distribution period you must use to
calculate minimum required distributions
from your retirement savings plans or
traditional IRAs.
However, your true life expectancy,
based on your lifestyle, family history, and
other factors, may be longer or shorter
than your official life expectancy.
Life insurance
Life insurance is a contract you sign with
an insurance company, obligating it to pay
a death benefit of a certain value to the
beneficiaries you name.
In most cases, the payment is made
at the time of your death, but certain
policies allow you to take a portion of the
death benefit if you are terminally ill and
need the money to pay for healthcare.
You may select either term or perma-
nent insurance. With a term policy, you
are insured for a specific period of time.
When the term ends, you must renew the
policy for another term or change your
coverage. Otherwise, youre no longer
insured. With a permanent policy, you
can buy coverage for your lifetime.
You pay an annual premium, typically
billed monthly or quarterly, for the
coverage. The insurer sets the cost, based
on your age, health, lifestyle, and other
factors. With a permanent policy, your
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premium is fixed, but with a term policy
it typically increases when you renew
your coverage to reflect the fact that
youre older.
Life settlement
If you are over age 70 and no longer need
your life insurance policy, you may be able
to sell it to a third party in whats called a
life settlement.
Youre paid a cash amount less than
the death benefit but typically greater
than the surrender value, and the party
that buys your policy will get the death
benefit when you die.
Similar to viatical settlements, in
which terminally ill people may sell their
life insurance policies, generally to use
the cash to pay for healthcare, life
settlements let you forgo a death benefit
and use the cash in your policy while
youre alive.
However, life settlements are for
people who are healthy and expect to live
more than a couple of years. Specific rules
for life settlements are set by the state
where a specific transaction takes place.
Some businesses specialize in buying
life insurance policies from older or
terminally ill individuals and reselling
them as investments.
However, because these insurance
arrangements are controversial and most
investors understand them poorly, both
people considering selling policies and
people considering investing in them
are advised to proceed with caution.
For example, there may be complex
estate-planning and tax consequences
to life settlements.
Lifecycle fund
A lifecycle fund, which is a fund of funds,
invests in individual mutual funds that
a fund company puts together to help
investors meet their objectives without
having to select individual funds.
Some companies offer a set of
lifecycle funds, each with a different
level of risk and return, from conservative
to aggressive. In that case, you may
choose a lifecycle thats appropriate for
reaching your goals within the time frame
youve allowed.
The typical pattern is for younger
investors to choose a more aggressive life-
cycle fund and those nearing retirement
to choose a more conservative fund.
With target date funds, which are a
type of lifecycle fund, you choose a target
retirement year, and the fund manager
invests and reallocates your money
more and more conservatively as you
near retirement.
Lifeline account
A lifeline account is a basic checking
account with low or no minimum deposit
and balance requirements and very low
or no monthly fees.
Most lifeline accounts, however, limit
the number of checks that you can write
and may otherwise restrict the banking
services you receive.
Currently, certain states require banks
to offer lifeline accounts, to ensure that
lower-income people have access to
banking services. However, you can find
no-frills checking accounts in other
states as well.
Lifetime learning credit
You may qualify to claim a lifetime learn-
ing tax credit of up to $2,000 each year
for qualified higher educational expenses
for yourself, your spouse, or a dependent
if your familys modified adjusted gross
income falls within the annual limits that
Congress sets. Those amounts tend to
increase slightly each year.
The education must be one or more
courses but doesnt have to be part of a
degree- or certificate-granting program,
though the tax credit can be used for
undergraduate, postgraduate, or
professional studies.
Even if you are paying for more than
one persons education, you can take only
one lifetime learning credit per year.
If you claim the credit while youre
taking withdrawals from tax-free college
savings plans such as a Section 529 plan
or an education savings account (ESA),
youll have to plan carefully. Your with-
Life settlement
117
drawals will lose their qualified status
and be subject to tax and penalty if you
use them to pay for the same expenses
for which you claim the tax credit.
You cant take the credit, though, if
you claim a tuition and fees deduction in
calculating your adjusted gross income or
deduct the amount as a business expense.
Limit order
A limit order sets the maximum you will
pay for a security or the minimum you
are willing to accept on a particular
transaction.
For example, if you place a limit
order to buy a certain stock at $25 a share
when its current market price is $28, your
broker will not buy the stock until its
share price reaches $25.
Similarly, if you give a limit order to
sell at $25 when the stock is trading at
$20, the order will be filled only if the
price rises to $25.
A limit order differs from a market
order, which is executed at the current
price regardless of what that price is.
It also differs from a stop order, which
becomes a market order when the stop
price is reached and the order is executed
at the best available price.
Limit price
A limit price is the specific price at which
you tell your stockbroker to execute a buy
or sell order on a particular security.
If the transaction can be completed
at that price, it goes through, but if that
price is not available, no purchase or sale
takes place.
The advantage of a limit order is that
you wont pay more or sell for less than
you want. Since your broker is monitoring
the price, it is more likely that the trade
will take place at the limit price than if
you waited until the security reached that
price to place your order.
The potential drawback of setting a
limit price, which is also known as giving
a limit order, is that the transaction may
not take place in a fast market if the price
of the security moves up or down quickly,
passing the limit price.
Limited liability company (LLC)
Organizing a business enterprise as a
limited liability company (LLC) under
the laws of the state where it operates
protects its owners or shareholders from
personal responsibility for company debts
that exceed the amount those owners or
shareholders have invested.
In addition, an LLCs taxable income is
divided proportionally among the owners,
who pay tax on their share of the income
at their individual rates. The LLC itself
owes no income tax.
The limited liability protection is
similar to what limited partners in a
partnership or investors in a traditional,
or C, corporation enjoy.
The tax treatment is similar to that of
a partnership or S corporation, another
form of organization thats available for
businesses with fewer than 75 employees.
However, only some states allow busi-
nesses to use LLC incorporation.
Limited partner
A limited partner is a member of a
partnership whose only financial risk is
the amount he or she has invested.
In contrast, all the assets of the
general partner or partners, including
those held outside the partnership, could
be vulnerable to claims brought by the
partnerships creditors.
Limited partnership
A limited partnership is a financial
affiliation that includes at least one
general partner and a number of limited
partners. The partnership invests in a
venture, such as real estate development
or oil exploration, for financial gain.
The arrangement can be public, which
means you can buy into the partnership
through a brokerage firm, or private.
What makes it a limited partnership
is that everyone but the general partners
has limited liability. The most the
limited partners can lose is the amount
they invest.
Line of credit
A line of credit, sometimes called a bank
line, is the most you can borrow under a
revolving credit arrangement with a credit
card issuer, bank, or mortgage lender.
When you borrow against a line of
credit, you pay interest on the amount
of money you actually borrow, not on the
available balance, or full amount you are
able to borrow.
For example, if you have a $10,000 line
of credit on a credit card, you may borrow
as much or as little as you want up to that
amount, and you pay interest only on the
amount you have borrowed.
Line of credit
LLC
118
If you carry a balance of $3,000, you
only pay interest on that amount, but
there is still $7,000 available for you to
borrow. Once you repay the amount you
borrow, you can use it again.
A line of credit may be secured with
collateral, or unsecured. A line of credit
on a credit card is usually unsecured,
for example. But if you have a home
equity line of credit, your home serves as
collateral against the amount you borrow.
Lipper, Inc.
Lipper provides financial data and
performance analysis for more than
30,000 open- and closed-end mutual
funds and variable annuities worldwide.
The company evaluates funds on the
strength of their success in meeting their
investment objectives and identifies the
strongest funds in specific categories as
Lipper Leaders.
The research companys mutual fund
indexes are considered benchmarks for
the various categories of funds.
Liquid asset
Liquid assets are accounts or securities
that can be easily converted to cash at
little or no loss of value.
These include
cash, money in
bank accounts,
money market mu-
tual funds, and US
Treasury bills.
Actively traded
stocks, bonds, and
mutual funds are
liquid in the sense
that they are easy to
sell, but the price is
not guaranteed and
could be less than
the amount you paid to buy the asset.
In contrast, selling fixed assets, such
as real estate, usually requires time
and negotiation.
Liquidity
If you can convert an asset to cash easily
and quickly, with little or no loss of value,
the asset has liquidity. For example, you
can typically redeem shares in a money
market mutual fund at $1 a share.
Similarly, you can cash in a certificate
of deposit (CD) for at least the amount
you put into it, although you may forfeit
some or all of the interest you had
expected to earn if you liquidate before
the end of the CDs term.
The term liquidity is sometimes used to
describe investments you can buy or sell
easily. For example, you could sell several
hundred shares of a blue chip stock by
simply calling your broker, something that
might not be possible if you wanted to sell
real estate or collectibles.
The differ-
ence between
liquidating
cash-equivalent
investments and
securities like
stock and bonds,
however, is that
securities con-
stantly fluctuate
in value. So while
you may be able to
sell them readily,
you might sell for
less than you paid to buy them if you sold
when the price was down.
Listed security
A listed security is a stock, bond, options
contract, or similar product that is traded
on an organized exchange.
Being listed has advantages, including
being part of an orderly, regulated, and
widely reported trading process that
helps insure fairness and liquidity.
To be listed, the company issuing the
security must meet the requirements
of the exchange where it wishes to be
traded. For example, to list a stock, the
company typically must have a minimum
market capitalization, a minimum
number of existing shares, and a
minimum per share price.
Listing requirement
Listing requirements are the standards a
corporation must meet to have its stock
or bonds traded on a particular exchange.
Exchanges set their own initial and
continuing listing requirements. Among
the listing criteria are a corporations
pretax earnings, a minimum market
value, and a minimum number of
existing shares.
Living will
A living will is a legal document that
describes the type of medical treatment
you wantor dont wantif you are
terminally ill or unable to communicate
your wishes.
Like wills that provide instructions
about your assets, living wills must be
signed and have two or more witnesses
to be valid.
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119
You can use a healthcare proxy or
durable power of attorney for healthcare
to authorize someone to act as your
agent to ensure your wishes are followed.
Because there are still unresolved
questions about the extent of your
agents authority, it may be wise to get
legal advice in preparing the documents.
Load
If you buy a mutual fund through a broker
or other financial professional, you pay a
sales charge or commission, also called
a load.
If the charge is levied when you
purchase the shares, its called a front-
end load. If you pay when you sell shares,
its called a back-end load or contingent
deferred sales charge. And with a level
load, you pay a percentage of your
investment amount each year you own
the fund.
Load fund
Some mutual funds charge a load, or sales
commission, when you buy or sell shares
or, in some cases, each year you own the
fund. The charge is generally figured as
a percentage of your investment amount.
Most load funds are sold by brokers or
other investment professionals. The sales
charge compensates them for their time.
In contrast, no-load funds, which dont
have sales charges but may levy other
fees, are usually sold directly to the public
by the investment company that offers
the fund. Some companies offer both load
and no-load versions of the same fund.
Loan note
A loan note is a promissory agreement
describing the terms of a loan and
committing the person or institution
borrowing the money to live up to
those terms.
For example, a mortgage loan
note states the principal balance, the
interest rate, the discount points, a
payment schedule and due date, and
any potential penalties for violating the
repayment terms.
When the required repayment has
been made, the agreement between the
parties ends.
Lock-up period
A lock-up period is the time during
which you cannot sell an investment that
you own.
You are most likely to encounter a
lock-up period if you acquire shares in an
initial public offering (IPO) because you
had a private equity investment in the
company before it went public and receive
shares in the IPO proportionate to your
private equity ownership interest.
You may also have a lock-up period if
you are an owner or an employee of the
company and are granted shares.
The lock-up period may last as long
as 180 days. In some cases, though, the
lock-up period is graduated, meaning that
after the initial 180 days you can sell an
increasingly larger portion of your shares
over the next two years.
After the lock-up period ends, you are
free to sell all your shares if you wish.
Logarithmic scale
On a logarithmic scale or graph, compa-
rable percentage changes in the value
of an investment, index, or average
appear to be similar. However, the actual
underlying change in value may be
significantly different.
For example, a stock whose price
increases during the year from $25 to $50
a share has the same percentage change
as a stock whose price increases from
$100 to $200 a share.
On a logarithmic scale, its irrelevant
that the dollar value of the second stock
is four times the value of the first.
Similarly, the percentage change in the
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) as
it rose from 1,000 to 2,000 is comparable
to the percentage change when it moved
from 4,000 to 8,000.
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120
Long bond
Thirty-year bonds issued by the US
Treasury are referred to as long bonds.
The interest rate on the long bond is
typically but not always higher than the
rate on the Treasurys shorter term notes
and bills.
The rate on the most recently issued
bond is the basis for pricing other
long-term bonds and setting other
financial benchmarks.
Long position
Having a long position in a stock means
you own the security.
You have the right to collect the
dividends or interest the security pays,
the right to sell it or give it away when
you wish, and the right to keep any profits
if you do sell.
Similarly, you have a long position in
an option when you hold the option, and
you have the right to exercise it before
expiration or sell it.
The term is also used to describe a
position thats maintained by your
brokerage firm or bank on your behalf.
For example, if your firm holds stocks for
you in street name, you are said to be
long on their books.
Having a long position is the opposite
of having a short position in a security. A
short position means you have borrowed
shares through your broker, sold them,
and must return them, plus interest, at
some point in the future.
Similarly, a short position in an option
means that you have sold the option,
giving the holder the right to exercise
and committing yourself to fulfilling the
terms should exercise occur and youre
assigned to meet them.
Long-term capital gain (or loss)
When you sell a capital asset that you
have owned for more than a year at a
higher price than you paid to buy it, any
profit on the sale is considered a long-
term capital gain.
If you sell for less than you paid to
purchase the asset, you have a long-term
capital loss.
Unlike short-term gains, which are
taxed at your income tax rate, most
long-term gains on most investments,
including real estate and securities, are
taxed at rates lower than the rates on
ordinary income. Currently, those rates
are 15% if youre in the 25% tax bracket
or higher, and 5% if you are in the 10% or
15% bracket.
You can deduct your long-term losses
from your long-term gains, and your
short-term losses from your short-term
gains, to reduce the amount on which
potential tax may be due. You may also
be able to deduct up to $3,000 in accumu-
lated long-term losses from your ordinary
income and carry forward losses you cant
use in one tax year to deduct in the next
tax year.
Long-term care insurance
Long-term care insurance is a policy
designed to cover at least some of your
expenses if you have a chronic but
not life-threatening illness, long-term
disability, or you are unable to live
independently because you cant perform
a number of the activities of daily living.
Those activities typically include
bathing, dressing, feeding yourself,
taking medication, using the bathroom,
and being able to move from a sitting to
a standing position. Most contracts also
cover cognitive impairments, such as
Alzheimers disease.
Under the terms of most long-term
care contracts, you can be cared for in a
nursing home or at home. The insurance
pays for custodial rather than skilled
care, which must be provided by licensed
professionals. Skilled care is covered in
part by Medicare and Medigap.
Every policy provides a specific daily or
monthly benefit for up to a predetermined
benefit period. Each policy also has an
elimination period, which lasts from the
day you become eligible until the day the
insurer begins to pay. You generally can
30-year Bond
Long bond
121
choose the benefit, benefit period, and
elimination period that makes the most
sense to you and that you can afford.
Long-term equity anticipation
securities (LEAPS)
These long-term options on stocks have
expiration dates of up to three years
rather than the shorter terms of most
stock options, which are never longer
than nine months.
The benefit of LEAPS, from an
investors perspective, is that theres
more time for the price movement you
anticipate to occur.
However, LEAPS are available on
fewer underlying stocks than standard
options, and they are generally more
expensive than the shorter term options
on the same security.
Loose credit
In order to combat a sluggish economy,
the Federal Reserves Open Market
Committee (FOMC) may institute a loose
credit policy.
In that case, the Federal Reserve
Bank of New York buys large quantities of
Treasury securities in the open market,
which gives banks additional money to
lend at lower interest rates. This abun-
dance, or looseness, of credit is intended
to stimulate borrowing and invigorate
the economy.
Tight money is the opposite of loose
credit. Its the result of the Feds decision
to sell securities in the open market,
which reduces bank reserves and makes
borrowing more expensive. A tight money
policy is designed to slow down a rapidly
accelerating economy.
Loser
Stocks whose market prices drop the most
during the trading day are described,
rather bluntly, as losers.
The stocks that lose the most value
relative to their opening price are called
percentage losers, and the stocks that
lose the greatest number of points are
called net losers or dollar losers.
Each trading day, the number of losers
is compared to the number of gainers, or
stocks that have risen in value, to gauge
the mood of the market. If there are more
losers than gainers over a period of days,
the market as a whole is in a slump.
Lump sum
A lump sum is an amount of money you
pay or receive all at once rather than in
increments over a period of time.
For example, you buy an immediate
annuity with a single lump-sum payment.
If you receive the face value of a life
insurance policy when the insured person
dies, or receive the full value of your
retirement account, those payments are
also lump sums.
Lump-sum distribution
When you retire, you may have the option
of taking the value of your pension, salary
reduction, or profit-sharing plan in
different ways.
For example, you might be able to
take your money in a series of regular
lifetime payments, generally described
as an annuity, or all at once, in what is
known as a lump-sum distribution.
If you take the lump sum from
a defined benefit pension plan, the
employer follows specific regulatory rules
to calculate how much you would have
received over your estimated lifespan if
youd taken the pension as an annuity and
then subtracts the amount the fund esti-
mates it would have earned in interest
on that amount during the payout period.
In contrast, when you take a lump-sum
distribution from a defined contribution
plan, such as a salary reduction or profit-
sharing plan, you receive the amount that
has accumulated in the plan.
You may or may not have the option to
take a lump-sum distribution from these
plans when you change jobs.
You can take a lump-sum distribution
as cash, or you can roll over the distri-
bution into an individual retirement
arrangement (IRA). If you take the cash,
you owe income tax on the full amount
of the distribution, and you may owe an
additional 10% penalty if youre younger
than 59.
If you roll over the lump sum into an
IRA, the full amount continues to be tax
deferred, and you can postpone paying
income tax until you withdraw.
Lump-sum distribution
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Make a market
Make a market
A dealer who specializes in a specific
security, such as a bond or stock, is said
to make a market in that security. That
means the dealer is ready to buy or sell at
least one round lot of the security at its
publicly quoted price.
Other broker-dealers turn to a market
maker when they want to buy or sell that
particular security either for their own
account or for a clients account.
Electronic markets, such as Nasdaq,
tend to have several market makers in
a particular security. The overall effect
of multiple market makers is greater
liquidity in the marketplace and more
competitive pricing.
Managed account
A managed account is a portfolio of
stocks or bonds chosen and managed by
a professional investment manager who
makes the buy and sell decisions.
Each managed account has an
investment objective, and each manager
oversees multiple individual accounts
invested in the same basic portfolio to
meet the same objective.
While managed accounts resemble
mutual funds in some ways, with a
managed account you own individual
securities rather than shares of a
common fund.
You may also be able to request that
the manager avoid certain investments,
which you cant do with a mutual fund.
And, through your broker, you might ask
the manager to sell certain holdings in
your account to realize capital gains
or losses.
M
M
There are no phantom gains in
managed accounts. Those gains can
occur if a mutual fund realizes a profit
from selling an investment and credits
you with a capital gain even if theres no
actual increase in your account value.
However, the minimum investment
is usually substantially higher for a
managed accountoften $100,000. Plus
the annual fees, which are included in the
amount you pay the financial professional
who recommends the account, may be
higher than the fees on a mutual fund of
similar value.
Management fee
A management fee is the percentage of
your account value that an investment
company or manager
charges to handle
your account.
Fees for passively
managed index funds
typically cost less than
the fees for actively
managed funds, though
fees differ significantly
from one fund company
to another.
Margin
Margin is the minimum amount of
collateralin either cash or securities
you must have in your margin account
to buy on margin, sell short, or invest in
certain derivatives.
The initial margin requirement is set
by federal law and varies from product
to product. For example, to buy stock on
margin, you must have at least 50% of
the purchase price in your account.
After the initial transaction, main-
tenance rules set by the self-regulatory
organizations, such as the New York Stock
Exchange (NYSE) and NASD, apply.
Under those rules, you must have a
minimum of 25% of the total market value
of the margined investments in your
account at all times. Individual firms
may set their maintenance requirement
higherat 30% or 35%, for example.
If your equity in the account falls
below the maintenance level, youll
receive a margin call for additional
collateral to bring the account value
back above the minimum level.
Management
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123
Mark to the market
Margin account
Margin accounts are brokerage accounts
that allow you a much wider range of
transactions than cash accounts.
In a cash account you must pay for
every purchase in full at the time of the
transaction. In a margin account, you can
buy on margin, sell short, and purchase
certain types of derivative products.
Before you can open a margin account,
however, you must satisfy the firms
requirements for margin transactions.
You must also agree in writing to the
terms of the account, and make a mini-
mum deposit of at least $2,000 in cash or
qualifying securities.
If you buy on margin or sell short, you
pay interest on the cash or the value of
the securities you borrow through your
margin account and must eventually
repay the loan.
Because both types of transactions
use leverage, they offer the possibility
of making a substantially larger profit
than you could realize by using only your
own money.
But because you must repay the loan
plus interest even if you lose money on
the investment, using a margin account
also exposes you to more risk than a
cash account.
Margin call
To protect the margin loans they make,
brokers issue a margin call if your equity
in your margin account falls below the
required maintenance level of at
least 25%.
If you get a margin call, you must
deposit additional cash or securities to
meet the call, bringing the balance of the
account back up to the required level.
If you dont meet the call, securities
in your account may be sold, and your
broker repaid in full. For example, if you
buy 1,000 shares on margin when they
are selling at $10 a share, and the price
falls to $7 a share, your equity would be
$2,000 ($7,000 market value minus $5,000
loan is $2,000).
Thats 28.6% of the market value. If
your brokerage firm has a maintenance
requirement of 30%, you would receive a
margin call to bring your equity back to
the required levelin this case $2,100,
which is 30% of $7,000.
You might also get a margin call if you
trade futures contracts and the value of
your account drops below the required
maintenance level. However, margin
requirements for futures are different
than for stock.
Margin requirement
The margin requirement is the mini-
mum amount the Federal Reserve, in
Regulation T, requires you to deposit in
a margin account before you can trade
through that account.
Currently this minimum, or initial
margin, is $2,000, or 50% of the purchase
price of securities you buy on margin, or
50% of the amount that you receive for
selling securities short.
In addition, theres a minimum
maintenance requirement, a minimum
of 25% and often more, of the market
value of the securities in the account.
The maintenance requirement is set by
NASD, and the individual brokerage firms.
Marginal tax rate
Because the US income tax system is
progressive, your tax rate rises as your
taxable income rises through two or more
tax brackets.
Your marginal tax rate is the rate you
pay on the taxable income that falls into
the highest bracket you reach: 10%, 15%,
25%, 28%, 33%, or 35%.
For instance, if you have a taxable
income that falls into three brackets, you
would pay at the 10% rate on the first por-
tion, the 15% rate on the next portion, and
the 25% federal tax rate on only the third
portion. Your marginal rate would be 25%.
However, your marginal tax rate is
higher than your effective tax rate,
which is the average rate you pay on your
combined taxable income. Thats because
youre only paying tax at your marginal,
or maximum, rate on the top portion of
your income.
Keep in mind that your marginal
tax rate applies only to tax on ordinary
income and does not take into account
other tax liabilitiessuch as realized
long-term capital gains, which are taxed
at your long capital gains rate, or tax
credits for which you may be eligible,
which may reduce the actual tax you pay.
Mark to the market
When an investment is marked to the
market, its value is adjusted to reflect
the current market price.
With mutual funds, for example,
marking to the market means that a
funds net asset value (NAV) is recalcu-
lated each day based on the closing prices
of the funds underlying investments.
With a margin account to buy futures
contracts, the value of the contracts in
the account is recalculated at least once
124
a day to determine whether it meets the
firms margin requirements.
If that value falls below the minimum
specified, you get a margin call and must
add assets to your account to return it to
the required level.
Markdown
A markdown is the amount a broker-
dealer earns on the sale of a fixed-income
security and is the difference between the
sales price and what the seller realizes
on the sale.
The markdown may or may not appear
in the commission column or be stated
separately on a confirmation statement.
A markdown is determined, in part,
by the demand for the security in the
marketplace. A broker-dealer may charge
a smaller markdown if the security can be
resold at a favorable markup.
The term markdown also refers more
generally to a reduced price on assets
that a seller wants to unload and will sell
at less than the original offering price.
Market
Traditionally, a securities market was
a placesuch as the New York Stock
Exchange (NYSE)where members met
to buy and sell securities.
But in the age of electronic trading,
the term market is used to describe the
organized activity of buying and selling
securities, even if those transactions do
not occur at a specific location.
Market capitalization
Market capitalization is a measure of
the value of a company, calculated by
multiplying the number of either the
outstanding shares or the floating shares
by the current price per share.
For example, a company with
100 million shares of floating stock that
has a current market value of $25 a
share would have a market capitalization
of $2.5 billion.
Outstanding shares include all the
stock held by shareholders, while floating
shares are those outstanding shares that
actually are available to trade.
Market capitalization, or cap, is one
of the criteria investors use to choose a
varied portfolio of stocks, which are often
categorized as small-, mid-, and large-cap.
Generally, large-cap stocks are considered
the least volatile, and small caps the
most volatile.
The term market capitalization is
sometimes used interchangeably with
market value, in explaining, for example,
how a particular index is weighted or
where a company stands in relation to
other companies.
Market cycles
Market cycles are the recurrent
patterns of expansion and contraction
that characterize the securities and
real estate markets.
While the pace of these recurrent
cycles of gain and loss isnt predictable,
certain economic conditions affect the
markets in fairly reliable ways.
For instance, stock and real estate
usually gain value when the economy is
healthy and growing, whereas bonds
often do well during periods of rising
interest rates. And during times of
economic uncertainty, investors often
prefer to put their money into short-term
cash equivalent investments, such as
US Treasury bills.
The cyclical pattern in one type of
asset sometimes works in opposition to
whats occurring at the same time in an-
other asset class or subclass. For example,
when the stock market is gaining value,
the bond market may be flat or falling,
or vice versa. Similarly, sometimes large-
company stocks increase in value faster
than small caps, but sometimes the
opposite is true.
But while the ups and downs of the
markets are inevitable, its also true that
its virtually impossible to pinpoint the
peak of a rising market or the bottom of
a falling market except in hindsight.
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Market maker
A broker-dealer who is prepared to buy or
sell a specific securitysuch as a bond
or at least one round lot of a stockat a
publicly quoted price, is called a market
maker in that security.
Other brokers buy or sell specific
securities through market makers,
who may maintain inventories of
those securities.
There is often more than one market
maker in a particular security, and they
bid against each other, helping to keep
the marketplace liquid.
The Nasdaq Stock Market and the
corporate and municipal bond markets
are market maker markets. In contrast, on
the floor of the New York Stock Exchange
(NYSE) theres a single specialist to
handle transactions in each security.
Market order
When you tell your broker to buy or sell a
security at the market, or current market
price, you are giving a market order. The
broker initiates the trade immediately.
The amount you pay or receive is
determined by the number of shares
and the current bid or ask price. Market
orders, which account for the majority of
trades, differ from limit orders to buy or
sell, in which a price is specified.
Market price
A securitys market price is the price at
which it is currently trading in an orga-
nized market.
A good indication of the market
price of a stock selling on the New York
Stock Exchange (NYSE) or the Nasdaq
Stock Market is the last reported
transaction price.
However, if you give a market order
to buy securities, then market price
means the current ask, or offer. If you
give a market order to sell, market price
means the current bid.
Market risk
Market risk, also known as systematic
risk, is risk that results from the charac-
teristic behavior of an entire market or
asset class.
One example of this type of risk is
that the market prices of existing bonds
generally fall as interest rates rise
because investors are not willing to pay
par value to own a bond that pays less
interest than other bonds available in
the marketplace.
So if you wanted to sell your existing
bonds, you would probably have to settle
for less than you paid to buy them.
Asset allocation is generally considered
an antidote for market risk, since if your
portfolio includes multiple asset classes it
tends to be less vulnerable to a downturn
in any one class.
Market timing
Market timing means trying to anticipate
the point at which a market has hit, or is
about to hit, a high or low turning point,
based on historical patterns, technical
analysis, or other factors.
Market timers try to buy as the market
turns up and sell before the market turns
down. Its the anticipated change in
direction rather than the amount of time
that passes between those changes thats
significant for these investors.
The term is sometimes used in a
negative sense to refer to a trading
strategy that aims for quick profits by
taking advantage of short-term changes
in securities prices.
Market timers, sometimes known as
day traders, trade electronically. They
try to buy low and sell high by taking
advantage of second-to-second or
minute-to-minute changes in the
financial marketplace. They base
decisions on information such as a
forecast on interest rates or a sell-off
in a particular market sector.
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Market value
The market value of a stock or bond is the
current price at which that security
is trading.
In a more general sense, if an item has
not been priced for sale, its fair market
value is the amount a buyer and seller
agree upon. Thats assuming that both
know what the item is worth and
neither is being forced to complete
the transaction.
Markup
When you buy securities from a
broker-dealer or market maker, you
pay a markup. The markup is either a
percentage of the
selling price or a flat
fee, over and above
the amount it cost the
broker-dealer to pur-
chase the security.
The amount of this
markup, or spread, is
the broker-dealers
profit and depends in
part on the demand
for that security or
others like it.
For example, if investors are buying
up certain types of bonds, a broker-dealer
may increase the markup for bonds in
that category.
You might say that the broker-dealer
acquires the security at wholesale price
and sells it to you at retail price. The
difference is the markup.
If the markup doesnt appear on the
confirmation statement, you can ask the
broker-dealer about the markup amount.
Or you can compare the prices that dif-
ferent broker-dealers quote for the same
security or the price being quoted for the
security on the Internet. The differences
in price generally reflect the differences
in markups.
Matching contribution
A matching contribution is money your
employer adds to your retirement savings
account, such as a 401(k) or a SIMPLE.
Its usually a percentage of the
amount you contribute up to a cap that
the employer sets, such as 50% of your
contribution up to 5% of your salary. The
matching amount and any earnings are
tax deferred until you withdraw them
from your account.
In most plans, employers are not
required to match contributions, but
may do so if they wish. Employers also
determine, within federal guidelines,
how long you have to work for the
company in order to be fully vested in
the matching contributions.
Matrix trading
Matrix trading occurs when the yield
spread between two categories of bonds
with different levels of risk is temporarily
inconsistent with what that spread would
normally be, prompting traders to try to
capitalize on an unusual situation by
initiating a bond swap.
For example, such a swap might
involve long-term corporate bonds with
high ratings and those with low ratings or
bonds with longer terms and those with
shorter terms.
Maturity date
A bond or other loan that must be repaid
comes due on its maturity date. On that
date, the full face value of the bond (and
sometimes the final interest payment)
must be paid in full to the bondholder.
Certificates of deposit (CDs) also have
maturity dates on which you may with-
draw the principal and interest without
penalty or roll over the money into a
new CD.
Other debt instruments, such as
mortgage-backed securities, pay back
their principal over the life of the
debt, similar to the way a mortgage is
amortized, or paid down. While these in-
struments also have a maturity date, that
date is when the last installment payment
of the loan as well as the last interest
payment is due.
Mediation
Mediation is an informal, voluntary
method of resolving disputes, in which
the parties in conflict meet with a trained,
independent third party to come up
with a solution thats satisfactory to
everyone involved.
For example, if you have a problem
with your broker that you cant resolve
directly with the firm, you can file a
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request for mediation with NASD, which
oversees brokerage firms and has
over 900 trained mediators to help
resolve disputes.
Mediation is considered less expensive,
less formal, and less confrontational than
arbitration or lawsuits. But both parties
must agree to use the process.
While you may retain a legal adviser
during mediation, any resolution will be
crafted with your direct involvement,
which is usually not the case
with arbitration.
Also, unlike arbitration, mediation is
nonbinding, which means that if youre
not happy with the outcome, you can stop
the process, and either drop the issue or
move to more formal proceedings.
Medicaid
Medicaid is a federal government program
run by the individual states. Its designed
to provide assistance to people who cant
afford skilled or custodial healthcare.
There are strict financial standards
governing who qualifies for assistance,
though there is significant variation from
state to state in the way the program
is managed.
Medicare
Medicare is a federal government
insurance program designed to provide
healthcare coverage for people 65 or
older, certain disabled people, and
people with chronic kidney disease.
Anyone who qualifies for Social
Security is automatically eligible for
Medicare at 65.
Part A, which covers hospital and
certain other costs, is provided when you
enroll. You can also sign up for Part B,
which covers doctor visits and related
costs, and Part D, which covers prescrip-
tion medicines, at the same time.
You pay a separate premium for both
Part B and Part D. The Part B premium
is set annually and carries surcharges
for people whose incomes are above the
annual ceilings. Your Part D premium is
determined by the private insurer plan
you select. If you postpone applying for
Parts B and D and dont have equivalent
or better coveragecalled creditable
coveragefrom another plan, you face a
permanent surcharge when you do enroll.
You may also have a choice
between Original Medicare, which
is a fee-for-service plan run by the
government, or a Medicare Advantage
plan if one is available where you live.
Medicare Advantage plans are private
insurer plans.
Merger
When two or more companies consolidate
by exchanging common stock, and the
resulting single company replaces the old
companies, the consolidation is described
as a merger.
The shareholders of the old companies
receive prorated shares in the new
company. A merger is typically a tax-free
transaction, meaning that shareholders
owe no capital gains or lost taxes on the
stock that is being exchanged.
A merger is different from an
acquisition, in which one company
purchases, or takes over, the assets
of another. The acquiring company
continues to function and the acquired
company ceases to exist. Shareholders of
the acquired company receive shares in
the new company in exchange for their
old shares.
Despite their differences, mergers and
acquisitions are invariably linked, often
simply described as M&As.
Micro-cap stock
A micro-cap stock is one with a smaller
market capitalizationsometimes much
smallerthan stocks described as small-
caps. (Market capitalization is figured by
multiplying the current market value by
the number of outstanding shares.)
The cut-off for deciding that a stock
belongs in one category or the other is
arbitrary. However, the capitalization
thresholds currently being suggested for
micro-caps range from $50 million to
$150 million.
Micro-caps are not only the smallest of
the publicly traded corporations, but they
are also the most volatile. Thats partly
because they often lack the reserves that
may allow a larger company to weather
rough periods.
And there are generally relatively few
shares of a micro-cap company, so a large
transaction may affect the stocks price
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quite a bit. In contrast, a similar transac-
tion might not affect the stock price of
a larger company that had many more
shares in the market quite as much.
Mid-capitalization (mid-cap) stock
A mid-cap stock is one issued by a
corporation whose market capitalization
falls in a range between $2 billion and $10
billion, making it larger than a small-cap
stock but smaller than a large-cap stock.
Market capitalization is figured by
multiplying the number of either the
outstanding or the floating shares by the
current share price. Investors tend to buy
mid-cap stocks for their growth potential.
Their prices are typically lower than those
of large-caps.
At the same time, these companies
tend to be less volatile than small-caps,
in part because they have more resources
with which to weather an economic
downturn.
Minimum finance charge
A minimum finance charge is a fee
collected by a credit card issuer each
billing period. It applies when the actual
finance charge you owe isnt equal to or
larger than this minimum.
For example, if the minimum finance
charge is 50 cents, and you owe $5 in
finance charges, the minimum would not
apply. But if you had no other finance
charges, youd owe the 50 cents.
Not all issuers impose a minimum
finance charge, so if you regularly pay
your bill in full and on time, you may pre-
fer an issuer who does not charge this fee.
Minimum required distribution (MRD)
A minimum required distribution is
the smallest amount you must take each
year from your retirement savings plan
once youve reached the mandatory
withdrawal age.
There are MRDs for 401(k) plans,
403(b) plans, and traditional IRAs, and
the maximum age you can reach before
they start is usually 70. If you take less
than the required minimum, you owe a
50% penalty on the amount you should
have taken.
You calculate your MRD by dividing
your account balance at the end of your
plans fiscal yearoften December 31
by a distribution period based on your
life expectancy. If your spouse is your
beneficiary and more than ten years
younger than you are, you can use a
longer distribution period than you can
in all other circumstances.
Minority interest
All shareholders whose combined
shares represent less than half of the
total outstanding shares issued by a
corporation have a minority interest in
that corporation.
In fact, in many cases, the combined
holdings of the minority shareholders are
considerably less than half of the
total shares.
In another example, in a partnership,
any partner who has a smaller percentage
than another partner is said to have a
minority interest. Under normal
circumstances, it is difficult for those
with a minority interest to have any real
influence on corporate policy.
Modern portfolio theory
In making investment decisions,
adherents of modern portfolio theory
focus on potential return in relation to
potential risk.
The strategy is to evaluate and select
individual securities as part of an overall
portfolio rather than solely for their own
strengths or weaknesses as an investment.
Asset allocation is a primary tactic
according to theory practitioners. Thats
because it allows investors to create port-
folios to get the strongest possible return
without assuming a greater level of risk
than they are comfortable with.
Another tenet of portfolio theory is
that investors must be rewarded, in terms
of realizing a greater return, for assuming
greater risk. Otherwise, there would be
little motivation to make investments
that might result in a loss of principal.
Modified adjusted gross income
(MAGI)
Your modified adjusted gross income
(MAGI) is your adjusted gross income
(AGI) plus deductions, such as college
loan interest and contributions to a de-
ductible individual retirement account
(IRA), which you may qualify to take if
your MAGI is less than the annual ceilings
set by Congress.
Other deductions, such as alimony,
dont have income limits.
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For example, suppose youre single,
have a gross income of $51,000, and
youre eligible to take a deduction for
your IRA contribution of $4,000. Your
AGI, when all deductions are taken,
turns out to be $45,500. You then add
the $4,000 back to find your MAGI of
$49,500. Because your MAGI is less than
the ceiling for deducting your full IRA
contribution for your filing status, you
can take the full deduction.
Momentum investing
A momentum investor focuses on stocks
that are rising in value on increasing
daily volume, and avoids stocks that are
falling in price or that are perceived to
be undervalued.
The logic is that when a pattern of
growth has been established, it will
continue to gain momentum and the
growth will continue. Momentum
investing is essentially the opposite
of contrarian investing.
Monetary policy
A countrys central bank is responsible
for its monetary policy. In the United
States, for example, the Federal Reserve
aims to keep the economy growing but
not allow it to become overheated.
In a sluggish economy, the Fed may
lower the short-term interest rate to
loosen credit and allow more cash to
circulate in an attempt to stimulate
expansion.
Or, if it fears the economy is growing
too quickly, it may tighten credit by
raising the short-term interest rate to
reduce the money supply, in an attempt
to rein in potential inflation.
In pursuit of its monetary policy,
the Fed can also increase or decrease
the money supply by buying or selling
government securities.
To avoid a potential recession, for
example, the Fed might increase its
purchases of US Treasury notes and
bonds from banks and brokerage firms,
providing them with more money to lend.
Monetary reserve
A governments monetary reserve includes
the foreign currency and precious metals
that its central bank holds. That reserve
enables the government to influence
foreign exchange rates and to manage
its transactions in the international
marketplace.
For example, a country with a large re-
serve of US dollars is in a position to make
significant investments in US markets.
Money factor
A money factor, also called a lease
factor, is the finance charge you pay on
an automobile lease. Unlike interest rates,
which are expressed as a percentage of
the amount borrowed, the money factor
is usually stated as a decimal.
You can calculate the actual interest
rate youre paying by multiplying the
decimal by 24. So, for example, if youre
quoted a money factor of 0.00297,
the rate youre paying is 7.13%
(0.00297 x 24 = 0.07128).
You may find that the money factor
is non-negotiable.
Money manager
Registered money managers are paid
professionals who are responsible for
handling the securities portfolios
they oversee in the best interest of the
institutions or individuals for whom
they work. That obligation is known as
fiduciary responsibility.
The specific decisions an individual
money manager makes vary, depending
on the portfolio in question. For
example, pension funds, mutual funds,
and insurance companies have money
managers, as do endowments, managed
accounts, and hedge funds.
The portfolio that the manager
constructs and the amount and timing
of the trading he or she authorizes
are directly linked to the portfolios
investment objective and risk profile.
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Money market
The money market isnt a place. Its the
continual buying and selling of short-term
liquid investments.
Those investments include Treasury
bills, certificates of deposit (CDs),
commercial paper, and other debt
issued by corporations and governments.
These investments are also known as
money market instruments.
Money market account
Bank money market accounts normally
pay interest at rates comparable to those
offered by money market mutual funds or
money market separate accounts offered
under a variable annuity contract.
One appeal of money market accounts
is that they have the added safety of
(FDIC) protection, up to the limit per
depositor and account type.
One drawback may be that some
banks reduce the interest they pay or
impose fees if your balance falls below
a specific amount.
Money market accounts may offer
check writing and cash transfer privileges,
although there are usually limits on the
number of withdrawals or transfers you
can make each month.
Money market fund
Money market mutual funds invest in
stable, short-term debt securities, such
as commercial paper, Treasury bills, and
certificates of deposit (CDs), and other
short-term instruments.
The funds management tries to
maintain the value of each share in the
fund at $1.
Unlike bank money market accounts,
money market mutual funds are not
Corporation (FDIC).
However, since theyre considered
securities at most brokerage firms, they
may be insured by the Securities Investor
Protection Corporation (SIPC) against the
bankruptcy of the firm. In addition, some
funds offer private insurance comparable
to FDIC coverage.
Tax-free money market funds invest
in short-term municipal bonds and other
tax-exempt short-term debt. No federal
income tax is due on income distributions
from these funds, and in some cases no
state income tax.
While taxable funds may offer a slightly
higher yield than tax-free funds, you pay
income tax on all earnings distributions.
Many money market funds offer
check-writing privileges, which do not
trigger capital gains or losses, as writing a
check against the value of a stock or bond
fund would.
Money order
A money order entitles the person named
as payee on the order to receive the spe-
cific amount of cash shown on the order.
You can use money orders in place of
checks if you dont have a checking ac-
count or if the payee requires a
guaranteed form of payment. You can
purchase money orders at banks, post
office branches, credit unions, and other
financial institutions.
You can use money orders to send
money internationally as well as within
the United States. The United States
Postal Service (USPS) has agreements
with 30 countries that allow recipients to
cash USPS money orders in post offices
in those countries.
Sellers sometimes impose a limit on
the size of the money orders they sell, and
they typically charge a fee for each order.
However, those fees are less than for
guaranteed bank checks. One drawback
of a money order is that you have no proof
that payment was received.
Money purchase plan
A money purchase plan is a defined
contribution retirement plan that
requires the employer to contribute a
fixed percentage of each employees
salary every year the plan is in effect.
The contributions must be made
regardless of how well the company
does in a given year. In contrast, in
profit-sharing plans, the employers
contribution is more flexible because
it is based on annual profits.
However, some small-company
employers or self-employed people
create a paired plan that combines
money purchase with profit sharing.
Paired plans require them to add at least
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a minimum percentage of each employees
salary to the plan each year.
Money supply
The money supply is the total amount
of liquid or near-liquid assets in the
economy.
The Federal Reserve, or the Fed,
manages the money supply, trying to
prevent either recession or serious
inflation by changing the amount of
money in circulation.
The Fed increases the money supply
by buying government bonds in the open
market, and decreases the supply by
selling these securities.
In addition, the Fed can adjust the
reserves that banks must maintain, and
increase or decrease the rate at which
banks can borrow money. This fluctuation
in rates gets passed along to consumers
and investors as changes in short-term
interest rates.
The money supply is grouped into four
classes of assets, called money aggregates.
The narrowest, called M1, includes
currency and checking deposits. M2
includes M1, plus assets in money market
accounts and small time deposits.
M3, also called broad money, includes
M2, plus assets in large time deposits,
eurodollars, and institution-only money
market funds. The biggest group, L,
includes M3, plus assets such as private
holdings of US savings bonds, short-term
US Treasury bills, and commercial paper.
Monte Carlo simulation
A Monte Carlo simulation can be used
to analyze the return that an investment
portfolio is capable of producing. It
generates thousands of probable invest-
ment performance outcomes, called
scenarios, that might occur in the future.
The simulation incorporates economic
data such as a range of potential interest
rates, inflation rates, tax rates, and so
on. The data is combined in random
order to account for the uncertainty
and performance variation thats always
present in financial markets.
Financial analysts may employ
Monte Carlo simulations to project the
probability of your retirement account
investments producing the return you
need to meet your long-term goals.
Moodys Investors Service, Inc.
Moodys is a financial services
company best known for rating
investments. Moodys rates bonds,
common stock, commercial paper,
municipal short-term bonds, preferred
stocks, and annuity contracts.
Its bond rating system, which assigns
a grade from Aaa through C3 based on
the financial condition of the issuer, has
become a world standard.
Morgan Stanley Capital
International Indexes
These indexes are computed by Morgan
Stanley Capital International Inc. (MSCI).
They track stocks traded in interna-
tional stock markets, and are benchmarks
for international stock investments and
mutual fund portfolios.
The strong performance of the Europe
and Australasia Far East Equity Index
(EAFE) between 1982 and 1996 is often
credited with generating increased
US interest in investing overseas. The
index was considered especially strong
compared to the well-known Standard &
Poors 500 Index (S&P 500).
Morningstar, Inc.
Morningstar, Inc., offers a broad range of
investment information, research, and
analysis online, in software products, and
in print.
For example, the company rates open-
and closed-end mutual funds and variable
annuities, as well as other investment
products, using a system of one to five
stars, with five being the highest rating.
The Morningstar system is a risk-
adjusted rating that brings performance,
or return, and risk together into one
evaluation.
MONEY
SUPPLY
Morningstar, Inc.
132
In addition, Morningstar produces
analytical reports on the funds and vari-
able annuities it rates, as well as on stocks
sold in US and international markets.
Mortgage
A mortgage, or more precisely a mortgage
loan, is a long-term loan used to finance
the purchase of real estate.
As the borrower, or mortgager, you
repay the lender, or mortgagee, the loan
principal plus interest, gradually building
your equity in the property.
The interest may be calculated at
either a fixed or variable rate, and the
term of the loan is typically between 10
and 30 years.
While the mortgage is in force, you
have the use of the property, but not the
title to it. When the loan is repaid in full,
the property is yours. But if you default, or
fail to repay the loan, the mortgagee may
exercise its lien on the property and take
possession of it.
Mortgage-backed security
Mortgage-backed securities are created
when the sponsor buys up mortgages from
lenders, pools them, and packages them
for sale to the public, a process known as
securitization.
The securities are available through
publicly held corporations such as Fannie
Mae and Freddie Mac or other financial
institutions. Some of the securities are
guaranteed by the Government National
Mortgage Association, or Ginnie Mae.
The money raised by selling the bonds
is used to buy additional mortgages,
making more money available to lend.
The most common mortgage-backed
securities, also known as pass-through
securities, are self-amortizing, and pay
interest and repay principal over the
term of the security.
Mortgage-backed securities known
as collateralized mortgage obligations
(CMOs) or real estate mortgage
investment conduits (REMICs) are
structured differently. While a CMO or
REMIC pays interest on a regular basis,
the principal payments are structured in
what are known as tranches and mature
in sequence.
The principal is repaid to bondholders
in the order in which the tranches are
stacked, so the holders of the shortest-
term tranche are paid principal first,
the next shortest second, and so on.
You can buy individual mortgage-
backed securities or select mutual funds,
such as Ginnie Mae funds, that invest in
mortgage-backed securities.
Moving average
A moving average of securities prices is an
average that is recomputed regularly by
adding the most recent price and
dropping the oldest one.
For example, if you looked at a 365-day
moving average on the morning of June
30, the most recent price would be for
June 29, and the oldest one would be for
June 30 of the previous year.
The next day, the most recent price
would be for June 30, and the oldest one
for the previous July 1.
Investors may use the moving average
of an individual security over a shorter
period, such as 5, 10, or 30 days, to
determine a good time to buy or sell
that security.
For example, you might decide that
a stock that is trading above its 10-day
moving average is a good buy or that its
time to sell when a stock is trading below
its 10-day moving average. The longer the
time span, the less volatile the average
will be.
Multiple
A stocks multiple is its price-to-earnings
ratio (P/E). Its figured by dividing
the market price of the stock by the
companys earnings.
The earnings could be the actual
earnings for the past four quarters,
called a trailing P/E. Or they might
be the actual figures for the past two
quarters plus an analysts projection for
the next two, called a forward P/E.
Investors use the multiple as a way to
assess whether the price they are paying
for the stock is justified by its earnings
potential. The higher the multiple they
are willing to accept, the higher their
expectations for the stock.
However, some investors reject stocks
with higher multiples, since it may be
impossible for the stock to meet the
markets expectations.
Municipal bond (muni)
Municipal bonds are debt securities
issued by state or local governments or
their agencies to finance general govern-
mental activities or special projects.
For example, a state may float a bond
to fund the construction of highways or
college dormitories.
The interest a muni pays is usually
exempt from federal income taxes, and is
also exempt from state and local income
taxes if you live in the state where it
was issued.
However, any capital gains you realize
from selling a muni are taxable, and some
Mortgage
133
muni interest may be vulnerable to the
alternative minimum tax (AMT).
Munis generally pay interest at a
lower rate than similarly rated corporate
bonds of the same term. However, they
appeal to investors in the highest tax
brackets, who may benefit most from the
tax-exempt income.
Municipal bond fund
Municipal bond funds invest in municipal
bonds. Interest earnings from these
funds are free from federal income tax
but may be subject to the alternative
minimum tax (AMT).
In addition, some mutual fund compa-
nies offer funds that invest exclusively in
municipal bonds offered by a single state.
One advantage of muni bond funds is
that buyers can invest a much smaller
amount than they would need to buy a
municipal bond on their own. Another
advantage is that they pay income
monthly rather than semiannually.
Mutual company
A mutual company is a privately held
company owned by its policyholders,
depositors, or other customers. A share
of the profits is distributed as dividends,
allocated in proportion to the amount
of business each customer does with
the company.
Insurance companies, federal
savings and loan associations, and
savings banks are examples of mutual
companies, although each type operates
somewhat differently.
Mutual fund
A mutual fund is a professionally managed
investment product that sells shares to
investors and pools the capital it raises
to purchase investments.
A fund typically buys a diversified
portfolio of stock, bonds, and money
market securities, or a combination of
stock and bonds, depending on the
investment objectives of the fund.
Mutual funds may also hold other
investments, such as derivatives.
A fund that makes a continuous
offering of its shares to the public and
will buy any shares an investor wishes
to redeem, or sell back, is known as an
open-end fund. An open-end fund trades
at net asset value (NAV).
The NAV is the value of the funds port-
folio plus money waiting to be invested,
minus operating expenses, divided by the
Load fundsthose that charge upfront
or back-end sales feesare sold through
brokers or financial advisers. No-load
funds are sold directly to investors by the
investment company offering the fund.
These funds, which dont charge sales
fees, may use 12b-1 fees to pass on the
cost of providing shareholder services.
All mutual funds charge management
fees, though at different rates, and they
may also levy other fees and charges,
which are reported as the funds expense
ratio. These costs plus the trading costs,
which arent included in the expense
ratio, reduce the return you realize from
investing in the fund.
A fund that sells its shares to the
public only until sales reach a pre-
determined level is known as a closed-end
fund. The shares of a closed-end fund
trade in the marketplace the way
common stock does.
Municipal bonds
are issued by
state and local
governments
$ $ $ $
$
INVESTORS
MUTUAL FUND
COMPANY
FUND MANAGER
THE INVESTMENTS
Mutual fund
134
N
N
Naked option
When you write, or sell, a call option but
dont own the underlying instrument, such
as a stock in the case of an equity option,
the option is described as naked.
Similarly, you write a naked put if you
dont have enough cash on hand or in
liquid investments to purchase the
underlying instrument.
Because you collect a premium when
you sell the option, you may make a profit
if the underlying instrument performs as
you expect, and the option isnt exercised.
The risk you run, however, is that the
option holder will exercise the option. In
the case of a call, youll then have to buy
the instrument at the market price in
order to meet your obligation to sell. Or,
if its a put, youll have to come up with
the cash to purchase the instrument.
If that price of the underlying has
moved in the opposite direction from
the one you expected, meeting your
obligation could result in a substantial net
loss. Because of this risk, your brokerage
firm may limit your right to write naked
options or require that you write them in
a margin account.
Named perils policy
A named perils policy is a standard
homeowners insurance policy that offers
limited protection for damage from fire
and theft and other hazards specified in
the policy.
NASD
NASD is the largest self-regulatory
organization (SRO) in the United States.
Formerly known as the National
Association of Securities Dealers, NASD
regulates broker-dealer firms and licenses
registered representativesbetter known
as stockbrokerswho make a business of
trading securities.
In addition, NASD regulates trading
in stocks, mutual funds, variable
annuities, corporate bonds, and futures
and options contracts on securities,
and acts as regulator for a number of
securities exchanges. NASD also reviews
materials that investment companies
provide to their clients and prospective
clients to ensure those materials comply
with the relevant guidelines.
Through its BrokerCheck database,
NASD provides a resource for investors to
check the credentials of people and firms
with whom theyre considering working.
The NASD website also provides investor
education and alerts on current issues of
importance to investors.
Finally, NASD also resolves disputes
between broker-dealers and their clients,
through either mediation or arbitration.
NASD disciplines firms and individuals
who violate the rules.
Nasdaq Composite Index
The Nasdaq Composite Index tracks the
prices of all the securities traded on
the Nasdaq Stock Market.
That makes it a broader measure
of market activity than the Dow Jones
Industrial Average (DJIA) or Standard &
Poors 500 Index (S&P 500).
On the other hand, many computer,
biotechnology, and telecommunications
companies are listed on the Nasdaq.
So the movement of the Index is heavily
influenced by whats happening in
those sectors.
The Index is market capitalization
weighted, which means that companies
whose market values are higher exert
greater influence on the Index. Market
capitalization, or value, is computed by
multiplying the total number of existing
shares by the most recent sales price.
So, for example, if a stock with
1 million shares increases $3 in value,
it has a greater impact on the changing
Naked option
135
value of the Index than a stock that also
increases $3 but has only 500,000 shares.
Nasdaq Stock Market
The Nasdaq Stock Market is the worlds
oldest and largest electronic stock market
and is now a national securities exchange
and an independent self-regulatory
organization (SRO).
It has no central trading location or
exchange floor. Instead it uses a fully
automated, open market, multiple dealer
trading system, with many market makers
competing to handle transactions in each
individual stock.
The most active stock market in the
nation, Nasdaq handles more initial
public offerings than any other US ex-
change. It lists many emerging companies
as well as industry giants, especially in
biotechnology, communications, financial
services, media, retail, technology,
and transportation.
National Association of Securities
Dealers Automated Quotation
System (NASDAQ)
NASDAQ is a computerized stock trading
network that allows brokers to access
price quotations for stocks being traded
electronically or sold on the floor of a
stock exchange.
National bank
All banks in the United States are
chartered by either a state government
or the federal government. Federally
chartered banks, called national banks,
are overseen by the Comptroller of the
Currency of the US Department of
the Treasury.
All national banks are members of the
Federal Reserve System and deposits are
Corporation (FDIC).
The dual banking system of federal-
and state-chartered banks can be traced
to the National Banking Act of 1863. The
act created the new federal bank system
in an attempt to impose order on what
had been a chaotic situation. State banks
have survived, however, and the two
banking systems coexist.
National Credit Union Administration
(NCUA)
The National Credit Union Administration
(NCUA) is an independent federal agency
that authorizes the establishment and
oversees the administration of most
federal- and state-chartered credit unions
The National Credit Union Share
Insurance Fund arm of the agency insures
credit union deposits, just as the Federal
Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)
does bank deposits.
NCUA is funded by member credit
unions and is backed by the full faith and
credit of the federal government.
National debt
The total value of all outstanding Treasury
bills, notes, and bonds that the federal
government owes investors is referred to
as the national debt.
The government holds some of this
debt itself, in accounts such as the Social
Security, Medicare, Unemployment
Insurance, and Highway, Airport and
Airway Trust Funds. The rest is held by
individual and institutional investors,
both domestic and international, or by
overseas governments.
National debt
136
There is a debt ceiling imposed by
Congress, but it is typically raised when
outstanding debt approaches that level.
Interest on the national debt is a
major item in the federal budget, but
the national debt is not the same as the
federal budget deficit. The deficit is
the amount by which federal spending
exceeds federal income in a fiscal year.
National Market System (NMS)
The National Market System (NMS) links
all the major stock markets in the United
States and was developed to foster
competition among them.
Federal rules require these trading
centers to ensure that transactions are
executed at prices at least as good as
protected quotations displayed at another
center. A protected quotation is one thats
immediately and automatically accessible.
Negative amortization
When your loan principal increases
rather than decreases because your
monthly payment isnt enough to cover
the loan interest, thats called negative
amortization.
This can happen if you have an
adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) that
specifies a payment cap, or maximum
rate increase, and the interest rate rises
above the cap.
Negative amortization can also
occur with mortgages that have no rate
adjustment caps, or those that let you
make very low initial payments that dont
cover the loan interest.
The promise of low initial payments
may make loans that could result in
negative amortization attractive, but
there are substantial risks. Eventually,
your monthly payment will have to
increase, sometimes sharply, to pay off
the larger loan.
If interest rates have risen, you may
not be able to refinance at a favorable
rate. And if real estate prices fall, you
could find yourself with a mortgage loan
that is larger than the value of your home.
Negative yield curve
A negative, or inverted, yield curve results
when the yield on short-term US Treasury
issues is higher than the yield on long-
term Treasury bonds.
You create the curve by plotting a
graph with yield on the vertical axis and
maturity date on the horizontal axis and
connecting the dots. When
the curve is negative the highest point
is to the left.
A positive
yield curve
one thats
higher on the
rightresults
when the yield
on long-term
bonds is higher
than the yield
on the short-
term bills. A
level curve
results when
the yields
are essentially
the same.
In most periods, the yield curve is
positive because investors demand more
for tying up their money for a longer
period. But there are times, such as when
interest rates seem to be on the upswing,
that the pattern is reversed and the yield
curve is negative.
Negotiable
A negotiable contract is one whose terms
can be altered by agreement between the
parties to the contract.
For example, when you negotiate the
sale of your home, you might be willing
to reduce the price, or you might be
flexible about the closing date, generally
in response to some concessions from
the buyer.
Similarly, the interest rate on your
mortgage or the number of points you pay
might be negotiable with your lender.
A negotiable financial instrument or
security is one that can be transferred
easily from one party to another by
endorsing and delivering the appropriate
documentation.
Stock certificates are negotiable, for
example, requiring the owner simply to
sign the back and deliver the document
to an agent. A check is also negotiable,
transferring money from the writer to
the payee on the basis of a signature
and an endorsement.
Negotiable-order-of-withdrawal
account
A negotiable-order-of-withdrawal (NOW)
account is an interest-bearing checking
account that pays interest on the balance,
usually at a rate comparable to a money
market account.
National Market System (NMS)
NMS
137
You may be required to maintain a
fairly substantial minimum balance in a
NOW account to avoid high fees or loss of
interest, or both.
Net asset value (NAV)
The NAV is the dollar value of one share
of a fund. Its calculated by totaling the
value of all the funds holdings plus
money awaiting investment, subtracting
operating expenses, and dividing by the
A funds NAV changes regularly, though
day-to-day variations are usually small.
The NAV is the price per share an
open-end mutual fund pays when you
redeem, or sell back, your shares. With
no-load mutual funds, the NAV and the
offering price, or what you pay to buy
a share, are the same. With front-load
funds, the offering price is the sum of the
NAV and the sales charge per share and
is sometimes known as the maximum
offering price (MOP).
The NAV of an exchange traded fund
(ETF) or a closed-end mutual fund may be
higher or lower than the market price of
a share of the fund. With an ETF, though,
the difference is usually quite small be-
cause of a unique mechanism that allows
institutional investors to buy or redeem
large blocks of shares at the NAV with
in-kind baskets of the funds stocks.
Net change
The difference between the closing price
of a stock, bond, or mutual fund, or the
last price of a commodity contract, and
the closing price on the previous day is
reported as net change. It may also simply
be referred to as change.
When a stock has gained in value, the
positive net change is expressed with a
plus sign and a number, such as +0.50,
meaning that the price was up 50 cents
from the previous trading day.
On days that a stock falls, the negative
net change is expressed with a minus sign
and a number, such as -1, meaning that
the price was a dollar lower.
Net margin
A companys net margin, typically ex-
pressed as a percentage, is its net profit
divided by its net sales. Net profit and net
sales are the amounts the company has
left after subtracting relevant expenses
from gross profits and gross sales.
The higher the percentage, the more
profitable the company is. Fundamental
analysts use net margin, sometimes called
net profit margin, as a way to assess how
effective the company is in converting
income to profit.
In general, a higher net margin is the
result of an appropriate pricing structure
and effective cost controls.
Net worth
A corporations net worth is the retained
earnings, or the amount left after
dividends are paid, plus the money in
its capital accounts, minus all its short-
and long-term debt. Its net worth is
reported in the corporations 10-K filing
and annual report.
Net worth may also be called share-
holder equity, and its one of the factors
you consider in evaluating a company in
which youre considering an investment.
To figure your own net worth, you
add the value of the assets you own,
including but not limited to cash,
securities, personal property, real
estate, and retirement accounts, and
subtract your liabilities, or what you
owe in loans and other obligations.
If your assets are larger than your
liabilities, you have a positive net worth.
But if your liabilities are more than your
assets, you have a negative net worth.
When you apply for a loan, potential
lenders are likely to ask for a statement
of your net worth.
Netting
Netting is a process the National
Securities Clearing Corporation (NSCC)
uses to streamline securities transactions.
To net, the NSCC compares all the
buy and sell orders for each individual
security and matches purchases by clients
of one brokerage firm with corresponding
sales by other clients of the firm.
Those orders can be finalized
internally by adjusting the firms books
to reflect changes in ownership.
The small percentage of trades that
arent netted require firms with net short
positions, whose clients sold more than
they purchased, to deliver the required
Netting
NET ASSET VALUE (NAV)
Value of funds holdings
Outstanding shares
=
NET ASSET
VALUE
NET WORTH
Value of assets
Liabilities
NET WORTH
138
securities to the NSCC, or more precisely
have them debited from their Depository
Trust Corporation (DTC) custodial
account for delivery to the NSCC.
The NSCC credits those shares to
the firms with a net long position, whose
clients purchased more shares than
they sold.
In the final step, the DTC nets the total
costs of buying and selling throughout the
trading day to limit the amount of money
that must be exchanged among firms.
Firms with a net debit wire payment to
the DTC, and firms with a net credit
receive funds.
New issue
When a stock or bond is offered for
sale for the first time, its considered a
new issue.
New issues can be the result of an
initial public offering (IPO), when a
private company goes public, or they can
be additional, or secondary, offerings from
a company thats already public.
For example, a public company may
sell bonds from time to time to raise
capital. Each time a new bond is offered,
its considered a new issue.
New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)
is one of the two securities exchanges
operated by the NYSE Group, Inc. Its the
oldest securities exchange in the United
States and the largest traditional
exchange in the world.
Trading on the floor of the exchange
is by double auction system, handled by
floor brokers representing buyers and
sellers, and by specialistsone for each
listed security.
NYSEArca, the other NYSE Group
exchange, is an all-electronic market,
where trading is direct and anonymous.
New York Stock Exchange
Composite Index
This New York Stock Exchange Composite
Index measures the performance of
the common stocks listed on the NYSE,
including those of companies head-
quartered in the United States and in
other countries.
The Index is market capitalization
weighted, so that companies with the
most shares and the highest prices have
the greatest impact on the changing value
of the Index.
Nikkei Stock Average
The Nikkei Stock Average, sometimes
call the Nikkei Index or simply the
Nikkei, is a price-weighted index of
225 blue chip stocks traded on the Tokyo
Stock Exchange.
The Nikkei, which was introduced
in 1950, is frequently described as the
Japanese equivalent of the Dow Jones
Industrial Average (DJIA).
No-load mutual fund
You buy a no-load mutual fund directly
from the investment company that
sponsors the fund. You pay no sales
charge, or load, on the fund when you
buy or sell shares.
No-load funds may charge a
redemption fee if you sell before a
certain time has elapsed in order to
limit short-term turnover.
Some fund companies charge an
annual fee, called a 12b-1 fee, to offset
their marketing costs. Your share of this
fee is a percentage of the value of your
holdings in the fund.
You may also be able to buy no-load
funds through a mutual fund network,
sometimes known as a mutual fund super-
market, typically sponsored by a discount
New issue
NYSE
"
N
O

L
O
A
D
"
N
O

L
O
A
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N
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C
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139
brokerage firm. If you have an account
with the firm, you can choose among
no-load funds sponsored by a number
of different investment companies.
Load funds and no-load funds
making similar investments tend to
produce almost equivalent total returns
over the long termsay ten years or
more. But it can take an investor nearly
that long to offset the higher cost of
buying load funds.
Nominal yield
Nominal yield is the annual income that
you receive from a bond or other fixed-
income security divided by the par value
of the security.
The result, stated as a percentage,
is the same as the rate of interest the se-
curity pays, also known as its coupon rate.
If you purchase the security in the
secondary market, at a price above or
below par, your actual yield will be more
or less than the coupon rate.
So, for example, if you have $55 in
annual income on a $1,000 bond, the
nominal yield is 5.5%. But if you paid
$975 for the bond in the marketplace,
your actual yield is 5.64%. Similarly, if
you had paid $1,050, your actual yield
would be 5.23%.
Nominee name
Nominee name is the name that a broker-
age firm uses to register ownership of
stocks or bonds it holds for investors.
Holding stock in a single generic name,
sometimes known as street name, makes
it easier to transfer ownership when the
securities are traded.
Nonbank banks
Nonbank banks, also called limited-
service banks, offer some but not all the
services of a traditional commercial bank.
Theyre typically owned by companies,
including insurance companies, broker-
age firms, and retail stores to provide
financial services without being limited
by the regulations that govern traditional
banks, such as restrictions on interstate
and branch banking.
Many nonbank banks are insured
by the Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation (FDIC). Those banks are
subject to the same reserve requirements
and examinations as regular banks.
Opponents of nonbank banks believe
they drain financial resources away from
small towns to big cities in other states
and undermine the nations decentralized
banking system.
Noncallable
When a bond is noncallable, the issuer
cannot redeem it before the stated matu-
rity date. Some bonds have call protection
for their full term, and others for a fixed
periodoften ten years.
The appeal of a noncallable bond is
that the issuer will pay interest at the
stated coupon rate for the bonds full
term. In contrast, if a bond is called,
you receive a lump-sum repayment of
principal, which you must reinvest.
Frequently, rates are lower at call
that they were when the bond was issued,
which means your reinvested principal
will provide a smaller yield.
Noncompetitive bid
Investors who cant or dont wish to meet
the minimum purchase requirements for
competitive bidding on Treasury bills or
notes may enter a noncompetitive bid.
You can invest as little as $1,000 or
as much as $5 million in each new issue
through Treasury Direct. Treasury Direct
is a system that allows you to buy
government securities without going
through a bank or a brokerage firm.
The Treasury sells T-bills, for example,
to all noncompetitive buyers whose bids
arrive by the weekly deadline, for a price
equal to what competitive bidders pay for
that weeks issue.
A noncompetitive bid may also be
known as a noncompetitive tender.
Noncompetitive bid
140
Nondiscrimination rule
All qualified retirement plans, including
401(k) plans, must follow nondiscrimina-
tion rules. Among other things, the rules
prevent highly paid employees from
receiving more generous benefits than
other employees.
However, employers may offer nonqual-
ified plans to which antidiscrimination
rules dont apply. Unlike contributions
to qualified plans, contributions to non-
qualified plans are not tax deductible.
Nonforfeiture clause
If there is a nonforfeiture clause in your
insurance policy contract, and you have
let the policy lapse because you havent
paid a premium thats due, you may
qualify for the benefit named in the
contract for a limited time, for a smaller
benefit, or for a partial refund of
your premium.
However, the added protection of
adding a nonforfeiture clause generally
increases the premium for the policy.
Nonprofit
Charitable, cultural, and educational
organizations that exist for reasons other
than providing a profit for their owners,
directors, or members are nonprofit
organizations.
However, these organizations can
generate income to pay for their activities,
salaries, and overhead by charging for
services, making investments, and
soliciting donations and memberships.
A nonprofit arts center, for instance,
may charge patrons for tickets and
event subscriptions.
Nonprofits incorporate in the states
where they operate and are exempt from
the state income taxes that for-profit
corporations must pay. Some but not
all qualify for federal tax-exempt status
under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal
Revenue Code.
Contributions to those qualifying
organizations are tax deductible, though
tax rules govern the percentage of your
income you may deduct for gifts to
different types of nonprofits.
In exchange for these tax benefits,
nonprofits must comply with some of the
same financial reporting rules that
for-profit corporations follow.
For instance, nonprofits generally must
follow corporate governance rules and
make their financial reports available to
the public.
Nonqualified annuity
An annuity you buy on your own, rather
than through a qualified employer
sponsored retirement plan or individual
retirement arrangement, is a non-
qualified annuity.
Nonqualified annuities arent governed
by the federal rules that apply to qualified
contracts, such as annual contribution
caps and mandatory withdrawals after
you turn 70.
While there may be a 10% tax penalty
for withdrawals before you turn 59, you
can generally put up to $1 million in an
annuity and postpone withdrawals until
youre 75 or 80 or older. Those limits are
set by the state where you purchase the
contract or by the annuity company.
In other ways, though, qualified and
nonqualified annuities are alike. You
can choose between fixed or variable
contracts, and the annuity can be either
deferred or immediate.
Nonsystematic risk
Nonsystematic risk results from
unpredictable factors, such as poor
management decisions, successful
competitive products, or suddenly
obsolete technologies that may affect
the securities issued by a particular
company or group of similar companies.
Portfolio diversification, which means
spreading your investment among a
number of asset subclasses and individual
issuers within those subclasses, can help
counter nonsystematic risk.
Not-for-profit
A not-for-profit organization pays taxes
and may make a profit, but those profits
are not distributed to its owners
or members.
Private clubs, sports organizations,
political organizations, and advocacy
groups are examples of not-for-profit
institutions. Contributions to these not-
for-profits are not tax deductible.
Nondiscrimination rule
501
(
c
)(
3
)
NFP
141
Until it became a publicly traded
company in 2006, the New York Stock
Exchange was a not-for-profit member-
ship association.
Note
A note is a debt
security that
promises to
pay interest
during the term
that the issuer
has use of the
money, and to
repay the principal on or before the
maturity date.
For US Treasury securities, a note
is an intermediate-term obligationas
opposed to a short-term bill or a long-term
bondthat matures in two, three, five,
or ten years from its issue date.
NYSE Arca
NYSE Arca, one of the two securities
exchanges operated by the NYSE Group,
Inc., is the first open, all-electronic stock
exchange in the United States.
Trades are executed quickly
electronically and anonymouslyon the
US market trading center with the best
available price. Among the securities
traded on Arca are individual stocks, ex-
change-traded funds, and equity options.
NYSE Arca was formed by the merger
of the NYSE and Archipelago Exchange,
an electronic communications network
(ECN), creating what is known as a
hybrid market.
NYSE Arca
I.O.U.
$
142
Odd lot
Odd lot
The purchase or sale of securities in
quantities of fewer than the standard
trading lot100 shares of stock or $1,000
worth of bondsis considered an odd lot.
At one time, trading an odd lot might
have cost you a slightly higher com-
mission, but in the electronic trading
environment thats generally no longer
the case.
Off-board
Transactions in New York Stock Exchange
(NYSE) listed securities that arent
executed on a national exchange are
known as off-board transactions.
Those trades may be handled through
an electronic market, such as the Nasdaq
Stock Market, through an electronic com-
munications network (ECN), or internally
at a brokerage firm. The term off-board
derives from the fact that the NYSE is
colloquially known as the Big Board.
Offer
The offer is the price at which someone
who owns a security is willing to sell it.
Its also known as the ask price, and is
typically paired with the bid price, which
is what someone who wants to buy the
security is willing to pay. Together they
constitute a quotation.
Offering date
The offering date is the first day on which
a stock or bond is publicly available for
purchase. For example, the first trading
day of an initial public offering (IPO) is
its offering date.
O
O
Offering price
A securitys offering price is the price at
which it is taken to market at the time of
issue. It may also be called the public
offering price.
For example, when a stock goes public
in an initial public offering (IPO), the
underwriter sets a price per share known
as the offering price. Subsequent share
offerings are also introduced at a
specific price.
When the stock begins to trade, its
market price may be higher or lower than
the offering price. The same is true of
bonds, where the offering price is usually
the par, or face, value.
In the case of open-end mutual funds,
the offering price is the price per share
of the fund that you pay when you buy.
If its a no-load fund or you buy shares
with a back-end load or a level load, the
offering price and the net asset value
(NAV) are the same. If the shares have a
front-end load, the sales charge is added
to the NAV to arrive at the offering price.
Offset
You offset an options or futures position
by taking a second position in a contract
with identical terms, buying if you sold
initially or selling if you bought initially.
With the offset, you neutralize any
potential obligation you had to fulfill
the terms of the contract, and you may
make a profit or reduce a loss with
the transaction.
For example, if youd sold an
equity call option that is close to being
in-the-money, you might buy an off-
setting call option. That neutralizes
your obligation to deliver the underlying
stock if the option you sold is exercised.
In a tax context, you can use capital
losses to offset an equivalent dollar
amount of capital gains, or up to $3,000
in capital losses to offset ordinary income.
In either case, the offset allows you to
reduce the tax you owe.
Further, banks have the right of offset
if a borrower defaults on a loan. That
right allows a bank to seize assets in the
borrowers deposit accounts with the
bank to reduce or eliminate any loss on
the loan.
O
F
F
E
R
143
Open outcry
Offshore fund
An offshore fund is a mutual fund thats
sponsored by a financial institution
thats based outside the United States.
Unless the fund meets all the regulatory
requirements imposed on domestically
sponsored funds, it cant be sold in the
United States.
However, an offshore fund may be
sponsored by an overseas branch of a US
institution, may invest in US businesses,
and may be denominated, or offered for
sale, in US dollars. In total, there are ap-
proximately four times as many offshore
funds as there are US-based funds.
Online brokerage firm
To buy and sell securities online, you
set up an account with an online broker-
age firm.
The firm executes your orders and
confirms them electronically. When the
markets are open, the turnaround may be
very fast, but you can also give buy or sell
orders at any time for execution when the
markets open.
You may mail the firm checks to settle
your transactions or transfer money
electronically from your bank account.
Some online firms are divisions of
traditional brokerage firms, while others
operate exclusively in cyberspace. Most
of them charge much smaller trading
commissions than conventional firms.
Online firms usually provide extensive
investment information, including
regularly updated market news, on their
websites, though they do not provide
one-on-one consultations.
Online trading
If you trade online, you use a computer
and an Internet connection to place your
buy and sell orders with an online
brokerage firm.
While the orders you give online are
executed immediately while the markets
are open, you also have the option of
placing orders at your convenience,
outside normal trading hours.
Open interest
Open interest is a record of the total
number of open contracts in any particu-
lar commodity or options market on any
given day.
You have an open interest when you
enter a futures or options contract. The
contract remains open until it expires,
requires delivery or settlement, or you
close it by selling it or buying an
offsetting contract.
Open interest is not the same thing as
trading volume, which records how many
contracts have been opened or closed on
a particular day.
Open market
In an open market, any investor with the
money to pay for securities is able to buy
those securities.
US markets, for example, are open to
all buyers. In contrast, a closed market
may restrict investment to citizens of the
country where the market is located.
Closed markets may also limit the
sale of securities to overseas investors,
or forbid the sale of securities in specific
industries to those investors.
In some countries, for example, over-
seas investors may not own more than
49% of any company. In others, overseas
investors may not invest in banks or other
financial services companies.
The term open market is also used
to describe an environment in which
interest rates move up and down in
response to supply and demand.
The Federal Reserves Open Market
Committee assesses the state of the US
economy on a regular schedule. It then
instructs the Federal Reserve Bank of
New York to buy or sell Treasury securities
on the open market to help control the
money supply.
Open order
An order that remains on the books until
it is either executed or canceled is known
as an open order, or a good til canceled
order (GTC).
Open outcry
When exchange-based commodities
traders shout out their buy and sell orders
or use a combination of words and hand
signals to negotiate an order, its known as
open outcry.
144
When someone who shouts an offer to
buy and someone who shouts an order to
sell name the same price, a deal is struck,
and the trade is recorded. Open outcry is
one type of auction.
Open-end mutual fund
Most mutual funds are open-end funds.
This means they issue and redeem shares
on a continuous basis, and grow or shrink
in response to investor demand for
their shares.
Open-end mutual funds trade at their
net asset value (NAV), and if the fund has
a front-end sales charge, that sales charge
is added to the NAV to determine the
selling price.
NAV is the value of the funds invest-
ments, plus money awaiting investment,
minus operating expenses, divided by the
An open-end fund is the opposite
of a closed-end fund, which issues
shares only once. After selling its initial
shares, a closed-end fund is listed on a
securities market and trades like stock.
The sponsor of the fund is not involved
in those transactions.
However, an open-end fund may be
closed to new investors at the discretion
of the fund management, usually because
the fund has grown very large.
Open-market operations
Open-market operations allow the Fed
to implement its monetary policy and
regulate the money supply.
The Federal Reserves Open Market
Committee (FOMC) regularly instructs
the securities desk of the Federal
Reserve Bank of New York to buy or sell
government securities as part of the
process of increasing or decreasing the
cash available for lending.
Opening
The first transaction in each security or
commodity when trading begins for the
day occurs at whats known as its opening,
or opening price.
Sometimes the opening price on one
day is the same as the closing price the
night before. But thats not always the
case, especially with stocks or contracts
that are traded in after-hours markets
or when other factors affect the markets
when the stock or commodity is
not trading.
The opening also refers to the time
that the market opens for trading or
the time a particular instrument begins
trading. For example, New York Stock
Exchange (NYSE) opens at 9:30 ET. The
first transaction in a single security may
be at that time or at a later time.
Opportunity cost
When you make an investment decision,
there is often a next best alternative that
you decided not to take, such as buying
one stock and passing up the opportunity
to buy a different one.
The difference between the value of
the decision you did make and the value
of the alternative is the opportunity cost.
If you decide to invest in a risky stock
hoping to realize a high return, you give
up the return you might have earned on
a bond or blue chip stock. So if the risky
stock fails to perform, and you only make
3% on it when you might have made 6% on
a blue chip, then the opportunity cost of
the risky investment is 3%.
Of course, if your stock pick pays off,
there will have been no opportunity cost,
because you will make more than the 6%
available from the safer investment.
Businesses must also consider
opportunity costs in their decision-
making. If a company is considering a
capital investment, it must also consider
the return it would earn if, instead of
going ahead with the capital project, it
invested the same amount of money in
some other way.
In general, a business will only make a
capital investment if the opportunity cost
is lower than the projected earnings from
the new project.
Open-end mutual fund
145
Option
Buying an option gives you the right to
buy or sell a specific financial instrument
at a specific price, called the strike price,
during a preset period of time.
In the United States, you can buy
or sell listed options on individual
stocks, stock indexes, futures contracts,
currencies, and debt securities.
If you buy an option to buy, which
is known as a call, you pay a one-time
premium thats a fraction of the cost of
buying the underlying instrument.
For example, when a particular stock
is trading at $75 a share, you might buy a
call option giving you the right to buy 100
shares of that stock at a strike price of
$80 a share. If the price goes higher than
the strike price, you can exercise the
option and buy the stock at the strike
price, or sell the option, potentially at a
net profit.
If the stock price doesnt go higher
than the strike price before the option
expires, you dont exercise. Your only
cost is the money that you paid for
the premium.
Similarly, you may buy a put option,
which gives you the right to sell the under-
lying instrument at the strike price. In
this case, you may exercise the option or
sell it at a potential profit if the market
price drops below the strike price.
In contrast, if you sell a put or call
option, you collect a premium and must
be prepared to deliver (in the case of a
call) or purchase (in the case of a put)
the underlying instrument. That will
happen if the investor who holds the
option decides to exercise it and youre
assigned to fulfill the obligation. To
neutralize your obligation to fulfill the
terms of the contract before an option
you sold is exercised, you may choose to
buy an offsetting option.
Option premium
When you buy an option, you pay the
seller a nonrefundable amount, known
as the option premium, for the right to
exercise that option before it expires.
If you sell an option, you receive a
premium from the buyer. In fact, collect-
ing the premium is often one motive for
selling options, including those you antici-
pate will expire without being exercised.
An option premium is not a fixed
amount, and typically increases as the
option moves in-the-money and decreases
if it doesnt move in-the-money.
However, factors such as the price and
volatility of the underlying instrument,
current interest rates, and the amount of
time left before the option expires also
affect the premium price.
You can look at the current range of
premium prices in the Options Quotations
tables in newspapers or on options
websites, such as the Options Clearing
Corporation (OCC) website.
Options chain
Options chains are charts showing all the
options currently available on a particular
underlying instrument.
A chain, also called an options string,
provides the latest price quotes for all
those contracts as well as the most recent
price for the underlying instrument and
whether that price is up or down.
Because all this information is
available in one place, options chains
allow you to assess the market for a
particular option quickly and easily.
Theyre a popular feature of online
trading and financial information sites.
Options class
An options class includes all the calls
or all the puts on a single underlying
instrument that share some of the same
terms, such as contract size and
exercise style.
For example, in the case of listed
equity options, where all contracts are
American-style and cover 100 shares, all
the puts on Stock A are members of the
same class.
The Options Clearing Corporation issues
all exchange-listed securities options
in the United States and guarantees all
transactions in those options.
The OCC also assigns exercised
options for fulfillment, and handles the
processing, delivery, and settlement of
all options transactions.
The OCC is responsible for maintaining
a fair and orderly market in options and is
overseen by the Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC). Its jointly owned by
the exchanges that trade options.
For an overview of what you should
know about options trading, you can check
the OCC publication, Characteristics and
Risks of Standardized Options.
146
Options series
An options series includes all the
contracts within an options class that
have identical terms, including expiration
date and strike price. For example, all the
calls on Stock A that expire in March and
have a strike price of 45 are members of
the same options series.
Order imbalance
An order imbalance occurs when there
are substantially more buy orders in a
particular security than there are sell
orders, or the reverse. The result is a
wide spread between bid and ask prices.
A specialist on an exchange floor might
ease a minor imbalance by purchasing
shares if there was not enough demand or
selling shares if there was more demand
than supply.
Major imbalances typically result in a
suspension of trading until the situation
that caused the imbalance is resolved.
Either very good or very bad news about a
company may trigger an imbalance.
Order protection rule
The order protection rule, part of
Regulation NMSfor National Market
Systemadopted by the Securities and
Exchange Commission (SEC) in 2005,
requires that every stock trading cen-
ter establish and enforce a policy that
ensures no transaction will be traded-
through, or executed at a price thats
lower than a protected quotation in
that security displayed by another
trading center.
A protected quotation is one thats
immediately and automatically accessible.
The order protection rule, also called
Rule 611, does allow certain exceptions,
which apply to limit orders, immediate-
or-cancel (IOC) orders, and intermarket
sweep orders (ISOs).
Original issue discount
A bond or other debt security that is
issued at less than par but can be re-
deemed for full par value at maturity is
an original issue discount security.
The appeal, from an investors perspec-
tive, is being able to invest less up front
while anticipating full repayment later on.
Issuers like these securities as well
because they dont have to pay periodic
interest. Instead, the interest accrues
during the term of the bond so that the
total interest when combined with the
principal equals the full par value
at maturity.
Zero-coupon bonds are a popular type
of original issue discount security. The
drawback, from the investors perspective
is that the imputed interest that
accumulates is taxable each year even
though that interest has not been paid.
The exceptions are interest on
municipal zero-coupons, which are tax
exempt, or on zeros held in a tax-deferred
or tax-exempt accounts.
Origination fee
An origination fee is an amount, usually
calculated as a percentage of a mortgage
loan or home equity loan, which a lender
charges for processing your application.
The origination fee may be subtracted
from the amount of the loan or you may
pay the fee separately.
OTC Bulletin Board (OTCBB)
During the trading day, the electronic
OTC bulletin board (OTCBB) provides
continuously updated real-time bid and
ask prices, volume information, and
last-sale prices.
The OTCBB lists this information
for unlisted US and overseas stocks,
warrants, unit investment trusts
(UITs), and American Depositary
Receipts (ADRs).
It also lists Direct Participation
Programs (DPPs) that are not listed on
an organized market but are being traded
over-the-counter (OTC).
Approximately 3,600 companies
are tracked on the OTCBB. To qualify
for inclusion, they must report their
financial information to the Securities
and Exchange Commission (SEC) or
appropriate regulatory agency.
Options series
BUYSELL
BUY
BUY
SELL
SELL
147
Out-of-the-money
An option is out-of-the-money when the
market price of an instrument on which
you hold an option is not close to the
strike price.
Call optionswhich you buy when
you think the price is going upare
out-of-the-money when the market price
is below the strike price.
Put optionswhich you buy when
you think the price of the underlying
instrument is going downare
out-of-the-money when the market
price is higher than the strike price.
For example, a call option on a stock
with a strike price of 50 would be
out-of-the-money if the current market
price of the stock were $40.
And a put option at 50 on the same
stock would be out-of-the-money if its
market price were $60. When an option
expires out-of-the-money, it has no value.
Outstanding shares
The shares of stock that a corporation has
issued and not reacquired are described
as its outstanding shares. Some of but
not all these shares are available for
trading in the marketplace.
A corporations market capitalization
is figured by multiplying its outstanding
shares by the market price of one share.
The number of outstanding shares is
often used to derive much of the financial
information thats provided on a per-share
basis, such as earnings per share or sales
per share.
However, some analysts prefer to use
floating shares rather than outstanding
shares in calculating market cap and
various ratios.
Floating shares are the outstanding
shares that are available for trading
as opposed to those held by founding
partners, in pension funds, employee
stock ownership plans (ESOP), and
similar programs.
Over-the-counter (OTC)
Securities that trade over-the-counter
(OTC) are not listed on an organized
stock exchange, such as the New York
Stock Exchange (NYSE) or the Nasdaq
Stock Market.
Common stocks, corporate, govern-
ment, and municipal bonds (munis),
money market instruments, and other
products, such as forward contracts and
certain options, may trade OTC.
Generally speaking, the OTC market is
a negotiated market conducted between
brokers and dealers using telephone and
computer networks.
Overbought
When a stock or entire securities market
rises so steeply in price that technical
analysts think that buyers are unlikely
to push the price up further, analysts
consider it overbought. For these analysts,
an overbought market is a warning sign
that a correctionor rapid price
dropis likely to occur.
Overdraft
An overdraft is a withdrawal from a
bank account that exceeds the funds
you have available.
If you overdraw your account and
you have overdraft protection, the bank
will transfer money up to the limit on
your line of credit to your account to
cover the withdrawal. Although you will
pay interest on the amount the bank
transfers to your account from your line of
credit, it is likely to be less than the sub-
stantial fees you pay for each overdraft.
Overdraft protection
Overdraft protection is a bank line
of credit. Its activated if you have
insufficient funds to cover a check
written against your account, up to a
predetermined limit.
As with other forms of credit, you are
charged interest once the line of credit is
activated. If you qualify for it, overdraft
protection can help you avoid the fees,
inconvenience, and embarrassment of
accidentally bouncing a check.
However, because banks often charge
relatively high interest rates for the
service, its best to repay the transferred
amounts quickly. And some banks charge
a monthly fee for having overdraft protec-
tion linked to your account, even if you
dont use it. Others may not offer the
protection on low-cost accounts.
Oversold
A stock, a market sector, or an entire
market may be described as oversold if it
suddenly drops sharply in price, despite
the fact that the countrys economic
outlook remains positive.
Oversold
148
For technical analysts, an oversold
market is poised for a price rise, since
there would be few sellers left to push the
price down further.
Oversubscribed
An initial public offering (IPO) is over-
subscribed when investor demand for
the shares is greater than the number of
shares being issued.
What typically happens is that the
share price climbs, sometimes dramatic-
ally, as trading begins in the secondary
market, though the price may drop back
closer to the offering price after a period
of active trading.
The group of investment banks, known
as a syndicate, that underwrites a hot
IPO may have an agreement, known as
a green shoe clause, with the issuing
company to sell additional shares at the
same offering price.
Overvaluation
A stock whose
price seems
unjustifiably
high based on
standard mea-
sures, such
as its earn-
ings history,
is considered
overvalued.
One indication of overvaluation is a
price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) significantly
higher than average for the market as
a whole or for the industry of which the
corporation is a part. The consequence
of overvaluation is usually a drop in the
stocks pricesometimes a rather
dramatic one.
Overweighted
When you own more of a security, an asset
class, or a subclass than your target asset
allocation calls for, you are said to be
overweighted in that security, asset class,
or subclass.
For example, if you have decided to
invest 60% of your portfolio in stock and
other equity investments, but your equity
holdings account for 80% of your portfolio,
you are overweighted in equity.
In another use of the term, a securities
analyst might recommend overweighting
a particular security, which you might
reasonably interpret as advice to buy.
Own-occupation policy
If you purchase an own-occupation
disability insurance policy, you are
entitled to receive benefits if a disability
prevents you from performing the skilled
work for which you have been trained.
Some other disability policies pay a
benefit only if you are unable to do any
type of work for which youre qualified.
Oversubscribed
149
P
P
Paid-up policy
A paid-up policy is a whole life insurance
policy for which no additional premium
payments are required to keep it in force.
Generally, a standard paid-up policy
lasts the rest of your lifetime or until you
reach a specific age, such as 100. Some
policies are designed to be fully paid up
at an age specified in the contract, such
as whole life policies for which you pay no
more premiums after age 65.
Paper
Short-term, unsecured debt securities
that a corporation issues are often
referred to as paperfor short-term
commercial paper. The term is some-
times used to refer to any corporate
bonds, whether secured or unsecured,
short or long term.
Paper profit (or loss)
If you own an asset that increases in
value, any increase in value is a paper
profit, or unrealized gain. If you sell
the asset for more than you paid to buy
it, your paper profit becomes an actual
profit, or realized gain.
The same relationship applies if the
asset has lost value. You have a paper
loss until you sell, when it becomes a
realized loss.
You owe no capital gains tax on a paper
profit, though you use the paper value
when calculating gains or losses in your
investment portfolio, for example. The
risk with a paper profit is that it may dis-
appear before you realize it. On the other
hand, you may postpone selling because
you expect the value to increase further.
Par value
Par value is the face value, or named
value, of a stock or bond.
With stocks, the par value, which
is frequently set at $1, is used as an
accounting device but has no relationship
to the actual market value of the stock.
But with bonds, par value, usually
$1,000, is the amount you pay to purchase
at issue and the amount you receive when
the bond is redeemed at maturity.
Par is also the basis on which the
interest you earn on a bond is figured.
For example, if you are earning 6%
annual interest on a bond with a par
value of $1,000, that means you receive
6% of $1,000, or $60.
While the par value of a bond typically
remains constant for its term, its market
value does not. That is, a bond may trade
at a premium, or more than par, or at a
discount, which is less than par, in the
secondary market.
The market price is based on changes
in the interest rate, the bonds rating, or
other factors.
Participating policy
When policyholders have what is called
a participating policy from a mutual
insurance company, they are eligible to
receive dividends based on the companys
financial performance.
When claims are low and the
companys investments perform well,
dividends tend to rise. On the other hand,
when claims are high and investment
returns slump, dividends are likely to fall.
The dividends on a participating policy
arent guaranteed, so they may not be
paid every year. Unlike the dividends paid
to a companys shareholders, participating
policy dividends are considered a return
of premium. As a result, the dividends are
not taxed as income.
Dividends may typically be paid out as
cash, as additional insurance coverage,
or may be used to reduce policyholders
premiums or repay policy loans. Rules
vary from company to company.
Participating policy
BUY BOND
AT PAR
RECEIVE INTEREST
$
6
0
$
6
0
$
6
0
$
6
0
$
6
0
$
6
0
$
6
0
$
6
0
$
6
0
$
1
,0
0
0
P
o
l
i
c
y
PAID-UP
150
Pass-through security
When a corporation or government
agency buys loans from lenders to pool
and package as securities for resale to
investors, the products may be pass-
through securities.
That means regular payments of
interest and return of principal that
borrowers make on the original loans
are funneled, or passed through, to
the investors.
Unlike standard bonds, whose
principal is repaid at maturity, the
principal of a pass-through security is
repaid over the life of the debt.
The best known pass-throughs are
the mortgage-backed bonds offered by
Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Ginnie
Mae. However, you can also buy pass-
through securities backed by car loans,
credit card debt, and other types of
borrowing. Those are known as asset-
backed securities.
Passive income
You collect passive income from certain
businesses in which you arent an active
participant.
They may include limited partnerships
where youre a limited partner, rental real
estate that you own but dont manage,
and other operations in which youre an
investor but have a hands-off relationship.
For example, if you invest as a
limited partner, you realize passive
income or passive losses because you
dont participate in operating the partner-
ship and have no voice in the decisions
the general partner makes.
In some cases, income from renting
real estate is also considered passive
income. On the other hand, any money
you earn or realize on your investment
portfolio of stocks, bonds, and mutual
funds is considered active income. That
includes dividends, interest, annuity
payments, capital gains, and royalties.
Any losses you realize from selling
investments in your portfolio are similarly
active losses.
Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
regulations differentiate between passive
and active income (and losses) and allow
you to offset passive income only with
passive losses and active income with
active losses.
Passive losses
You have passive losses from businesses
in which you arent an active participant.
These include limited partnerships, such
as real estate limited partnerships, and
other types of activities that you dont
help manage.
You can deduct losses from passive
investments against income you earn on
similar ventures. For example, you can
use your losses from rental real estate
to reduce gains from other limited
partnerships.
Or you can deduct those losses from
any profits you realize from selling a
passive investment. However, you cant
use passive losses to offset earned income,
income from your actively managed
businesses, or investment income.
Passively managed
An index mutual fund or exchange traded
fund is described as passively managed
because the securities in its portfolio
change only when the make-up of the
index it tracks is changed.
For example, a mutual fund that tracks
the Standard & Poors 500 Index buys and
sells only when the S&P index committee
announces which companies have been
added to and dropped from the index.
In contrast, when mutual funds are
actively managed, their managers select
investments with an eye to enabling the
fund to achieve its investment objective
and outperform its benchmark index.
Their portfolios tend to change more
frequently as a result. They also tend to
have higher fees.
The performance of passively
managed indexed investments and
their risk profiles tend to correspond
closely to the asset class or subclass
that the index tracks. They tend to be
more popular in bull markets when their
returns reflect the market strength and
less popular in bear markets when active
managers may provide stronger returns.
Payable-on-death
A bank account titled payable-on-death
(POD) lets you name one or more
beneficiaries to whom the assets are
paid when you die.
POD accounts can be useful estate
planning tools in the states where they
are available, since the assets in the
account can pass to your beneficiaries
directly, outside the probate process.
A similar type of registration is
available in some states for securities
Pass-through security
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and brokerage accounts, known as
transferable-on-death, or TOD, accounts.
Payout ratio
A payout ratio, expressed as a percentage,
is the rate at which a company distributes
earnings to its shareholders in the form
of dividends.
For example, a company that earns
$5 a share and pays out $2 a share has a
payout ratio of 2 to 5, or 40%.
A normal range for companies that do
pay dividends is 25% to 50% of earnings.
But the percentage may vary if a company
keeps the amount of its dividend consis-
tent with past dividends regardless of a
drop in its earnings.
Penny stock
Stocks that trade for less than $1 a share
are often described as penny stocks.
Penny stocks change hands over-the-
counter (OTC) and tend to be extremely
volatile. Their prices may spike up one
day and drop dramatically the next.
The fluctuations reflect the unsettled
nature of the companies that issue them
and the relatively small number of shares
in the marketplace. While some penny
stocks may produce big returns over the
long term, many turn out to be worthless.
Institutional investors tend to avoid
penny stocks, and brokerage firms
typically warn individual investors of
the risks involved before handling
transactions in these stocks.
However, penny stocks are sometimes
marketed aggressively to unsuspecting
investors.
Pension
A pension is an employer plan thats
designed to provide retirement income to
employees who have vestedor worked
enough years to qualify for the income.
These defined benefit plans promise
a fixed income, usually paid for the
employees lifetime or the combined
lifetimes of the employee and his or
her spouse.
The employer contributes to the
plan, invests the assets, and pays out
the benefit, which is typically based on
a formula that includes final salary and
years on the job.
You pay federal income tax on your
pension at your regular rate, so a percent-
age is withheld from each check. If the
state where you live taxes income, those
taxes are withheld too. However, youre
not subject to Social Security or Medicare
withholding on pension income.
In contrast, the retirement income you
receive from a defined contribution plan
depends on the amounts that were added
to the plan, the way the assets were in-
vested, and their investment performance.
The way a particular plan is structured
determines if you, your employer, or both
you and your employer contribute and
what the ceiling on that contribution is.
Pension Benefit Guaranty
Corporation (PBGC)
The PBGC was created to ensure that
participants in defined benefit pension
plans under its jurisdiction will receive
at least a basic pension if the plans are
terminated because theyre underfunded
and so unable to meet their obligations.
The maximum benefit is adjusted each
year for plans terminated in that year to
reflect increases in Social Security.
Covered plans, which include those
with 25 or more participants, must pay
annual premiums to the PBGC to help
fund this federal corporation.
The PBGC also tries to find people who
participated in, and are due benefits from,
plans that are no longer operating.
Pension maximization
Pension maximization is a strategy
that begins with selecting a single life
annuity for income to be paid from your
retirement plan, rather than a joint and
survivor annuity.
Pension maximization
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152
The next step involves using some
of your annuity income to buy a life
insurance policy. At your death, the
annuity income ends and the life
insurance death benefit is paid to your
beneficiary, often your surviving spouse.
You do receive more income from a
single life annuity than from a joint and
survivor annuity, which translates to a
larger pension while youre alive.
However, pension max, as this
approach is sometimes called, has
some potentially serious drawbacks.
These include the cost of the insurance
premiums, including sales charges, and
an increased burden on your beneficiary
for turning the death benefit into a
source of lifetime income.
Per capita
Per capita is the legal term for one of
the ways that assets being transferred
by your will can be distributed to the
beneficiaries of your estate.
Under a per capita distribution,
each person named as beneficiary
receives an equal share. However, the
way your will is drawn up and the laws of
the state where the will is probated may
produce different results if one of those
beneficiaries has died.
For example, if you specify that your
children inherit your estate per capita,
in some states only those children who
survive you would inherit. In other states
your surviving children and the surviving
descendants of your deceased children
would receive equal shares. That could
result in your estate being split among
more heirs than if all your children
outlive you.
Per stirpes
Per stirpes is the legal term for transfer-
ring the assets of your estate to your
children and their descendants.
With a per stirpes distribution, each
of your children who is named as a
beneficiary is entitled to an equal share.
If one of your children is no longer alive,
that persons children or childrens
children divide his or her share.
For example, if you had two children
each of whom had two children and one
of your children died before you did,
under a per stirpes bequest, your
surviving child would receive 50% of
your estate and the children of your
deceased child would each receive 25%.
Periodic interest rate
The periodic interest rate, sometimes
called the nominal rate, is the interest
rate a lender charges on the amount
you borrow.
Lenders are also required to tell you
what a loan will actually cost per year,
expressed as an annual percentage
rate (APR).
The APR combines any fees the lender
may charge with a year of interest charges
to give you the true annual interest rate.
That allows you to compare loans on
equal terms.
For example, suppose you take a
$10,000 loan at 10% interest. You pay an
origination fee of $350, so you actually
borrow $9,650. Since you are getting a
smaller loan, but repaying the full $10,000
with interest, the APR is closer to 10.35%.
The periodic rate is also the interest
rate a bank or other financial institution
pays on amounts you deposit. If youre
earning compound interest, the periodic
rate will be lower than the annual
percentage yield (APY).
Permanent insurance
Permanent insurance is a life insurance
policy that provides a death benefit as
long as you live, or in some cases until you
turn 100, provided you continue to pay the
required premiums.
With this type of policy, a portion of
your premium pays for the insurance and
the rest goes into a tax-deferred account
in your name.
With many permanent life policies,
you can borrow against the cash value
that has accumulated in the tax-deferred
account. Any amount that youve bor-
rowed and have not repaid at the time of
your death reduces the death benefit.
If you terminate the policy, you get
the cash surrender value back. Cash
surrender value is the cash value minus
fees and expenses.
Permanent life insurance, also known
as cash value insurance, is available in
several varieties, including conventional
policies known as straight life or whole
life, as well as universal life and variable
universal life.
Personal identification number (PIN)
A personal identification number is a
combination of numbers, letters, or both
that you use to access your checking and
savings accounts, credit card accounts,
or investment accounts electronically.
You also need a PIN to authorize
certain debit card purchases as well as
for identification in other situations, such
as accessing cell phone messages.
A PIN is one way to help protect your
accounts against unauthorized use since
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presumably no
other person
would know the
four- to six-letter
code you have
chosen. PINs are
not foolproof,
however, if you
dont take steps
to ensure that
your code
remains private.
Phantom gains
Phantom gains are capital gains on which
you owe tax even if your actual return on
the investment is negative.
For instance, if a mutual fund sells
stock that has increased in price, you,
as a fund shareholder, are liable for taxes
on the portion of the gain the fund
distributes to you.
The rule applies even if you bought
shares of the fund after the stock price
increased, and didnt benefit from the
stocks rising value. You also owe the tax
if you purchase shares in the fund after
the stock has been sold but before the
fund has made its distribution.
Phantom gains can also occur in a
falling market, when a mutual fund may
sell investments to raise cash to repur-
chase shares from shareholders who are
leaving the fund.
If youre still an owner of the fund at
the time any gains from those sales are
distributed, youll owe tax even though the
value of your investment has decreased.
Phishing
Phishing is one way that identity thieves
use the Internet to retrieve your personal
information, such as passwords and
account numbers.
The thieves techniques include send-
ing hoax emails claiming to originate from
legitimate businesses and establishing
phony websites designed to capture your
personal information.
For example, you may receive an
urgent email claiming to come from your
bank and directing you to a website where
youre asked to update or verify your ac-
count number or password. By responding
you give identity thieves an opportunity to
steal your confidential information.
Phishing is difficult to detect because
the fraudulent emails and websites are
often indistinguishable from legitimate
ones and the perpetrators change
identities regularly.
Piggyback
A broker who piggybacks acts illegally
by buying or selling a security for his or
her own account afterand presumably
becausea client has authorized that
same transaction.
One speculation is that a broker in this
situation thinks the client is acting on
information that the broker doesnt have.
Pink Sheets
Pink Sheets LLC is a centralized financial
information network.
It provides current prices and other
information in both print and electronic
formats to the over-the-counter (OTC)
securities markets.
Its Electronic Quotation Service
reports real-time OTC equity and bond
quotations to market makers and brokers,
and its website provides a broad range of
historical and current data.
The name pink sheet derives from
the pink paper on which the National
Quotation Bureau originally printed
information on OTC stocks. Comparable
information on OTC bonds was printed on
yellow paper.
PITI
PITI is an acronym for principal, interest,
taxes, and insurancethe four elements
of a monthly mortgage payment.
Principal is the loan amount. Interest
is the rate at which the finance charge
you pay for borrowing is calculated. Taxes
are the real estate taxes for which you
PITI
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154
are responsible, and insurance is the
homeowners insurance that your lender
requires you to have.
If your lender also requires private
mortgage insurance (PMI), this amount
may be included in the monthly payment
or paid separately. Lenders use PITI
to calculate your monthly mortgage
obligation and how much you can afford
to borrow. Most lenders prefer that you
spend no more than 28% of your gross
monthly income on PITI.
Plan administrator
A plan administrator is the person
or company your employer selects to
manage its retirement savings plan.
The administrator works with the plan
provider to ensure that the plan meets
government regulations.
The administrator is also responsible
for ensuring employees have the informa-
tion needed to enroll, select, and change
investments in the plan, apply for a
loan if the plan allows loans, and
request distributions.
Plan participant
If youre enrolled in an employee
retirement plan, such as a 401(k) or
pension plan, youre a plan participant
with certain rights and protections
guaranteed by federal rules.
The plan in which you participate
may be subject to administration and
investment rules set by the Employee
Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).
As a participant, you have the right to
certain information about your plan, such
as a summary plan description, which
outlines how it works. You also have the
right to see copies of the tax reporting
form that your plan must file with the
IRS each year (Form 5500), as well as
statements showing your estimated
retirement benefits. If you have problems
with your plan, you also have the right to
bring claims against it.
Plan provider
The plan provider of a retirement
savings plan, such as a 401(k), 403(b),
or 457 plan, is the mutual fund company,
insurance company, brokerage firm, or
other financial services company that
creates, sells, and manages the plan your
employer selects.
Plan sponsor
The plan sponsor of a retirement savings
plan is an employer who offers a
retirement savings plan to employees.
The sponsor is responsible for choosing
the plan, the plan provider, and the plan
administrator, and for deciding which
investments will be offered through
the plan.
Points
The term points can mean different
things in different contexts.
With regard to stock, a point
represents a $1 change in market price,
so if a share of stock rises two points, its
price has risen $2. With bonds, a point
is a 1% change above or below its par, or
face, value, so if a bond has a par value
of $1,000, a point equals $10.
But in the case of futures and options,
a point usually represents a price change
of one-hundredth of one cent. And you
may also hear about points if youre
applying for a mortgage.
In this case, pointsalso called dis-
count pointsare prepaid interest some
lenders require at closing as a condition
of approving the loan. One point is 1%
of the mortgage principal, or 100 basis
points. So if you are borrowing $200,000
and your lender charges 2 points, you owe
$4,000, in addition to other closing costs.
Prepaid interest is tax deductible in
most cases, and your long-term interest
rate will be lowered slightlyoften 0.25%
or 25 basis pointsfor each point you pay.
But because points increase your closing
costs, you may decide to choose a lender
that doesnt require points if you plan to
move or refinance within a few years.
Policyholder or policy owner
If you own an insurance contract or policy,
you are a policyholder, also known as the
policy owner.
As a policyholder, you may also be the
person covered by the policyreferred
to as the insuredalthough you may own
a policy that names someone else as
the insured.
Policyholders have certain rights. For
instance, if youre the policyholder for a
life insurance policy, you can change the
beneficiary or transfer ownership of the
policy to someone else.
Plan administrator
PLAN MANAGER
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In contrast, if youre covered by a
group policy, such as a group health policy
or group life insurance policy offered
by an employer, the policyholder is the
organization that offers you a chance to
participate in the coverage. You may be
given certain options, but in this case
youre not the policyholder.
Portable benefits
Benefits or accumulated assets that you
can take with you when you leave your
employer or switch jobs are described
as portable.
For instance, if you contribute to a
401(k), 403(b), 457, or other defined
contribution plan at your current job, you
can roll over your assets to an individual
retirement account (IRA) or to a new em-
ployers plan if the plan accepts rollovers.
In contrast, credits accumulated
toward benefits from a pension
otherwise known as a defined benefit
planusually arent portable.
Insurance benefits under an employer
sponsored group health plan may also
be portable as the result of The Health
Insurance Portability and Accountability
Act (HIPAA). If you have had group
coverage and move to a new employer
who offers health insurance, your new
group health plan cant impose exclusions
for preexisting conditions.
HIPAA may also give you a right to
purchase individual coverage if you are
not eligible for group health plan cover-
age and have exhausted the 18-month
extension of your previous coverage
under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget
Reconciliation Act (COBRA) or
similar coverage.
Other job benefits, such as health
savings accounts (HSAs), are also be
portable, but flexible spending plans
(FSAs) are not.
Portfolio
If you own more than one security, you
have an investment portfolio.
You build your portfolio by buying
additional stock, bonds, annuities, mutual
funds, or other investments. Your goal
is to increase the portfolios value by
selecting investments that you believe
will go up in price.
According to modern portfolio
theory, you can reduce your investment
risk by creating a diversified portfolio
that includes different asset classes
and individual securities chosen from
different segments, or subclasses, of
those asset classes. That diversification
is designed to take advantage of the
potential for strong returns from at least
some of the portfolios investments in any
economic climate.
Portfolio manager
A portfolio manager is responsible for
overseeing a collection of investments,
either for an institutionsuch as a
mutual fund, brokerage firm, insurance
company, or pension fundor for
an individual.
Its the portfolio managers job to
invest the clients assets in a way thats
appropriate to meet the clients goals. A
portfolio manager develops investment
strategies, selects individual investments,
evaluates performance, and rebalances
the portfolio as necessary.
Portfolio managers may also be
referred to as fund managers or money
managers and may be paid fees based
on the value of the assets under manage-
ment, the performance of the portfolio,
or both.
Portfolio turnover
Portfolio turnover is the rate at which
a mutual fund manager buys or sells
Portfolio turnover
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securities in a fund, or an individual
investor buys and sells securities in a
brokerage account.
A rapid turnover rate, which frequently
signals a strategy of capitalizing on
opportunities to sell at a profit, has the
potential downside of generating short-
term capital gains.
That means the gains are usually
taxable as ordinary income rather than
at the lower long-term capital gains rate.
Rapid turnover may also generate higher
trading costs, which can reduce the total
return on a fund or brokerage account.
As a result, you may want to weigh the
potential gains of rapid turnover against
the costs, both in your own buy and sell
decisions and in your selection of
mutual funds.
You can find information on a funds
turnover rate in the funds prospectus.
Positive yield curve
A positive yield curve results when the
yield on long-term US Treasury bonds is
higher than the yield on on short-term
Treasury bills.
You create
the curve by
plotting a graph
with yield on
the vertical axis
and maturity
date on the
horizontal axis
and connect-
ing the dots.
When the curve
is positive the
highest point
is to the right.
In most periods, the yield curve is posi-
tive because investors demand more for
tying up their money for a longer period.
When the reverse is true, and yields on
short-term investments are higher than
the yields on long-term investments, the
curve is negative, or inverted.
That typically occurs if inflation spikes
after a period of relatively stable growth
or if the economic outlook is uncertain.
The yield curve can also be flat, if the
rates are essentially the same.
Post-trade processing
Each securities transaction goes through
post-trade processing during which
the details of the trade are compared,
cleared, and settled.
This involves matching the details of
the buy order with those of the sell order,
changing the records of ownership, and
finalizing the payment.
Power of attorney
A power of attorney is a written document
that gives someone the legal authority
to act for you as your agent or on your
behalf. To be legal, it must be signed
and notarized.
You may choose to give someone a
limited, or ordinary, power of attorney.
That authority is revoked if you are no
longer able to make your own decisions.
In contrast, if you give an attorney,
family member, or friend a durable power
of attorney, he or she will be able to con-
tinue to make decisions for you if youre
unable to make them. Not all states allow
a durable power of attorney, however.
A springing power of attorney takes
effect only at the point that you are
unable to act for yourself.
Its a good idea have an attorney draft
or review a power of attorney to be sure
the document you sign will give the
person youre designating the necessary
authority to act for you but not more
authority than you wish to assign.
You always have the right to revoke
the document as long as you are able to
act on your own behalf.
Preexisting condition
A preexisting condition is a health
problem that you already have when you
apply for insurance.
If you have a preexisting condition,
an insurer can refuse to cover treatment
connected to that problem for a period
of time. That period is often the first six
months, but may be for the entire term
of your policy.
Insurers can also deny you coverage
entirely because of a preexisting
condition. And they can end a policy if
they discover a preexisting condition
Positive yield curve
157
that you did not report, provided you
knew it existed when you applied for
your policy.
However, if youre insured through
your employers plan and switch to a job
that also provides health insurance, the
new plan must cover you regardless of a
preexisting condition.
Preapproval
When youre preapproved for a mortgage,
the lender guarantees in advance the
maximum you can borrow, provided your
financial situation doesnt change before
you find a home.
Youll need to fill out a mortgage
application with the lender to be pre-
approved, as well as provide verification
of a regular source of income and
authorize a credit check. Then the
lender provides a letter confirming
how much youll be able to borrow.
The preapproval process usually
takes a week or two, but it may take only
a few minutes if you apply for a mortgage
online. Some, but not all, lenders charge
a fee for preapproval.
Preapproval is not a binding commit-
ment for either the buyer or lender, but
it can give you a competitive advantage.
You know in advance how much you can
afford, and sellers are confident your
mortgage application wont be turned
down. Plus it can speed the process of
closing the sale.
If youre a first-time homebuyer or
youre self-employed, it may be a good
idea to consider getting preapproved.
Preferred provider organization
(PPO)
A preferred provider organization (PPO)
is a network of doctors and other health-
care providers that offers discounted care
to members of a sponsoring organization,
usually an employer or union.
You may also arrange private insurance
coverage through a PPO.
If youre insured through a PPO, you
make a copayment for each visit to a
healthcare provider, though certain diag-
nostic tests may not require copayment.
You typically have the option to go to
a doctor or other provider outside the
network, but you pay a larger percentage
of the cost, called coinsurance, than if
you used a network doctor.
Preferred stock
Some corporations issue preferred as well
as common stock.
Preferred stock can be an attractive
investment because it typically pays a
fixed dividend on a regular schedule. The
share prices also tend to be less volatile
than the prices of common stock.
In fact, preferred stock prices tend to
move with changing interest rates in the
same way that bond prices do. Thats one
reason this type of stock is sometimes
described as a hybrid investment
because it shares some characteristics
with common stock and some with
fixed-income securities.
What preferred stock doesnt gener-
ally offer is the right to vote on corporate
matters or the opportunity to share in the
corporations potential for increased
profits in the form of increased share
prices and dividend payments.
Convertible preferred shares can be
exchanged for a specific number of
common shares of the issuing company
at an agreed-upon price. The process is
similar to the way that a convertible bond
can be exchanged for common stock.
Premium
A premium is the purchase price of an
insurance policy or an annuity contract.
You may pay the premium as a single
lump sum, in regular monthly or quarterly
installments, or in some cases on a
flexible schedule over the term of the
policy or contract.
When you pay over time, the premium
may be fixed for the life of the policy,
assuming the coverage remains the same.
Thats the case with many permanent life
insurance policies.
With other types of coverage, the
premium changes as you grow older or as
costs for the issuing company increase.
Used in another sense, the term
premium refers to the amount above face
value that you pay to buy, or you receive
Premium
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from selling, an investment. For example,
a corporate bond with a par value of
$1,000 with a market price of $1,050 is
selling at a $50 premium.
Prepayment penalty
Most lenders allow you to prepay the
outstanding balance of a loan at any time
without a fee, but some lenders charge a
prepayment penalty, often about 2% of
the amount you borrowed.
If your loan agreement doesnt have
a prepayment clause, which excludes a
fee for early termination, the penalty
may apply.
Many states prohibit prepayment fees,
and theyre not allowed on any mortgage
loans purchased by Fannie Mae or Freddie
Mac. But they are allowed in other states,
and lenders may offer a lower rate on
loans with prepayment penalties because
they are locking in their long-term profit.
Similarly lenders who offer to waive
closing costs and points when you
refinance may impose a penalty if you
pay off the loan within the first few years.
But if youre not planning to move, this
refinancing deal could save you money.
Prequalification
When you prequalify for a mortgage,
the lender calculates the approximate
amount youd be able to borrow, based
on your current income and debt.
Many lenders offer free mortgage
calculatorssometimes called prequali-
fication calculatorson their websites to
help you estimate how large a mortgage
youd be approved for.
Since you dont complete a mortgage
application or provide financial details,
prequalification is not a guarantee, and
simply helps you determine how much you
should plan to spend on a home. But be-
fore youre approved for a mortgage, youll
have to go through the mortgage applica-
tion process, including a credit check,
and provide financial documentation.
Prerefunding
Prerefunding may occur when a corpo-
ration plans to redeem a callable bond
before its maturity date. If thats the
case, the bond is identified as a pre-
refunded bond.
To prerefund, the issuer sells a second
bond with a longer maturity or a lower
coupon rate, or both, and invests the
amount it raises in US Treasury notes or
other securities that are essentially free
of default risk.
The specific securities are typically
chosen because their maturity dates
correspond to the date on which the
company will use the money to redeem
the first bond.
Present value
The present value of a future payment, or
the time value of money, is what money is
worth now in relation to what you think
itll be worth in the future based on
expected earnings.
For example, if you have a 10% return,
$1,000 is the present value of the $1,100
you expect to have a year from now.
The concept of present value is useful
in calculating how much you need to
invest now in order to meet a certain
future goal, such as buying a home or
paying college tuition.
Many financial websites and personal
investment handbooks provide calculators
and other tools to help you compute
these amounts based on different rates
of return.
Inflation has the opposite effect on
the present value of money, accounting
for loss of value rather than increase in
value. For example, in an economy with
5% annual inflation, $100 is the present
value of $95 next year.
Present value also refers to the
current value of a securities portfolio.
If you compare the present value to the
acquisition cost of the portfolio, you can
determine its profit or loss.
Further, you can add the present
value of each projected interest payment
of a fixed income security with one year
or more duration to calculate the
securitys worth.
Pretax contribution
A pretax contribution is money that you
agree to have subtracted from your salary
Prepayment penalty
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and put into a retirement savings plan or
other employer sponsored benefit plan.
Your taxable earnings are reduced by
the amount of your contribution, which
reduces the income tax you owe in the
year you make the contribution.
Some pretax contributions, including
those you put into your 401(k), 403(b),
or 457, are taxed when you withdraw
the amount from your plan. Other con-
tributions, such as money you put into a
flexible spending plan, are never taxed.
Pretax income
Pretax income, sometimes described
as pretax dollars, is your gross income
before income taxes are withheld.
Any contributions you make to a
salary reduction retirement plan, such as
a traditional 401(k) or 403(b) plan, or to
a flexible spending account comes out of
your pretax income.
The contribution reduces your
current income and the amount you
owe in current income taxes.
Price improvement
Price improvement occurs when you
pay less or receive more on a securities
transaction than the bid and ask prices
being currently quoted.
In other words, the price you pay to
buy is lower than the ask price or the
price you collect for selling is higher
than the bid price.
Price improvement may occur for a
variety of reasons, from a change in
market price to the diligence of your
broker in seeking out the best price. For
example, your broker may fill your order
from the firms inventory or net it against
a sell order from another client of the
firm. Or the order might be sent to a
particular market for execution if a
better price is available.
Price-to-book ratio
Some financial analysts use price-to-book
ratios to identify stocks they consider to
be overvalued or undervalued.
You figure this ratio by dividing a
stocks market price per share by its book
value per share.
Other analysts argue that book value
reveals very little about a companys
financial situation or its prospects for
future performance.
Price-to-cash flow
You find a companys price-to-cash flow
ratio by dividing the market price of its
stock by its cash receipts minus its cash
payments over a given period of time,
such as a year.
Some institutional investors prefer
price-to-cash flow over price-to-earnings
as a gauge of a companys value.
They believe that by focusing on cash
flow, they can better assess the risks that
may result from the companys use of
leverage, or borrowed money.
Price-to-earnings ratio (P/E)
The price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) is
the relationship between a companys
earnings and its share price, and is
calculated by dividing the current price
per share by the earnings per share.
A stocks P/E, also known as its
multiple, gives you a sense of what you
are paying for a stock in relation to its
earning power.
For example, a stock with a P/E of
30 is trading at a price 30 times higher
than its earnings, while one with a P/E of
15 is trading at 15 times its earnings. If
earnings falter, there is usually a sell-off,
which drives the price down. But if the
company is successful, the share price
and the P/E can climb even higher.
Similarly, a low P/E can be the sign
of an undervalued company whose price
hasnt caught up with its earnings
potential. Conversely, a low P/E can be
a clue that the market considers the
company a poor investment risk.
Stocks with higher P/Es are typical
of companies that are expected to
grow rapidly in value. Theyre often more
volatile than stocks with lower P/Es
because it can be more difficult for the
companys earnings to satisfy investor
expectations.
The P/E can be calculated two ways.
A trailing P/E, the figure reported in
newspaper stock tables, uses earnings
for the last four quarters. A forward P/E
Price-to-earnings ratio (P/E)
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generally uses earnings for the past two
quarters and an analysts projection for
the coming two.
Price-to-sales ratio
A price-to-sales ratio, or a stocks market
price per share divided by the revenue
generated by sales of the companys
products and services per share, may
sometimes identify companies that are
undervalued or overvalued within a
particular industry or market sector.
For example, a corporation with sales
per share of $28 and a share price of $92
would have a price-to-sales ratio of 3.29,
while a different stock with the same
sales per share but a share price of $45
would have a ratio of 1.61.
Some financial analysts and money
managers suggest that, since sales figures
are less easy to manipulate than either
earnings or book value, the price-to-sales
ratio is a more reliable indicator of how
the company is doing and whether you are
likely to profit from buying its shares.
Other analysts believe that steady
growth in sales over the past several
years is a more valuable indicator of a
good investment than the current
price-to-sales ratio.
Primary market
If you buy stocks or bonds when they are
initially offered for sale, and the money
you spend goes to the issuer, you are
buying in the primary market.
In contrast, if you buy a security at
some point after issue, and the amount
you pay goes to an investor who is
selling the security, youre buying in
The term primary market also applies
the leading or main markets for trading
various products. For example, the New
York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is a primary
market for stocks.
Prime rate
The prime rate is a benchmark for inter-
est rates on business and consumer loans.
For example, a bank may charge you
the prime rate plus two percentage points
on a car loan or home equity loan.
The prime rate is determined by the
federal funds rate, which is the rate banks
charge each other to borrow money
overnight. If banks must pay more to
borrow, they raise the prime rate. If their
cost drops, they drop the prime rate. The
difference between the two rates is three
percentage points, with the prime rate
always the higher number.
The federal funds rate itself is deter-
mined by supply and demand, prompted
by the actions of the Open Market
Committee of the Federal Reserve to
increase or decrease the money supply.
Principal
Principal can refer to an amount of
money you invest, the face amount of a
bond, or the balance you owe on a debt,
distinct from the finance charges you pay
to borrow.
A principal is also a person for whom
a broker carries out a trade, or a person
who executes a trade on his or her
own behalf.
Private equity
Private equity is an umbrella term for
large amounts of money raised directly
from accredited individuals and institu-
tions and pooled in a fund that invests in
a range of business ventures.
The attraction is the potential for
substantial long-term gains. The fund
is generally set up as a limited partner-
ship, with a private equity firm as the
general partner and the investors as
limited partners.
Private equity firms typically charge
substantial fees for participating in the
partnership and tend to specialize in a
particular type of investment.
For example, venture capital firms
may purchase private companies, fuel
their growth, and either sell them to
other private investors or take them
public. Corporate buyout firms buy
troubled public firms, take them private,
restructure them, and either sell them
privately or take them public again.
Private letter ruling
A private letter ruling explains a position
the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has
taken on a specific issue or action that
affects the amount of income tax a
taxpayer owes.
While these rulings are not the law,
and theres no guarantee that they wont
be overturned by new IRS opinions, they
can provide guidance on how to handle
financial decisions that have potential
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tax consequences. There is a fee when
you request such a ruling.
Private mortgage insurance (PMI)
When you buy a home with a down
payment of less than 20% of the purchase
price, your lender may require you to buy
private mortgage insurance (PMI), which
protects the lender against the risk that
you may fail to repay your loan.
The premiums you can expect to pay
will vary, but typically come to about 0.5%
of the total amount you borrow.
For instance, on a $150,000 mortgage,
a typical annual PMI premium would be
$750, which is 0.5% of $150,000. Divided
into monthly payments, this premium
would come out to $62.50 a month.
You can usually cancel your PMI when
you meet certain criteria. Generally, this
is when the balance of the mortgage is
paid down to 80% of either your homes
original purchase price or its appraisal
value at the time you took out the loan.
You can check if its possible to cancel
your PMI by reviewing your annual
mortgage statements or by calling your
mortgage lender.
If you forget to cancel your PMI, your
lender is required by federal law to end
the insurance once your outstanding
balance reaches 78% of the original
purchase price or appraisal value at
the time you took the loan, or you have
reached the mid-point of the loan term,
provided you meet certain requirements.
The lender must give you information
about the termination requirement at
closing. There are some exceptions to
the termination rule, including high risk
mortgages, VA and FHA mortgages, and
those negotiated before July 29, 1999.
Private placement
If securities are sold directly to an insti-
tutional investor, such as a corporation
or bank, the transaction is called a
private placement.
Unlike a public offering, a private
placement does not have to be registered
with the Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC), provided the
securities are bought for investment
and not for resale.
Privatization
Privatization is the conversion of a
government-run enterprise to one that
is privately owned and operated. The
conversion is made by selling shares to
individual or institutional investors.
The theory behind privatization is that
privately run enterprises, such as utility
companies, airlines, and telecommuni-
cations systems, are more efficient and
provide better service than government-
run companies.
But in many cases, privatization is a
way for the government to raise cash and
to reduce its role as service provider.
Probate
Probate is the process of authenticating,
or verifying, your will so that your
executor can carry out the wishes you
expressed in the document for settling
your estate and appointing a guardian for
your minor children.
While the probate process can run
smoothly if everything is in order, it can
also take a long time and cost a great
deal of money if your will isnt legally
acceptable or its contested by potential
beneficiaries who object to its terms.
If you die without a will, the same
court that handles probate resolves what
happens to your assets based on the laws
of the state where you live through a
process known as administration. The
larger or more complex your estate is,
the greater the potential for delay
and expense.
Probate estate
Your probate estate includes all the
assets that will pass to your heirs through
your will.
It doesnt include anything that you
have sold, given away, put into trusts, or
passed directly to recipients by naming
them as beneficiaries of specific accounts.
Assets you can pass directly to benefi-
ciaries include money in retirement plans,
insurance policies, payable-on-death
bank accounts, and transferable-on-death
securities accounts.
In addition, any property you own
jointly with rights of survivorship passes
directly to your co-owner outside the
Probate estate
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probate process. However, all the
assets you own at the time of your death,
including half the value of property
you own jointly, are considered part of
your estate for purposes of calculating
whether estate taxes are due.
Profit
Profit, which is also called net income or
earnings, is the money a business has left
after it pays its operating expenses, taxes,
and other current bills.
When you invest, profit is the amount
you make when you sell an asset for a
higher price than you paid for it. For
example, if you buy a stock at $20 a share
and sell it at $30 a share, your profit is
$10 a share minus sales commission and
capital gains tax if any.
Profit margin
A companys profit margin is derived by
dividing its net earnings, after taxes, by
its gross earnings minus certain expenses.
Profit margin is a way of measuring how
well a company is doing, regardless
of size.
For example, a $50 million company
with net earnings of $10 million and a
$5 billion company with net earnings of
$1 billion both have profit margins
of 20%.
Profit margins can vary greatly from
one industry to another, so it can be
difficult to make valid comparisons
among companies unless they are in the
same sector of the economy.
Profit sharing
A profit-sharing plan is a type of defined
contribution retirement plan that employ-
ers may establish for their workers.
The employer may add up to the annual
limit to each employees profit-sharing
account in any year the company has a
profit to share, though there is no obliga-
tion to make a contribution in any year.
The annual limit is stated as a dollar
amount and as a percentage of salary, and
the one which applies to each employee
is the lower of the two alternatives.
Employers get a tax deduction for
their contribution. Employees owe no
income tax on the contributions or on
any of the earnings in their accounts until
they withdraw money.
In some cases, employees in the plan
may be able to borrow from their accounts
to pay for expenses such as buying a home
or paying for college.
Profit-sharing plans offer employers
certain flexibility. For example, in a
year without profits, they dont have to
contribute at all. And they can vary the
amount of each years contribution to
reflect the companys profitability for
that year.
However, each employee in the plan
must be treated equally. This means that
if an employer contributes 10% of one
employees salary to the plan, the
employer must also contribute 10% of the
salaries of all other employees in the plan.
Profit taking
Profit taking is the sale of securities after
a rapid price increase to cash in on gains.
Profit taking sometimes causes a
temporary market downturn after a
period of rising prices as investors sell
off shares to lock in their gains.
Program trading
Program trading is the purchase or sale
of a basket, or group, of 15 or more stocks
with the combined value of $1 million
or more.
In some cases, programmed trades are
triggered automatically when prices hit
predetermined levels.
In other cases, institutional investors,
arbitrageurs, and other large investors
use program trading to take advantage
of the spread between a basket of stocks
replicating an index and a futures
contract on the same index.
Large-scale program trading can cause
abrupt price changes in a stock or group
of stocks and may even have a dramatic
effect on the overall market. The New
York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and other
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163
exchanges have instituted a series of
circuit breakers, which halt trading for a
period of time when prices fall by specific
percentages in a single day, to help
prevent such disruption.
Progressive tax
In a progressive, or graduated, income tax
system, taxpayers with higher incomes
are taxed at higher rates that those with
lower incomes.
Those in favor of this approach say that
the greatest tax burden falls on those who
can afford to carry it. Opponents argue
that it imposes an unfair burden on the
people whose ingenuity and hard work
make the economy strong.
Proprietary fund
Proprietary mutual funds are offered for
sale by the financial institutionsuch as
a bank, investment company, or brokerage
firmthat sponsors the funds.
Characteristically, the funds names
include the name of the institution.
For example, a hypothetical bank called
Last Bank might offer a Last Bank
Growth Fund or a Last Bank Capital
Appreciation Fund.
Some institutions market only their
proprietary funds, while others offer both
their own funds and funds sponsored
by others.
Prospectus
A prospectus is a formal written offer to
sell stock to the public. It is created by
an investment bank that agrees to
underwrite the stock offering.
The prospectus sets forth the business
strategies, financial background,
products, services, and management of
the issuing company, and information
about how the proceeds from the sale of
the securities will be used.
The prospectus must be filed with the
(SEC) and is designed to help investors
make informed investment decisions.
Each mutual fund provides a prospec-
tus to potential investors, explaining
its objectives, management team and
policies, investment strategy, and perfor-
mance. The prospectus also summarizes
the fees the fund charges and analyzes
the risks you take in investing in the fund.
Proxy
If you own common stock in a US corpora-
tion, you have the right to vote on certain
company policies and elect the board of
directors by casting a proxy, or vote.
You may vote in person at the annual
meeting, by phone, or online.
Proxy statement
The Securities and Exchange Commission
(SEC) requires that all publicly traded
companies provide a proxy statement
to their shareholders prior to the
annual meeting.
The proxy statement presents the
candidates who have been nominated to
the board of directors and any proposed
changes in corporate management that
require shareholder approval.
The statement also states the position
the board of directors takes on the
nominations and proposals. By law, the
proxy statement must also present share-
holder proposals even if they are at odds
with the boards position.
SEC rules also require that the
proxy statement shows, in chart form,
the total compensation of the companys
five highest paid executives and
compares the stocks performance to
the performance of similar companies
and the appropriate benchmark.
Proxy statement
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Prudent man rule
The prudent man rule is the basic
standard a fiduciary, who is responsible
for other peoples money, must meet.
It mandates acting as a thoughtful
and careful person would, given a
particular set of circumstances. A trustee,
for example, observes the prudent man
rule by preserving a trusts assets for
its beneficiaries.
The prudent man rule has sometimes
been described as a defensive approach
to money management, putting greater
emphasis on preservation than on
growth. The newer prudent investor rule
differs by putting greater emphasis on
achieving a reasonable rate of return
and by delegating decision-making to
investment professionals.
Public company
The stock of a public company is
owned and traded by individual and
institutional investors.
In contrast, in a privately held
company, the stock is held by company
founders, management, employees, and
sometimes venture capitalists.
Many privately held companies
eventually go public to help raise capital
to finance growth. Conversely, public
companies can be taken private for a
variety of reasons.
Pump and dump
In a pump and dump scheme, a scam
artist manipulates the stock market by
buying shares of a low-cost stock and
then artificially inflating the price by
spreading rumors, typically using the
Internet and phone, that the stock is
about to hit new highs.
Investors who fall victim to the
get-rich-quick scheme begin buying up
shares, and the increased demand drives
up the price. At the peak of the market,
the scammer sells out at a profit, shuts
down the rumor mill, and disappears.
The price of the stock invariably drops
dramatically and the investors who got
caught in the scam lose their money.
Put option
Buying a put option gives you the right
to sell the specific financial instrument
underlying the option at a specific price,
called the exercise or strike price, to the
writer, or seller, of the option before the
option expires.
You pay the seller a premium for the
option, and if you exercise your right to
sell, the seller must buy.
Selling a put
option means you
collect a premium
at the time of sale.
But you must buy the
options underlying
instrument if the
option buyer exer-
cises the option
and you are as-
signed to meet the
contracts terms.
Not surprisingly,
buyers and sellers
have different goals.
Buyers hope that the
price of the underlying instrument drops
so they can sell at the exercise price,
which is higher than the market price.
This way, they could offset the price of
the premium, and hopefully make a
profit as well.
Sellers, on the other hand, hope that
the price stays the same or increases,
so they can keep the premium theyve
collected and not have to lay out money
to buy.
Put-call ratio
Since investors buy put options when they
expect the market to fall, and call options
when they expect the market to rise, the
relationship of puts to calls, called the
put-call ratio, gives analysts a way to
measure the relative optimism or
pessimism of the marketplace.
The customary interpretation is that
when puts predominate, and the mood
is bearish, stock prices are headed for
a tumble.
The reverse is assumed to be true when
calls are more numerous. The contrarian
investor, however, holds just the opposite
view. For example, a contrarian believes
that by the time investors are concentrat-
ing on puts, the worst is already over, and
the market is poised to rebound.
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Q
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Quadruple witching day
Once every quarteron the third
Friday of March, June, September, and
Decemberstock options, stock index
options, stock index futures contracts,
and single stock futures expire on the
same day in the United States.
In the past, when all contracts expired
at the same hour of the day, trading could
be extremely volatile as professional
investors attempted to capitalize on
pricing differences.
But in recent years, various adjust-
ments in the trading schedule have
helped to reduce the pace.
Qualified domestic trust (QDOT)
If your spouse isnt a US citizen and
your estate is large enough to risk being
vulnerable to estate taxes, you can use a
qualified domestic trust (QDOT) to allow
your spouse to enjoy the benefit of the
marital deduction until his or her
own death.
In short, the marital deduction means
that one spouse can leave the other all
his or her assets free of estate tax. The
inherited assets become part of the estate
of the surviving spouse, and unless the
combined value is less than the exempt
amount, estate tax could be due at the
death of that spouse.
The difference, with a QDOT, is that
at the death of the surviving, noncitizen
spouse, the assets in the trust dont
become part of his or her estate, but
are taxed as if they were still part of the
estate of the first spouse to die. Income
distributions from the trust are subject
to income tax alone, but distributions of
principal may be subject to estate tax.
Qualified retirement plan
A qualified retirement plan is an
employer sponsored plan that meets
the requirements established by the
Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the
US Congress.
Pensions, profit-sharing plans, money
purchase plans, cash balance plans,
SEP-IRAs, SIMPLEs, and 401(k)s are all
examples of qualified plans, though each
type works a little differently.
Employers may take a tax deduction
for contributions to qualified plans,
and in some plans employees may make
tax-deferred contributions.
Among the other requirements, a
qualified plan must provide for all eligible
employees equivalently. That means the
plan cant treat highly paid employees
more generously than it does less-well
paid employees, though one group of
employees, such as those within five years
of the official retirement age, may receive
different treatment than another group.
In contrast, a nonqualified plan may
be available to some employees and not
others. In some plans, nonqualified
contributions are made with after-tax
dollars, either by the employer or the
employee, although any earnings in the
plan are tax deferred.
In other plans, future benefits are
promised but contributions are not
actually deposited in an account
established for the employee.
Mandatory federal withdrawal rules
that apply to qualified plans do not apply
in the same way to nonqualified plans,
though nonqualified plans are subject to
stringent regulation as well.
Qualitative analysis
When a securities analyst evaluates
intangible factors, such as the integrity
and experience of a companys manage-
ment, the positioning of its products and
services, or the appeal of its marketing
campaign, that seem likely to influence
future performance, the approach is
described as qualitative analysis.
While this type of evaluation is more
subjective than quantitative analysis
which looks at statistical dataadvocates
of this approach believe that success or
failure in the corporate world is often
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166
driven as much by qualitative factors as
by financial data.
Quantitative analysis
When a securities analyst focuses on a
corporations financial data in order to
project potential future performance, the
process is called quantitative analysis.
This methodology involves looking
at profit-and-loss statements, sales
and earnings histories, and the state
of the economy rather than at more
subjective factors such as management
experience, employee attitudes, and
brand recognition.
While some people feel that
quantitative analysis by itself gives
an incomplete picture of a companys
prospects, advocates assert that numbers
tell the whole story.
Quarter
The financial world splits up its
calendar into four quarters, each three
months long.
If January to March is the first quarter,
April to June is the second quarter, and so
on, though a companys first quarter does
not have to begin in January.
The Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC) requires all publicly
held US companies to publish a quarterly
report, officially known as Form 10-Q,
describing their financial results for the
quarter. These reports and the predictions
that market analysts make about them
often have an impact on a companys
stock price.
For example, if analysts predict that
a certain company will have earnings
of 55 cents a share in a quarter, and the
results beat those expectations, the price
of the companys stock may increase. But
if the earnings are less than expected,
even by a penny or two, the stock price
may drop, at least for a time.
However, this pattern doesnt always
hold true, and other forces may influence
investor sentiment about the stock.
Quasi-public corporation
In the United States, quasi-public
corporations have links to the federal
government although they are technically
in the private sector.
This means that their managers and
executives work for the corporation, not
the government. And, in many cases, you
can buy stock in a quasi-public corpora-
tion, expecting to share in its profits.
Many quasi-public corporations were
originally federal agencies that have been
privatized. Among the best known are
Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Sallie Mae.
They securitize consumer loans and
sell them in the secondary market.
The US Postal Service is also a
quasi-public corporation, as is the
Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA).
Qubes
The Nasdaq Stock Market sells shares in
a unit investment trust (UIT) that tracks
the Nasdaq 100 Stock Index.
This market capitalization weighted
index includes the largest 100 companies
trading on the Nasdaq and is adjusted
quarterly to keep it focused on the
strongest performers.
The name Qubes comes from the UITs
trading symbol: QQQQ.
Qubes resemble Standard & Poors
Depositary Receipts (SPDR), which
reflect the performance of the Standard
& Poors 500 Index (S&P 500) and the
DIAMOND (DIA), which tracks the Dow
Jones Industrial Average (DJIA).
These investments are also described
as exchange traded funds.
Quotation (Quote)
On a stock market, a quotation combines
the highest bid to buy and the lowest ask
to sell a stock.
For example, if the quotation on
DaveCo stock is 20 to 20.07, it means
that the highest price that any buyer
wants to pay is $20, and the lowest price
that any seller wants to take is $20.07.
How that spread is resolved depends
on whether the stock is traded on an
auction market, such as the New York
Stock Exchange (NYSE), or on a dealer
market, such as the Nasdaq Stock
Market, where the price is negotiated
by market makers.
Quantitative analysis
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R-squared
R-squared is a statistical measurement
that determines the proportion of a
securitys return, or the return on a
specific portfolio of securities, that
can be explained by variations in the
stock market, as measured by a
benchmark index.
For example, an r-squared of 0.08
shows that 80% of a securitys return is
the result of changes in the market
specifically that 80% of its gains are due
to market gains and 80% of its losses are
due to market losses. The other 20% are
the result of factors particular to the
security itself.
Rally
A rally is a significant short-term recovery
in the price of a stock or commodity, or
of a market in general, after a period of
decline or sluggishness.
Stocks that make a particularly strong
recovery in a particular sector or in the
market as a whole are often said to be
leading the rally, a reference to the terms
origins in combat, where an officer would
lead his rallying troops back into battle.
While a rally may signal the beginning of
a bull market, it doesnt necessarily do so.
Random walk theory
The random walk theory holds that it
is futile to try to predict changes in
stock prices.
Advocates of the theory base their
assertion on the belief that stock prices
react to information as it becomes known,
and that, because of the randomness
of this information, prices themselves
change as randomly as the path of a
wandering persons walk.
Rating
R
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This theory stands in opposition to
technical analysis, whose practitioners
believe you can predict future stock
behavior based on statistical patterns of
prior performance.
Ranking
Ranking is a method of assigning a
value to an investment in relation to
comparable investments by using a scale.
The scale might be a straightforward
numerical (1 to 5) or alphabetical
(A to E) system, or one that also uses
stars, checks, or some other icon to
convey the evaluation.
Research firms and individual analysts
typically establish and publish their
criteriathough not their methodology
for establishing their rankings.
These criteria, which also differ by
investment type, may include quantitative
information such as past earnings,
price trends, and the issuing companys
financial fundamentals, or more
qualitative assessments, such as the
state of the marketplace.
Ranking can be a useful tool in
evaluating potential investments or in
reviewing your current portfolio. Before
depending on a ranking, though, youll
want to understand how it has been
derived and how accurate the system for
assigning the values has been over time.
Rate of return
Rate of return is income you collect on
an investment expressed as a percent-
age of the investments purchase price.
With a common stock, the rate of return
is dividend yield, or your annual dividend
divided by the price you paid for the stock.
However, the term is also used to mean
percentage return, which is a stocks total
returndividend plus change in value
divided by the investment amount.
With a bond, rate of return is the
current yield, or your annual interest
income divided by the price you paid for
the bond. For example, if you paid $900
for a bond with a par value of $1,000 that
pays 6% interest, your rate of return is
$60 divided by $900, or 6.67%.
Rating
Rating means evaluating a company,
security, or investment product to
168
determine how well it meets a specific
set of objective criteria.
For example, a bond issue may be
rated along a spectrum from highest
quality investment grade to speculative,
or from AAA to D.
Rating typically affects the interest
rate a fixed-income security must pay
to attract investors, forcing lower-rated
bond issuers to pay higher rates. Other
investors may shun low-rated investments
entirely, unwilling to take the risk that the
issuer might default. However, ratings are
not infallible, even in industries, such as
insurance, that are regularly scrutinized.
Rating differs from ranking, which as-
signs the relative standing of two or more
similar items in relation to each other.
Rating service
A rating service, such as A.M. Best,
Moodys Investors Service, or Standard
& Poors, evaluates bond issuers to
determine the level of risk they pose to
would-be investors.
Though each rating service focuses on
somewhat different criteria in making its
evaluation, the assessments tend to agree
on which investments pose the least
default risk and which pose the most.
These rating services also evaluate
insurance companies, including those
offering fixed annuities and life
insurance, in terms of how likely a
provider is to meet its financial
obligations to policyholders.
Real estate investment trust (REIT)
REITs are publicly traded companies
that pool investors capital to invest in
a variety of real estate ventures, such as
apartment and office buildings, shopping
centers, medical facilities, industrial
buildings, and hotels.
After an REIT has raised its investment
capital, it trades on a stock market just as
a closed-end mutual fund does.
There are three types of REITs:
Equity REITs buy properties that produce
income. Mortgage REITs invest in real
estate loans. Hybrid REITs usually make
both types of investments.
All three are income-producing invest-
ments, and by law 90% of a REITs taxable
income must be distributed to investors.
That means the yields on REITs may be
higher than on other equity investments.
Real interest rate
Your real interest rate is the interest rate
you earn on an investment minus the rate
of inflation.
For example, if youre earning 6.25%
on a bond, and the inflation rate is 2%,
your real rate is 4.25%. Thats enough
higher than inflation to maintain your
buying power and have some in reserve,
which you could use to build your
investment base.
But if the inflation rate were 5%, your
real rate would be only 1.25%.
Real property
Real property is whats more commonly
known as real estate, or realty.
A piece of real property includes
the actual land as well as any buildings
or other structures built on the land,
the plant life, and anything thats perma-
nently in the ground below it or the air
above it. In that sense, real property is
different from personal property, which
you can move from place to place
with you.
Real property tax
A real property tax is a local tax on the
value of real estate. The property may
be assessed at full value, which is
presumably the price that the owner
could sell it for in the current market,
or using some other valuation method.
The taxing agency, such as a county,
city, town, or village, sets a tax rate,
which is multiplied by the assessed value
of each property to determine the tax
due on that property.
You may be able to deduct real
property taxes on your federal income
tax return, but large deductions for real
estate taxes are one of the factors that
may result in your owing the alternative
minimum tax (AMT).
Real rate of return
You find the real rate of return on an in-
vestment by subtracting the rate of
inflation from the nominal, or named,
rate of return.
For example, if you have a return of
6% on a bond in a period when inflation
is averaging 2%, your real rate of return is
4%. But if inflation were 4%, your real rate
of return would be only 2%.
Rating service
REAL RATE OF RETURN
Earned interest rate
Inflation rate
REAL RATE OF RETURN
10%
3%
= 7%
REIT
169
Finding real rate of return is generally
a calculation you have to do on your
own. It isnt provided in annual reports,
prospectuses, or other publications that
report investment performance.
Real time
When an event is reported as it
happenssuch as a quick jump in a
stocks price or the constantly changing
numbers on a market indexyou are
getting real-time information.
Traditionally, this type of information
was available to the public with a 15- or
20-minute time delay or was reported
only periodically by news services.
Because of the Internet and cable TV,
however, more and more individual inves-
tors have access to real-time financial
news. Knowing whats happening enables
you and others to make buy and sell
decisions based on the same information
that institutional investors and financial
services organizations are using.
Real time, when used in computer
technology, means that there is an
interactive program that collects data
and reports results immediately. The
alternative, called batch processing,
occurs when data is collected, stored,
and then reported later in the evening
or the next day.
Realized gain
When you sell an investment for more
than you paid, you have a realized gain.
For example, if you buy a stock for
$20 a share and sell it for $35 a share,
you have a realized gain of $15 a share.
In contrast, if the price of the stock
increases, and you dont sell, your gain
is unrealized, or a paper profit.
Realizing your gains means you lock
in any increase in value, which could
potentially disappear if you continued to
hold the investment.
But it also means you may owe tax
on that profit when you sell unless the
investment is tax exempt or you hold it
in a tax-deferred or tax-free account. In
a tax-deferred account, you can postpone
paying the tax until you begin with-
drawing from the account.
However, if taxes are due and you have
owned the investment for more than a
year when you sell, you pay tax at the
long-term capital gains rate, which, for
most types of investments, is lower than
the rate at which you pay federal income
tax on ordinary income.
Recapture
When you recapture assets, you regain
them, usually because of the provisions of
a contract or legal precedent.
When a contract is involved, you may
be entitled to recapture a percentage of
the revenues from something you produce
in addition to being paid the cost of
producing it.
For example, a hotel developer might
be entitled to recapture a portion of the
hotels profits. Most of the time, recapture
works in your favor, but depending on the
situation, it can also mean a financial loss.
A negative form of recapture occurs
when the government makes you repay
tax benefits that youve profited from
in the past. For example, say that your
divorce settlement calls for you to pay
$150,000 to your ex-spouse over three
years. If you pay all the money in the
first two years in order to qualify for a
tax deduction, and pay nothing in the
third year, the IRS may force you to
recapture part of your deduction in
the third year and pay taxes on it.
Recession
Broadly defined, a recession is a down-
turn in a nations economic activity. The
consequences typically include increased
unemployment, decreased consumer
and business spending, and declining
stock prices.
Recessions are typically shorter than
the periods of economic expansion that
they follow, but they can be quite severe
even if brief. Recovery is slower from
some recessions than from others.
The National Bureau of Economic
Research (NBER), which tracks
recessions, describes the low point of
a recession as a trough between two
peaks, the points at which a recession
began and endedall three of which
can be identified only in retrospect.
The Conference Board, a business
research group, considers three consecu-
tive monthly drops in its Index of Leading
Economic Indicators a sign of decline and
potential recession up to 18 months in the
future. The Boards record in predicting
Recession
170
recessions is uneven, having correctly
anticipated some but expected others
that never materialized.
Recharacterization
When you have converted one type of
individual retirement account (IRA) to
another typesuch as a traditional IRA
to a Roth IRAand then convert it back
to the original type, you are recharacter-
izing the IRA.
Similarly, you can recharacterize a
contribution youve made to one type of
IRA as a contribution to another type of
IRA. In either case, when the recharacter-
ization is handled correctly, the original
conversion or contribution is erased, as
if it never happened. To be valid, a re-
characterization must be handled as a
transfer between IRA providers or
internally by a single provider.
Further, it must be completed before
the date your tax return is due, including
extensions. You must also report the
action to the IRS, and in some cases, you
must file an additional form.
Record date
To be paid a stock dividend, you must own
the stock on the day that the corporations
board of directors names as the record
date, also known as the date of record.
For example, if a company declares a
dividend of 50 cents a share payable on
September 1 to shareholders of record as
of August 10, you must own the shares on
August 10 to be entitled to the dividend.
To be the legal owner on the record
date you must buy the stock at least three
business days before the record date. That
is the last day on which trades will settle
on the record date.
If you buy the stock after that day,
you are buying the stock ex-dividend,
which means you are not entitled to the
dividend. The first day the buyer is not
entitled to receive the dividend is called
the ex-dividend date and is currently two
days before the record date in most cases.
Red herring
When a security is offered to the
public for the first time, the underwriter
prepares a preliminary prospectus, called
a red herring.
While the name may refer to the parts
of the document printed in red ink, the
implication is that the document has
been written to present the company in
the best possible light. The reference is
to the rather distinctive odor of the fish
in question, which, the story goes, fleeing
fugitives sometimes used to throw
bloodhounds off their scent.
Although the preliminary prospectus
contains important information about
the company, its offerings, financial
projections, and investment risk, it is
customarily revised before the final
version is issued.
Redemption
When a fixed-income investment matures,
and you get your investment amount back,
the repayment is known as redemption.
Bonds are usually redeemed at par, or
face value, traditionally $1,000 per bond.
However, if a bond issuer calls the bond,
or pays it off before maturity, you may
be paid a premium, or a certain dollar
amount over par, to compensate you for
lost interest.
You can redeem, or liquidate, open-end
mutual fund shares at any time. The fund
buys them back at their net asset value
(NAV), which is the dollar value of one
share in the fund.
Redemption fee
Some open-end mutual funds impose a
redemption fee when you sell shares in
the fund, often during a specific, and
sometimes brief, period of time after you
purchase those shares.
The fee is usually a percentage of the
value of the shares you sell, but it may
also be a flat fee, or fixed amount.
Recharacterization
1989 1990 1991 1992 Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4
Consumer Spending
Unemployment Rate
3.35
$3.40
billion
3.30
3.25
3.20
8.0%
7.5%
7.0%
6.5%
6.0%
5.5%
5.0%
4.5%
CHARTING A RECESSION
Recessionary Period
171
The purpose of the fee is to prevent
large-scale withdrawals from the fund
in response to changes in the financial
markets, which might require the fund
manager to sell holdings at a loss in order
to meet the funds obligation to buy back
your shares.
Refinancing
Refinancing is the process of paying off
an existing loan by taking a new loan and
using the same property as security.
Homeowners may refinance to reduce
their mortgage expense if interest rates
have dropped, to switch from an adjust-
able to a fixed rate loan if rates are rising,
or to draw on the equity that has built up
during a period of rising home prices.
Closing costs for a refinance are
generally comparable to those for any
mortgage. If youre refinancing to reduce
your payments, youll want to calculate
how long it will take before you recover
the closing costs and begin to save money.
If youre planning to move within a few
years, refinancing may not actually save
you enough to justify the closing expenses.
And if you refinance to use some of your
home equity, you run the added risk that
prices could drop and you could end up
owing more on your mortgage than you
could realize from selling your home.
Regional exchange
Stock exchanges in cities other than
New York are called regional exchanges.
They list both regional stocks, which may
or may not be listed on the New York
exchanges, as well as stocks that are
listed in New York.
Because of the National Market
System, securities listed on one exchange
can be traded on any other exchange if
the price there is better than the price on
the exchange where the stock is listed.
The number of regional exchanges
is shrinking, however, as the result
of mergers and acquisitions by
larger exchanges.
Registered bond
When a bond is registered, the name of
the owner and the particulars of the
bond are recorded by the issuer or the
issuers agent.
When registered bonds are issued in
certificate form, a bond can be sold only
if the owner endorses the certificate, or
signs it over to someone else. In contrast,
bearer bonds are considered the property
of whoever holds them, since there is no
record of ownership.
Currently, however, most bonds are
registered electronically, so there are
no certificates to endorse. Instead, you
authorize the transaction over the phone
or by computer.
Registered investment adviser (RIA)
Investment advisory firms that register
Commission (SEC) and agree to be
regulated by SEC rules are known as
registered investment advisers.
Only a small percentage of all
investment firms, and an even smaller
number of individuals, register, though
being registered is often interpreted
as a sign that the adviser meets a
higher standard.
Registered representative
Registered representatives are licensed
to act on investors orders to buy and sell
and to provide advice relevant to port-
folio transactions.
They may be paid a salary, a
commission, usually a percentage of
the market price of the investments
their clients buy and sell, or by annual
fee figured as a percentage of the value
of a clients account.
Registered reps work for a broker-
dealer that belongs to the exchange or
operates in the market where the trades
are handled. The reps must pass a series
of exams administered by NASD to qualify
for their licenses and are subject to
NASD oversight.
Registered representative
172
D
T
Z
Regressive tax
A regressive or flat income tax system
taxes everyone at the same rate, as
sales tax does.
Advocates say its simpler and does
away with the kinds of tax breaks that
tend to favor the wealthy. Opponents say
that middle-income taxpayers carry too
large a proportion of the total tax bill.
Regulation D
Both the Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC) and the Federal
Reserve have regulations known as
Regulation D.
The SECs Regulation D specifies
which securities can be sold within the
United States without having to be
registered with the Commission.
Among the other restrictions, these
securities can be made available only to
accredited investorsindividuals with
a net worth of at least $1 million or an
annual income of $200,000 or more, and
institutions with assets of $5 million
or more.
The Federal Reserves Regulation D
sets the requirements for depositary
institutions, including the amount of
cash the bank must hold in reserve and
the number of transfers or withdrawals
permitted for a savings accountwhich
is six transfers every four week cycle
with no more than three by check or
electronic payment.
Regulation T
Regulation T is the Federal Reserve
Board rule that governs how much you
can borrow through your margin account
to cover the purchase price of a security.
This initial margin is 50% of the total cost.
and NASD additionally require your
account to have a minimum margin of
$2,000 or the full cost of the purchase,
whichever is less, at the time you trade,
plus a maintenance margin of at least
25% of the total market value of the
securities in your account at all times.
Individual broker-dealers may and
often do require higher minimum and
maintenance margins.
Regulation Z
Under Regulation Z, a Federal Reserve
Board rule covering provisions of the
Consumer Credit Protection Act of 1968,
lenders have to tell you certain terms of
the credit theyre offering, in writing,
before you borrow.
Also known as the Truth in Lending
Act, the regulation stipulates that lenders
must disclose the true cost of loans. For
example, they must make the interest
rate, annual percentage rate (APR),
and other terms of the loan simple
to understand.
Regulation Z establishes uniform
methods for calculating the cost of credit,
disclosing credit terms, and resolving
errors on certain types of credit accounts.
Rehypothecation
Rehypothecation occurs when your
broker, to whom you have hypothecated
or pledgedsecurities as collateral for
a margin loan, pledges those same
securities to a bank or other lender to
secure a loan to cover the firms exposure
to potential margin account losses.
When you open a margin account,
you typically sign a general account
agreement with your broker, in which you
authorize your broker to rehypothecate.
Reinvestment
When you own certain stocks and most
mutual funds, you can reinvest the
dividends or distributions to buy more
shares instead of receiving a cash payout.
In a corporate Dividend Reinvestment
Plan (DRIP), for example, a company
offers you the right to reinvest any cash
dividends automatically to buy more
stock. When you open a mutual fund
account, youre generally offered an
automatic reinvestment option as well.
One benefit of reinvestment
programs is that in most cases you can
make the new investments without
incurring the usual sales charges, so it
can be a lower cost way to build your
investment portfolio.
One potential drawback, if youre
reinvesting in a taxable account, is that
you acquire shares at different prices, so
figuring the cost basis for capital gains
or losses when you sell can be more
complicated than if you made fewer,
larger purchases. Its also true that you
owe income or capital gains tax in the
year the money is reinvested, which
isnt the case in a tax-deferred or
tax-free account.
You will also want to consider
the impact of reinvestment on the
diversification of your portfolio, since
buying additional shares increases the
percentage of your portfolio that is
allocated to a particular stock or
mutual fund.
Regressive tax
173
Reinvestment risk
Reinvestment risk occurs when you
have money from a maturing fixed-income
investment, such as a certificate of
deposit (CD) or a bond, and want to
make a new investment of the same type.
The risk is that you will not be able
to find the same rate of return on your
new investment as you were realizing on
the old one. In fact, the return could be
significantly lower, based on whats
happening in the economy at large,
though it could also be higher.
For example, if a bond paying 6%
interest matures when the current rate is
4%, you must settle for a lower return if
you buy a new bond unless youre willing
to buy one of lower quality.
One way to limit reinvestment risk is
by using an investment technique known
as laddering, which means splitting your
investment among a number of bonds or
CDs that mature gradually over a series
of years.
That way only part of your total
investment will mature and have to be
reinvested at any one time.
Renewable term
A renewable term life insurance policy
allows you to extend your coverage for
an additional period without having to
requalify for coverage, provided that you
have paid your premiums in full and
on time.
Being able to renew your policy can
be an important advantage if your health
has declined since your original purchase.
Thats because another insurer might
refuse to sell you a policy or might charge
more for comparable coverage.
Renewable term policies do not
guarantee the same rate for the new
coverage period. In fact, at each renewal,
the cost is likely to increase to reflect the
fact that youre older and therefore pose
a greater risk to the insurer.
Required beginning date (RBD)
Your required beginning date is the
date by which you must take your first
minimum required distribution from
retirement savings plans that require
distributions.
For an individual retirement account
(IRA), its April 1 of the year following
the year you turn 70. For a 401(k), its
either the April 1 of the year following the
year you turn 70 or the April 1 following
the year you retire, unless you own 5% or
more of the company sponsoring the plan.
If thats the case, your deadline is April 1
of the year after the year you turn 70.
Reserve requirement
The Federal Reserve requires its member
banks to keep a certain percentage of
their customer deposits in cash and other
liquid assets in reserve at all times.
The required percentage may be
revised at the Feds discretion, but it
has not been changed in recent years.
When a bank finds itself with excess
reserves, it can lend them to other banks
that may need them. These very short-
term loans are known as federal funds
and the interest rate the lenders charge
is called the federal funds rate. Thats also
the benchmark rate for many corporate
and international government loans.
Restricted security
Restricted securities are stocks or
warrants that you acquire privately,
through stock options or a corporate
merger, rather than by buying them in
the open market.
For example, you may receive
restricted stock if you put money into
a startup company.
If the company has not yet registered
Commission (SEC) for an initial public
offering (IPO), its securities cannot be
transferred or resold until the issuing
company meets the SEC registration re-
quirements for publicly traded securities.
If you exercise stock options and
buy stock at a reduced price, you may be
required to hold those stocks for a period
of time before liquidating them.
Restricted security
RESERVE RESERVE
174
Retained earnings
Retained earnings, also known as retained
surplus, are the portion of a companys
profits that it keeps to reinvest in the
business or pay off debt, rather than pay-
ing them out as dividends to its investors.
Retained earnings are one component
of the corporations net worth and in-
crease the supply of cash thats available
for acquisitions, repurchase of outstand-
ing shares, or other expenditures the
board of directors authorizes.
Smaller and faster-growing
companies tend to have a high ratio
of retained earnings to fuel research
and development plus new product
expansion. Mature firms, on the other
hand, tend to pay out a higher percentage
of their profits as dividends.
Return
Your return is the profit or loss you have
on your investments, including income
and change in value.
Return can be expressed as a
percentage and is calculated by adding
the income and the change in value and
then dividing by the initial principal or
investment amount. You can find the
annualized return by dividing the percent-
age return by the number of years you
have held the investment.
For example, if you bought a stock that
paid no dividends at $25 a share and sold
it for $30 a share, your return would be
$5. If you bought on January 3, and sold it
the following January 4, that would be a
20% annual percentage return, or the $5
return divided by your $25 investment.
But if you held the stock for five
years before selling for $30 a share, your
annualized return would be 4%, because
the 20% gain is divided by five years
rather than one year.
Percentage return and annual
percentage return allow you to compare
the return provided by different
investments or investments you have
held for different periods of time.
Return on equity
Return on equity (ROE) measures how
much a company earns within a specific
period in relation to the amount thats
invested in its common stock.
It is calculated by dividing the com-
panys net income before common stock
dividends are paid by the companys net
worth, which is the stockholders equity.
If the ROE is higher than the
companys return on assets, it may be
a sign that management is using leverage
to increase profits and profit margins.
In general, its considered a sign of
good management when a companys
performance over time is at least as good
as the average return on equity for other
companies in the same industry.
Return on investment
Your return on investment (ROI) is the
profit you make on the sale of a security
or other asset divided by the amount of
your investment, expressed as an annual
percentage rate.
For example, if you invested $5,000
and the investment was worth $7,500
after two years, your annual return on
investment would be 25%. To get that
result, you divide the $2,500 gain by your
$5,000 investment, and then divide the
50% gain by 2.
Return on investment includes all the
income you earn on the investment as
well as any profit that results from selling
the investment. It can be negative as well
as positive if the sale price plus any
income is lower than the purchase price.
Revenue
Revenue is the money you collect for
providing a product or service.
Revenue is different from earnings,
which is whats left of your revenue after
subtracting the costs of producing or
Retained earnings
RETURN ON INVESTMENT
$7,500 Current value
5,000 Investment amount
$2,500 Profit
5,000 Investment amount
50% Percentage return
2 Years investment held
25% Annual percentage return
(return on investment)
175
delivering the product or service and any
taxes you paid on the amount you took in.
When corporations release their
financial statements, those that provide
services, such as power or telecommuni-
cations companies, describe their income
as revenues, while those that manufacture
products, such as lightbulbs or books,
describe their income as sales.
The money a government collects in
taxes is also called revenue. The US body
that collects those taxes is called the
Internal Revenue Service (IRS). In the
United Kingdom, its Inland Revenue.
Revenue bond
Revenue bonds are municipal bonds
issued to finance public projects, such
as airports and roadways. The bonds are
backed by revenue to be generated by
the project.
For example, if the construction of a
tunnel is financed with municipal revenue
bonds, the tolls paid by motorists are used
to pay back the bondholders. However,
bondholders usually have no claims on the
bond issuers other assets or resources.
Reverse merger
In a reverse merger, a privately held
company purchases a publicly held
company and, as part of the new entity,
becomes public without an initial public
offering (IPO).
Its described as reverse because in
the more typical merger pattern a public
company purchases a private company to
expand its business.
Reverse mortgage
A reverse mortgage is a loan available
to a homeowner 62 or older who may be
eligible to borrow against the equity in
his or her home.
Generally with a reverse mortgage,
you receive money from a lender while
you stay in your home. You dont have to
pay the money back for as long as you
live there and keep the property in good
repair, but the loan must be repaid when
you die, sell your home, or move to a
different primary residence.
The amount you can borrow depends
on your age, your homes value, your
equity in it, and current interest rates.
You can access the money as a lump sum,
a line of credit, or a combination of
these methods.
All reverse mortgages require closing
costs, much like a regular mortgage, and
they can charge fixed or variable interest
rates. The fees can make a reverse
mortgage an expensive way to borrow.
More than 90% of reverse mortgages,
officially known as home equity
conversion mortgages (HECMs), are
insured by the US governments Federal
Housing Administration (FHA). The
FHA caps the size of reverse mortgages
depending on the county in which your
home is located and guarantees that you
will receive the full amount of your loan.
Private alternatives to HECMs, called
proprietary reverse mortgages, often
offer higher limits. These loans may have
higher costs, however.
Reverse stock split
If a companys stock is trading at a
low price, the company may decide to
reduce the number of existing shares and
increase their price by consolidating
the shares.
For example, a 1-for-2 reverse stock
split halves the number of existing shares
and doubles the price. In that case, if
you hold 100 shares of a stock selling at
$5 a share, for a combined value of $500,
in a 1-for-2 reverse stock split, you would
own 50 shares valued at $10 a share,
which would still give you a combined
value of $500. Stocks may be reverse split
1-for-5, or 5-for-10, or in any ratio the
company chooses.
Reverse splits are generally used to
ensure that a stock will continue to meet
listing requirements on the market where
it is traded or to encourage purchases by
institutional investors, who may not buy
stocks priced below a specific point.
Revocable trust
A revocable trust is a living trust that can
be modified or revoked by the grantor,
or person who establishes the trust and
transfers property to it.
The trust can be a useful estate-
planning tool because, when you die,
the assets in the trust pass directly to
the beneficiaries youve named in the
trust rather than through your will.
But because you havent relinquished
control over the assets, as you do when
you transfer them to an irrevocable trust,
they are still included in your estate. If its
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total value, including the trust assets, is
greater than the exempt amount, federal
or state estate taxes may be due.
For the same reason, during your
lifetime, you continue to collect the
income that the assets in the revocable
trust produce, and you owe income or
capital gains taxes on those earnings at
your regular rates. Thats not the case
with an irrevocable trust, which has its
own tax identity.
Revolving credit
A revolving credit arrangement allows
you to borrow up to your credit limit
without having to reapply each time you
need cash. As you repay the money you
have borrowed, it is available to be
borrowed again.
For example, if you have a credit card
with a credit limit of $1,500 and you make
a purchase of $400, the amount of credit
you have available is $1,100. But when you
repay the $400, your credit limit goes back
to $1,500assuming you havent charged
anything else on the card.
At any given time, your balance due
may fluctuate from zero to the maximum
credit limit. If you dont use the credit
line in any billing cycle, no fees apply in
most cases. But if you have a balance due
and dont repay the full amount, finance
charges are added to your next bill.
Some revolving credit arrangements,
such as a home equity line of credit, may
have a predetermined end date, but the
majority are open-ended as long as you
make at least the minimum required
payment on time.
Rider
A rider is a modification to an insurance
policy that typically adds a new coverage
or higher coverage in return for higher
premiums.
For example, you might add a rider
to your life insurance policy to provide
coverage for your spouse, or a rider to
your homeowners policy to provide
additional liability insurance for a
specific event. Dental care and
prescription insurance are typical
riders on health insurance policies.
Rights of survivorship
If two or more people own property jointly
with rights of survivorship and one of the
owners should die, the deceased owners
share of the property automatically passes
to the surviving owners.
This arrangement for joint ownership
is in contrast to the arrangement known
as tenants-in-common, in which a
deceased owners share becomes part
of his or her estate and can be sold or
distributed to heirs according to the
terms of his or her will.
Couples who own their own home
jointly often opt for right of survivorship
to allow the surviving partner to enjoy
full ownership rights to their home.
Rights offering
In a rights offering, also known as a
subscription right, a company offers
existing shareholders the opportunity to
buy additional shares of company stock
in proportion to the number they already
own before any new shares are offered to
the public.
Such an offering is usually mandated
by the corporate charter.
To act on the offering, you turn over the
rights you receive, typically one for each
share of stock you own, and the money
needed to make the purchase within the
required period, often two to four weeks.
The amount of money thats required is
known as the subscription price.
You dont have to buy the additional
shares, and you can transfer your rights
to someone else if you prefer. But buying
helps you maintain the same percentage
of ownership you had in the company
before the new shares were issued rather
than having that percentage diluted.
Risk
Risk is the possibility youll lose money if
an investment you make provides a disap-
pointing return. All investments carry
a certain level of risk, since investment
return is not guaranteed.
According to modern investment
theory, the greater the risk you take in
making an investment, the greater your
return has the potential to be if the
investment succeeds.
For example, investing in a startup
company carries substantial risk, since
there is no guarantee that it will be
profitable. But if it is, youre in a position
to realize a greater gain than if you had
invested a similar amount in an already
established company.
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As a rule of thumb, if you are unwilling
to take at least some investment risk, you
are likely to limit your investment return.
Risk premium
A risk premium is one way to measure
the risk youd take in buying a specific
investment. Some analysts define risk
premium as the difference between the
current risk-free returndefined as the
yield on a 13-week US Treasury billand
the potential total return on the
investment youre considering.
Other measures of risk premium,
which are applied specifically to stocks,
are a stocks beta, or the volatility of that
stock in relation to the stock market as
a whole, and a stocks alpha, which is
based on an evaluation of the stocks
intrinsic value.
Similarly, the higher interest rates
that bond issuers typically offer on
bonds below investment grade may be
considered a risk premium, since the
higher rate, and potentially greater
return, is a way to compensate for the
greater risk.
Risk ratio
Some investors and financial analysts try
to estimate the risk an investment poses
by speculating on how much the invest-
ment is likely to increase in value as
opposed to how much it could decline.
For example, a stock priced at $50
that analysts think could increase to $90
or decrease to $30 has a 4:2 risk ratio,
because they estimate the stock could go
up $40 but down $20.
Critics point out that it is impossible
to provide an accurate estimate of future
prices, rendering risk ratios meaningless.
Risk tolerance
Risk tolerance is the extent to which you
as an investor are comfortable with the
risk of losing money on an investment. If
youre unwilling to take the chance that
an investment that might drop in price,
you have little or no risk tolerance.
On the other hand, if youre willing to
take some risk by making investments
that fluctuate in value, you have greater
risk tolerance. The probable consequence
of limiting investment risk is that you are
vulnerable to inflation risk, or loss of
buying power.
Risk-adjusted performance
When you evaluate an investments
risk-adjusted performance, you arent
looking simply at its straight performance
figures but at those figures in relation
to the amount of risk you took (or would
have taken) to get the return the
investment produced.
One method is to investigate the
investments price volatility over various
periods of time, including different
market environments.
For example, you might consider how
far the price fell in the most recent bear
market against its price in a bull market,
or how it performed in a recent market
correction. In general, the greater the
volatility, the greater the risk.
However, many analysts believe that
looking exclusively at past performance
can be deceptive in evaluating the risk
you are taking in making a certain
investment, since it cant predict what
will happen in the future.
Risk-adjusted performance
Possible
rise in
price
Possible
drop in
price
RISK RATIO
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Risk-free return
When you buy a US Treasury bill that
matures in 13 weeks, youre making a
risk-free investment in the sense that
theres virtually no chance of losing your
principal (since the bill is backed by the
US government) and no threat from
inflation (since the term is so short).
Your yield, or the amount you earn on
that investment, is described as risk-free
return. By subtracting the risk-free return
from the return on an investment that
has the potential to lose value, you can
figure out the risk premium, which is
one measure of the risk of choosing an
investment other than the 13-week bill.
Rollover
If you move your assets from one invest-
ment to another, its called a rollover.
For example, if you move money from
one IRA to another IRA, that transaction
is a rollover. In the same vein, if you move
money from a qualified retirement plan,
such as a 401(k), into an IRA, you create a
rollover IRA.
Similarly, when a bond or certificate
of deposit (CD) matures, you can roll
over the assets into another bond or
time deposit.
Rollover IRA
A rollover IRA is an individual retirement
account or annuity you create with tax-
deferred assets you move from an
employer sponsored retirement plan
to a self-directed investment account.
If you arrange for a direct rollover, the
trustee of your employers plan transfers
the assets to the trustee you select for
your IRA. In that case the total value of
the account moves from one to the other.
If you handle the rollover yourself,
by getting a check from your employers
plan and depositing it in your IRA, your
employer must withhold 20% of the total
to prepay taxes that will be due if you fail
to redeposit the full amount of the money
youre moving into a tax-deferred account
within 60 days.
The required withholding forces you
to supply the missing 20% from another
source to meet the deposit deadline if you
want to maintain the tax-deferred status
of the full amount and avoid taxes and a
potential early withdrawal tax penalty on
the amount you dont deposit in the IRA.
Roth 401(k)
The Roth 401(k), which was introduced
in 2006, allows you to make after-tax
contributions to your account in an
employer sponsored plan.
Earnings may be withdrawn tax free,
provided that you have left your job, are
at least 59, and your account has been
open five years or more.
Both the Roth 401(k) and the tradi-
tional 401(k) have the same contribution
limits and distribution requirements. You
can add no more than the annual federal
limit each year, and you must begin taking
minimum required distributions (MRD)
you reach age 70. You can postpone
MRDs if you are still working.
You may not move assets between
traditional and Roth 401(k) accounts,
though you may be able to split your
annual contribution between the two.
If you leave your job or retire, you can
roll Roth 401(k) assets into a Roth IRA,
just as you can roll traditional 401(k)
assets into a traditional IRA.
Most 401(k) plans, including the Roth,
are self-directed, which means you must
choose specific investments from among
those offered through the plan.
Roth IRA
A Roth IRA is a variation on a traditional
individual retirement arrangement (IRA).
Because contributions are made with
after-tax dollars, the Roth IRA allows you
to withdraw your earnings completely tax
free any time after you reach age 59,
provided your account has been open at
least five years.
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You may also be able to withdraw
money earlier without penalty if you
qualify for certain exceptions, such as
using up to $10,000 toward the purchase
of a first home. And since a Roth IRA
has no required withdrawals, you can
continue to accumulate tax-free earnings
as long as you like.
You can make a nondeductible annual
contribution, up to the annual federal
limit, any year you have earned income,
even after age 70, though you can never
contribute more than you earn. If you are
50 or older, you may also make annual
catch-up contributions.
To make a full contribution to a Roth
IRA, your modified adjusted gross income
(MAGI) must be less than the annual
limit set by Congress.
You may make partial contributions
on a sliding scale if your MAGI is between
the amounts that Congress sets for your
filing status. These annual limits are
lower if you file as a single than if youre
married and file a joint return.
You may also qualify to convert a
traditional IRA to a Roth IRA if your
MAGI in the year you convert is less than
the cap, currently $100,000, which applies
whether you are single or married. The
amount youre converting is not included
in that total.
Round lot
A round lot is the normal trading unit
for stocks and bonds on an organized
securities exchange or market, also called
a trading platform.
For example, shares of stock traded in
multiples of 100 are typically considered
round lots, as are bonds with par values
of $1,000 and $5,000.
Rule of 78
A practice, called the Rule of 78, means
that lenders front-load the interest they
charge on a short-term loan to guarantee
their profit if you pay off your loan before
the end of its term.
In other words, you pay most of
the interest before you begin to make
substantial repayment of principal.
For example, on a one-year loan, youd
pay 15% of the interest in the first month,
14% in the second month, and only 1%
in the last month. The practice is called
the Rule of 78 because thats the sum of
the twelve payments in a one-year loan
(1+2+3++12 = 78).
Its illegal to calculate loans with
terms longer than 61 months using the
Rule of 78, and a number of states outlaw
the practice for all loans. But where the
Rule of 78 is used, the loans may be de-
scribed as precomputed or precalculated
loans, or as loans that offer a rebate of
finance charges if you prepay.
Russell 1000 Index
This capitalization-weighted index,
published by the Frank Russell Company
tracks the 1000 largest stocks that are
included in the Russell 3000 Index and
represents approximately 92% of the
market value of US stock.
The Index is rebalanced annually,
at the end of June, and is widely used
as a benchmark of large-cap US
stock performance.
Russell 2000 Index
The Russell 2000 Index, published by the
Frank Russell Company tracks the stocks
of the 2,000 smallest companies in the
Russell 3000 index.
The index includes many of the initial
public offerings (IPOs) of recent years
and is considered the benchmark index
for small-cap investments.
Russell 3000 Index
The Russell 3000 Index, a market
capitalization weighted index published
by the Frank Russell Company, tracks
the 3,000 largest companies in the
United States. Its subsets, the Russell
1000 and the Russell 2000, are widely
used benchmarks of the US large-cap
and small-cap markets.
Russell 3000 Index
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Safekeeping
Safekeeping occurs when a broker-dealer
holds securities that are registered in a
clients name for the client.
The advantage from the clients
perspective is that the securities are safe
and the broker-dealer has them available
to sell at the clients instruction.
The disadvantage from the broker-
dealers perspective is that securities held
in a clients name are not fully negotiable
or fungible, so they cant be used to settle
trades, for example. Thus, its a service
for which many firms charge a fee.
Instead of being registered in their
own names, clients securities may be
registered in the broker-dealers name or
in the name of a depository. Thats known
as being registered in street name or
nominee name.
With this type of registration, the
clients ownership rights are fully
protected but the stock is fungible.
The broker-dealer may use a limited
portion of the holding to settle trades
or for other purposes.
Salary reduction plan
A salary reduction plan is a type of
employer-sponsored retirement savings
plan. Typical examples are traditional
401(k)s, 403(b)s, 457s, and SIMPLE IRAs.
A salary reduction plan allows you,
as an employee, to contribute some of
your current income to a retirement
account in your name and to accumulate
tax-deferred earnings on those contribu-
tions. In most plans, you contribute
pretax income, which reduces your
current income tax, and you pay tax
at withdrawal at your regular rate.
Your employer may match some of
or all your contribution according to a
formula that applies on an equal basis
to all participating employees. All
salary reduction plans have an annual
contribution cap thats set by Congress
and allow annual catch-up contributions
for participants 50 and older.
With Roth 401(k) and similar plans,
you contribute after-tax income but
qualify for tax-free withdrawals if you
are older than 59 and your account has
been open at least five years.
Sale-leaseback
In a sale-leaseback arrangementalso
known as a leasebackan owner sells
his or her property, and then immediately
leases it back from the buyer as part of
the same transaction.
This way, the seller gets the profits
from the sale while keeping possession
and use of the property, while the buyer is
assured immediate long-term income on
the property.
Sale-leaseback transactions are most
commonly used in commercial real estate,
but can also apply to commercial vehicles
and other types of property.
Sales charge
A sales charge is the fee you pay to buy
shares of a load mutual fund or other
investment purchased through a
financial professional.
The charge is typically figured as a
percentage of the amount you invest. As
the size of your investment increases, the
rate at which you pay the sales charge
may decrease.
Each dollar amount at which there is a
corresponding reduction in the charge is
known as a breakpoint. For example, the
Safekeeping
181
rate may drop from 4.5% to 4.25% with an
investment of $25,000.
The sales charge on a mutual fund may
be imposed as a front-end load when you
buy (also known as Class A shares), as a
back-end load when you sell (also known
as Class B shares), or as a level load each
year you own the fund (also known as
Class C shares).
Sales tax
A sales tax is a tax imposed by state and
local governments on transactions that
occur within their jurisdictions.
The taxing authority determines which
transactions are subject to tax and the
flat rate at which the tax is calculated.
Some countries, though not the United
States, impose a national sales tax often
called a value added tax (VAT).
Sallie Mae
This corporation purchases student
loans from various lenders, such as banks,
and packages the loans as bonds or
short-term or medium-term notes. After
issue, these debt securities trade on the
secondary market.
Sallie Mae guarantees repayment of
the bonds and notes, and uses the money
it raises through the sale of these securi-
ties to provide additional loan money for
post-secondary school students. Sallie
Mae also arranges financing for state
student loan agencies. Its shares trade
on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
Named after its main Congressional
sponsors, Senator Paul Sarbanes and
Representative Michael Oxley, the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 introduced
new financial practices and reporting
requirements, including executive
certification of financial reports, plus
more stringent corporate governance
procedures for publicly traded US
companies . It also added protections
for whistleblowers.
Officially the Corporate and Auditing
Accountability, Responsibility, and
Transparency Act, the law is known
more colloquially as SarbOx or SOX. It
was passed in response to several high-
profile corporate scandals involving
accounting fraud and corruption in
major US corporations.
The law also created the Public
Company Accounting Oversight Board
(PCAOB), a private-sector, nonprofit
corporation that regulates and oversees
public accounting firms.
The law has seen its share of contro-
versy, with opponents arguing that the
expense and effort involved in complying
with the law reduce shareholder value,
and proponents arguing that increased
corporate responsibility and transparency
far outweigh the costs of compliance.
Savings account
A savings account is a deposit account in
a bank or credit union that pays interest
on your balancethough some institu-
tions require that you have at least a
minimum amount in the account to
qualify for earnings.
You can deposit and withdraw from
savings accounts as you wish, but you
cant transfer money from the account
directly to other people or organizations.
While savings accounts typically pay
interest at a lower rate than other bank
accounts, that may not always be the
case. Savings accounts are insured by the
(FDIC) or the National Credit Union
Share Insurance Fund.
Youre covered up to $100,000 in each
of three different categories of account
in a single bank, or up to $250,000 if an
account is a self-directed retirement
account (IRA). Different branches of
the same bank count as one bank.
Savings bonds
The US government issues two types of
savings bonds: Series EE and Series I.
You buy electronic Series EE bonds
through a Treasury Direct account for
face value and paper Series EE for half
their face value. You earn a fixed rate
of interest for the 30-year term of these
bonds, and they are guaranteed to double
in value in 20 years. Series EE bonds
issued before May 2005 earn interest at
variable rates set twice a year.
Series I bonds are sold at face value
and earn a real rate of return thats
guaranteed to exceed the rate of
inflation during the term of the bond.
Existing Series HH bonds earn interest
to maturity, but no new Series HH bonds
are being issued.
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182
The biggest difference between
savings bonds and US Treasury issues is
that theres no secondary market for
savings bonds since they cannot be traded
among investors. You buy them in your
own name or as a gift for someone else
and redeem them by turning them back to
the government, usually through a bank
or other financial intermediary.
The interest on US savings bonds is
exempt from state and local taxes and
is federally tax deferred until the bonds
are cashed in. At that point, the interest
may be tax exempt if you use the bond
proceeds to pay qualified higher
education expenses, provided that your
adjusted gross income (AGI) falls in the
range set by federal guidelines and you
meet the other conditions to qualify.
Screen
A screen is a set of criteria against which
you measure stocks or other investments
to find those that meet your criteria.
For example, you might screen for
stocks that meet a certain environmen-
tally or socially responsible standard, or
for those with current price-to-earnings
ratios (P/E) less than the current
market average.
A socially responsible mutual fund
describes the screens it uses to select
investments in its prospectus.
Scrip
Scrip is a certificate or receipt that
represents something of value but has
no intrinsic value. Whats essential is that
the issuer and the recipient must agree
on the value that the scrip represents.
For example, in the past, after a cor-
porate stock split or spin-off, a company
might issue scrip representing a fractional
share of stock for each share you owned.
On or before a specific date, you could
combine the certificates and convert the
value they represented into full shares.
But most companies today make a
cash payment for fractional shares based
on the closing price of the stock on a
specific date.
Scripophily
Scripophily is the practice of collecting
antique stocks, bonds, and other
securities.
The most valuable documents are
usually the most beautiful, or those
that have some historical significance
because of the role the issuing company
played in the economy. Sometimes
those with distinctive errors are also
especially valuable.
Secondary market
When investors buy and sell securities
through a brokerage account, the trans-
actions occur on whats known as the
secondary market.
While the secondary market isnt a
place, it includes all of the exchanges,
trading rooms, and electronic networks
where these transactions take place.
The issuercompany or government
that sold the security initially receives
no proceeds from these trades, as it does
when the securities are sold for the
first time.
Secondary offering
The most common form of secondary
offering occurs when an investor,
usually a corporation, but sometimes an
individual, sells a large block of stock or
other securities it has been holding in its
portfolio to the public.
In a sale of this kind, all the profits
go to the seller rather than the company
that issued the securities in the first
place. The seller usually pays all
the commissions.
Secondary offerings can also originate
with the issuing companies themselves. In
these cases, a company issues additional
shares of its stock, over and above those
sold in its initial public offering (IPO), or
it reissues shares that were issued and
have been bought up by the company
over time. Reissued shares are known
as Treasury stock.
Screen
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Sector
A sector is a segment of the economy that
shares distinctive characteristics, such
as telecommunications or energy.
Sectors tend to do better during
certain parts of the economic cycle
and worse in others. Sectors also
respond to a variety of factors,
including consumer sentiment.
The performance of any single
stock in a sector can be measured
against the performance of the sector
as a whole, showing where that stock
ranks in relation to its peers.
Sector indexes, some broad and some
very narrow, track many of the major
sectors of the economy.
Sector fund
Sector mutual funds, also called specialty
or specialized funds, concentrate their
investments in a single segment of an
industry, such as biotechnology, natural
resources, utilities, or regional banks,
for example.
Sector funds tend to be more volatile
and erratic than more broadly diversified
funds, and often dominate both the top
and bottom of annual mutual fund
performance charts. A sector that thrives
in one economic climate may wither in
another one.
Secular market
A secular market is one that moves in
the same directionup or downfor an
extended period.
Benchmark indexes continue to rise
to new, higher levels during a secular
bull market despite some short-term
corrections. Similarly, during a secular
bear market, index levels decline or
remain flat despite short-term rallies.
In addition, the average price-to-
earnings ratio increases substantially
during a secular bull market before
reaching a top and falls during secular
bear markets before hitting a bottom.
Secular markets tend to move in
cycles, or predictable though not regular
patterns, so that a secular bull market is
followed by a secular bear market, which
is followed by a secular bull market,
and so on.
For example, the bull market of
1982 through 1999 followed the bear
market of 1966-1981. The length of
secular markets varies, from as few as 4
or 5 years to more than 20 years, though
when one begins and ends becomes clear
only in retrospect.
Secured bond
The issuer of a bond or other debt
security may guarantee, or secure, the
bond by pledging, or assigning, collateral
to investors. If the issuer defaults, the
investors may take possession of
the collateral.
A mortgage-backed bond is an example
of a secured issue, since the underlying
mortgages can be foreclosed and the
properties sold to recover some of or all
the amount of the bond.
Holders of secured bonds are at the
top of the pecking order if an issuer
misses an interest payment or defaults
on repayment of principal.
Secured credit card
A secured credit card is linked to a
savings account you open with the bank
or other financial institution offering
the card.
You deposit a sum of money in the
account, and you can borrow up to that
amount using your card. If you dont repay
what you borrowed, the creditor can
access your account to cover your debt.
The creditor may also change substantial
fees for a secured card.
Secured credit cards look the same
as other credit cards, so no merchant
can identify a card as secured. But if
you have trouble qualifying for credit,
perhaps because youve just started work-
ing, you can use a secured card as a first
step toward establishing a record of using
credit responsibly.
Secured loan
A secured loan is a loan thats guaranteed
with collateral, such as a home or car. If
you default and fail to make payments on
time, the lender can take possession of
your collateral and sell it to recover the
loan amount.
In most cases, lenders charge a lower
interest rate on a secured loan than on
an unsecured loan of comparable size. An
unsecured loan is guaranteed only by your
promise to pay, not by collateral.
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184
Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC)
The Securities and Exchange Commission
(SEC) is an independent federal agency
that oversees and regulates the securities
industry in the United States and enforces
securities laws.
The SEC requires registration of all se-
curities that meet the criteria it sets, and
of all individuals and firms who sell those
securities. Its also a rule making body,
with a mandate to turn the law into rules
that the investment industry can follow.
Established by Congress in 1934,
the SEC sets standards for disclosure by
publicly traded corporations, and works
to protect investors from misleading
or fraudulent practices, including
insider trading.
It has four divisions: Corporate
Finance, Market Regulation, Investment
Management, and Enforcement.
Securities Investor Protection
Corporation (SIPC)
The Securities Investor Protection
Corporation (SIPC) is a nonprofit
corporation created by Congress to
insure investors against losses caused
by the failure of a brokerage firm.
Through SIPC, assets in your broker-
age account are insured up to $500,000,
including up to $100,000 in cash, but
only against losses that result from the
brokerage firm going bankrupt, not
against market losses caused by trading
decisions or other causes.
All brokers and dealers must register
Commission (SEC) and are required to be
SIPC members though they can lose their
affiliation under certain circumstances.
Clients of nonmember firms are
not insured.
Securitization
Securitization is the process of pooling
various types of debtmortgages, car
loans, or credit card debt, for example
and packaging that debt as bonds, pass-
through securities, or collateralized
mortgage obligations (CMOs), which
are sold to investors.
The principal and interest on the
debt underlying the security is paid to
the investors on a regular basis, though
the method varies based on the type of
security. Debts backed by mortgages are
known as mortgage-backed securities,
while those backed by other types of loans
are known as asset-backed securities.
Security
Traditionally, a security was a physical
document, such as stock or bond
certificate, that represented your
investment in that stock or bond.
But with the advent of electronic
recordkeeping, paper certificates have
increasingly been replaced by electronic
documentation.
In current general usage, the term
security refers to the stock, bond, or other
investment product itself rather than to
evidence of ownership.
Self-amortizing loan
A self-amortizing loan is one thats
paid off over a specific period of time
as the borrower makes regular
installment payments.
Part of each payment covers some
interest on the loan, and the rest is
applied to the principal. When the last
payment is made, both principal and
interest have been paid in full.
Self-amortizing loans can be bundled
together and offered for sale as debt
securities, such as those available
through Ginnie Mae (GNMA). If you buy
GNMA or similar bonds, you get back part
of your principal as well as the interest
youve earned each time you receive an
interest payment. There is no lump-sum
repayment of principal when the
bond matures.
Self-directed retirement plan
If you participate in an employers retire-
ment savings plan, such as a 401(k) or a
403(b), you usually must select the invest-
ments into which your contribution goes
from a menu of choices your plan offers.
When thats the case, your plan is
self-directed, and the income you receive
when you retire is determined in part by
the investment choices you make.
Individual retirement accounts are
also self-directed, as you choose the
way that the assets in the account
are invested. Individual retirement
annuities may or may not be self-directed,
depending on the contract you chose.
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In contrast, if youre part of a defined
benefit pension plan, your employer is
responsible for making the investment
decisions. If you own a fixed annuity,
the insurance company makes the
investment decisions.
Self-regulatory organization (SRO)
All securities and commodities exchanges
in the United States are self-regulatory
organizations (SROs), as is NASD.
These bodies establish the standards
under which their members conduct
business, monitor the way that business is
conducted, and enforce their own rules.
For example, the New York Stock
Exchange (NYSE) requires that client
orders delivered to the floor of the
exchange be filled before orders that
originate with traders on the floor, who
buy and sell for their own accounts.
Sell short
Selling short is a trading strategy thats
designed to take advantage of an antici-
pated drop in a stocks market price.
To sell short, you borrow shares
through your broker, sell them, and use
the money you receive from the sale as
collateral on the loan until the stock
price drops.
If it does, you then buy back the shares
at a lower price using the collateral, and
return the borrowed shares to your broker
plus interest and commission. If you
realize a profit, its yours to keep.
Suppose, for example, you sell short
100 shares of stock priced at $10 a share.
When the price drops to $7.50, you buy
100 shares, return them to your broker,
and keep the $2.50-per-share profit minus
commission. The risk is that if the share
price rises instead of falls, you may have
to buy back the shares at a higher price
and suffer the loss.
During the period of the short sale,
the lender of the stock is no longer the
registered owner because the stock was
sold. If any dividends are paid during
that period, or any other corporate
actions occur, the short seller must
make the lender whole by paying the
amount thats due. However, that income
is taxed at the lenders regular rate, not
the lower rate that applies to qualifying
dividend income.
Sell side
Brokerage firms and other financial
services companies that buy and sell
investments as agents for retail investors
as well as for their own accounts are
described as the sell side of Wall Street.
Sell-side institutions employ analysts
to research potential investments and
make buy, hold, or sell recommendations
that the firms brokers may make avail-
able to their clients to help guide their
investment decisions.
Sell-off
A sell-off is a period of intense selling of
securities and commodities triggered by
declining prices. Sell-offssometimes
called dumpingusually cause prices to
plummet even more sharply.
Senior bond
Senior bonds offer slightly lower interest
rates than subordinated or junior bonds
because they are considered less risky.
A senior bond has priority in interest
payments, and if a bond issuer defaults,
or runs into difficulty paying off debt,
holders of senior bonds have a prior
claim in receiving whatever monies
are available.
Separate account
An insurance companys separate account
is established to hold the premiums you
use to purchase funds included in variable
annuity contracts the company offers.
The separate account is distinct from
the companys general account, which
holds the companys assets as well as
premiums for fixed annuities and fixed-
income separate account funds.
Assets in a companys separate
account are not vulnerable to the claims
of creditors, as assets in the general
account are. But they can be affected by
the ups and downs of the marketplace.
Any gain or loss in the annuitys value
results from the investment performance
of the investments in the separate
account funds you select.
Separate account
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Separate account fund
Each variable annuity contract offers a
number of separate account funds.
Each of those funds owns a collection
of individual investments chosen by a
professional manager who is striving to
achieve a particular objective, such as
long-term growth or regular income.
You allocate your variable annuity
premiums among different separate
account funds offered in your contract
to create a diversified portfolio of funds,
sometimes called investment portfolios
or subaccounts.
If youre comparing different contracts
to decide which to purchase, among the
factors to consider are the variety of
funds each contract offers, the past per-
formance of those funds, the experience
of the professional manager, and the fees.
In evaluating the past performance
and other details of the funds a contract
offers, or the funds you are using in the
contract you selected, you can use the
prospectus the annuity company provides
for each separate account fund. You may
be able to find independent research on
the funds from firms such as Morningstar,
Inc., Standard & Poors, and Lipper.
Series 6
The Series 6 is a licensing examination
that you must pass to be entitled to sell
mutual funds and variable annuities
to investors.
The examination, which is adminis-
tered by NASD, is a 100-question multiple
choice test that puts primary emphasis
on knowledge of the products plus the
securities and tax regulations that apply.
Anyone taking the exam must be
sponsored by either an NASD member
firm or an industry self-regulatory
organization (SRO).
Series 63
The Series 63 is a licensing examination
that most states require for anyone who
wants to sell securities within the state.
Developed by the North American
Securities Administrators Association
(NASAA), the test covers state securities
laws, known informally as blue sky laws,
as reflected in the Uniform Securities
Act as amended by NASAA.
To sell securities anywhere in the
United States, applicants must also pass
the Series 6 (for a license to sell mutual
funds and annuities) or Series 7 (for a
license to sell all securities) administered
by NASD.
Series 7
To be licensed to sell securities to
individual investors, brokers must pass
the Series 7 exam, also called the General
Securities Registered Representative
Examination.
The six-hour test requires knowledge
of specific securities, the concept of
suitability, the securities markets, and
various aspects of maintaining customer
accounts, stocks, bonds, options, mutual
funds, direct participation programs, and
variable annuities, but not commodities
or futures contracts.
Anyone taking the exam must be
sponsored by an NASD member firm
or an industry self-regulatory
organization (SRO).
Settlement agent
In some states, a settlement agent, or
closing agent, handles the real estate
transaction when you buy or sell a home.
He or she oversees title searches, legal
documents, fee payments, and other de-
tails of transferring property, acting on
your behalf to ensure that the conditions
of the contract have been met and appro-
priate real estate taxes have been paid.
A settlement agent also represents
you at the closing, so you dont need to
be present.
Settlement date
The settlement date is the date by which
a securities transaction must be finalized.
By that date, the buyer must pay
for the securities purchased in the
transaction, and the seller must deliver
those securities.
For stocks, the settlement date is
three business days after the trade
date, or whats referred to as T+3. For
options and government securities, the
settlement date is one day, or T+1, after
the trade date.
In figuring long- and short-term
capital gains on your tax return, you use
the trade datethe date you buy or sell
a securityrather than the settlement
date as the date of record.
Share
A share is a unit of ownership in a corpo-
ration or mutual fund, or an interest in
a general or limited partnership. Though
the word is sometimes used inter-
changeably
with the
word stock,
you actually
own shares
of stock.
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187
Share class
Some stocks and certain mutual funds
subdivide their shares into classes or
groups to designate their special
characteristics.
For example, the differences between
Class A shares and Class B shares of stock
may focus on voting rights, resale rights,
or other provisions that enhance the
power of certain shareholders.
In fact, in the United States, most
dual class shares involve one class that
is publicly traded and another class that
is privately held.
In some overseas countries, Class A
shares can be purchased by citizens only,
while Class B shares can be purchased by
noncitizens only.
In the case of mutual funds, class
designations indicate the way that sales
charges, or loads, are levied. Class A
shares have front-end loads, Class B
shares have back-end loads, also called
contingent deferred sales charges, and
Class C shares have level loads.
Shareholder
If you own stock in a corporation, you are
a shareholder of that corporation.
Youre considered a majority share-
holder if you alone or in combination
with other shareholders own more than
half the companys outstanding shares,
which allows you to control the outcome
of a corporate vote. Otherwise, you are
considered a minority shareholder.
In practice, however, it is possible to
gain control by owning less than 51% of
the shares, especially if there are a large
number of shareholders or you own
shares that carry extra voting power.
Sharpe ratio
Using the Sharpe ratio is one way to
compare the relationship of risk and
reward in following different investment
strategies, such as emphasizing growth or
value investments, or in holding different
combinations of investments.
To figure the ratio, the risk-free return
is subtracted from the average return of
an investment portfolio over a period of
time, and the result is divided by the
standard deviation of the return.
A strategy with a higher ratio is less
risky than one with a lower ratio.
This type of analysis, which is done
using sophisticated computer programs,
is named for William P. Sharpe, who won
the Nobel Prize in economics in 1990.
Short interest
Short interest is the total number
of shares of a particular stock that
investors have sold short in anticipation
of a decline in the share price and have
not yet repurchased.
Short interest is often considered an
indicator of pessimism in the market and
a sign that prices will decline.
However, some analysts see short
interest as a positive sign, pointing out
that short sales have to be covered, and
that the need to repurchase can trigger
increased demand and therefore
higher prices.
Short position
If you sell stock short and have not yet
repurchased shares to replace the ones
you borrowed, you are said to have a
short position in that stock.
Similarly, if you sell an options
contract that commits you to meet the
terms of the contract at some date in the
future if the option is exercised, you have
a short position in that contract.
SIMPLE
A SIMPLE, also known as a SIMPLE IRA,
is short for Savings Incentive Match Plans
for Employees, an employer sponsored
retirement savings plan that may be
offered by companies with fewer than
100 employees.
Employers must contribute to eligible
employees accounts each year in one of
two ways. They can make a contribution
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SEP
equal to 2% of salary for every employee,
or match dollar-for-dollar each employees
contribution to the plan, up to 3% of that
employees annual salary.
A SIMPLE may be set up by establish-
ing an IRA in each employees name or
as a 401(k). Congress sets an annual
dollar limit on the tax-deferred amount
an employee may contribute, based on
the type of SIMPLE it is. Contribution
ceilings for SIMPLE-IRAs are lower than
for other employer sponsored plans.
You may withdraw assets from a
SIMPLE without penalty if you are 59
or older and retired. And you must begin
taking minimum required distributions
you turn 70 unless youre still working.
Taxes are due on distributions at your
regular tax rate.
You may roll your assets over into
another employer plan or an IRA if you
leave your job for any reason or retire.
Two key differences between SIMPLEs
and other employer plans are that your
account must be open at least two years
before you can withdraw or move the
money, and the federal tax penalty for
early withdrawal is 25% of the amount
you take, rather than 10%.
Simple interest
If you earn simple interest on money
you deposit in a bank or use to purchase
a certificate of deposit (CD), the interest
is figured on the amount of your
principal alone.
For example, if you had $1,000 in an
account that paid 5% simple interest
for five years, youd earn $50 a year
($1,000 x .05 = $50) and have $1,250 at
the end of five years.
In contrast, if you had been earning
compound interest, youd have $1,276.29
at the end of five years, since the interest
you earned each year, as well as your
principal, would have earned interest.
Simplified employee pension plan
(SEP)
An SEP is a qualified retirement plan set
up as an individual retirement arrange-
ment (IRA) in an employees name.
You can establish an SEP for yourself
if you own a small business, or you may
participate as an employee if you work
for a company that sponsors such a plan.
The federal government sets the
requirements for participation, the
maximum annual contribution limits,
and the rules governing withdrawals.
Sinking fund
To ensure theres money on hand to
redeem a bond or preferred stock issue,
a corporation may establish a separate
custodial account, called a sinking fund,
to which it adds money on a regular basis.
Or the corporation may be required to
establish such a fund to fulfill the terms
of its issue. The existence of the fund
allows the corporation to present its
investments as safer than those issued by
a corporation without comparable assets.
However, sinking fund assets may be
used to call bonds before they mature,
reducing the interest the bondholders
expected to receive.
Slow market
A slow market is one with sluggish trading
and static prices. In this environment, it
may be difficult to find buyers willing to
pay the price at which youd like to sell
your securities or other assets.
So to reduce the risk of losing principal
or limiting gains, you may decide not to
sell in a slow market unless you have a
pressing need for the money that your
asset might produce.
On the other hand, you might choose to
buy in a slow market because lackluster
trading volume might depress the prices
of attractive investments.
The term slow market is also used
to describe an exchange or market
where transactions take relatively
longer to execute than they do in other
trading environments.
Slump
In an investment slump, prices fall. The
slump may affect an individual investment
as the result of company-specific prob-
lems or it may affect an entire investment
market. Often a slump is short-term, but
it may also signal a long-term decline.
Small-capitalization stock
Shares of relatively small publicly
traded corporations with a total market
Simple interest
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capitalization of less than $2.3 billion are
typically considered small-capitalization,
or small-cap, stocks.
That number is not used uniformly,
however, and you may find small-cap
defined as below $1.5 billion. Market
capitalization is calculated by multiplying
the market price per share by the number
of outstanding shares.
Small-cap stocks, which are tracked
by the Russell 2000 Index, tend to be
issued by young, potentially fast-growing
companies. Over the long termthough
not in every periodsmall-cap stocks as
a group have produced stronger returns
than any other investment category.
Mutual funds that invest in this type
of stock are known as small-cap funds.
Social Security
Social Security is a federal government
program designed to provide income
for qualifying retired people, their
dependents, and disabled people who
meet the Social Security test for disability.
You qualify for retirement benefits
if you have had at least the minimum
required payroll tax withheld from your
wages for 40 quarters, the equivalent of
10 years.
The minimum for each quarter is set
by Congress and increases slightly each
year. You earn credits toward disability
coverage in the same way.
The amount you receive in Social
Security retirement benefits, up to the
annual cap, is determined by the payroll
taxes you paid during your working life,
which were matched by an equal tax paid
by your employers. Some of your benefit
may be subject to income tax if your
income plus half your benefit is higher
than the ceiling Congress sets.
Socially responsible fund
When socially responsible mutual funds,
also known as green funds or conscience
funds, select securities to meet their
investment goals, the securities must
also satisfy the funds commitment to
certain principles spelled out in the
funds prospectus.
For example, a socially responsible
fund might not buy shares of a manufac-
turing company that operates factories
that fund managers consider sweatshops.
Or the fund might not buy shares of a
food company that sells out-of-date
products in emerging markets.
Since the priorities of these funds vary,
you may need to do some investigating to
find one that matches your values.
Soft dollars
Soft dollars are amounts that money
managers, including mutual fund
managers, pay out of their clients
accounts to a brokerage firm to cover
the cost of research the firm provides.
Soft dollars also cover transaction fees
for executing trades.
The alternative would be for the
managers to purchase the research with
their own money, or hard dollars, and
pay for the transaction fees with their
clients money.
Using soft dollars isnt a violation of
the managers fiduciary duty, provided
that the money pays for research that is
consistent with SEC requirements and
for actual transaction costs. In fact, it
may make valuable research information
available to both the managers and
their clients.
The practice is controversial, however,
for a number of reasons, including
whether soft dollar relationships conflict
with the managers obligation to seek
best execution of the trades they place.
Soft market
A soft market, also known as a buyers
market, is one in which there is inactive
trading in an individual stock or the
market as a whole at current prices.
As a result, a large sell order can easily
push the price of the stock or the market
down. If investors move in to buy at this
lower level, the market is sometimes said
to be firming up. Another way to describe
a soft market is as one with more supply
than demand.
Sole proprietor
A sole proprietor is the owner and
operator of a business that isnt registered
as either a corporation or a limited
liability company.
As a sole proprietor, you are personally
liable for all your businesss debts and
report any business profits or losses on
your individual tax return.
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190
Special situation
An undervalued stock that one or more
analysts expects to increase in price in
the very near future because of an antici-
patedand welcomechange within the
company is known as a special situation.
That change could be the introduction
of a major new product, a corporate
restructuring, or anything else that has
the potential to increase earnings.
In some cases, the fact that a stock is
identified as a special situation creates
a flurry of investor interest and actually
helps drive the price up even before the
change has had time to take effect.
A stock that is extremely volatile over
the short term because of important
recent news about the company, such as
a takeover or spin-off, is also described
as a special situation.
Specialist
A specialist or specialist unit is a member
of a securities exchange responsible for
maintaining a fair and orderly market in
a specific security or securities on the
exchange floor.
Specialists execute market orders
given to them by other members of the
exchange known as floor brokers or sent
to their post through an electronic
routing system.
Typically, a specialist acts both as
agent and principal. As agent, the
specialist handles limit orders for floor
brokers in exchange for a portion of
their commission.
Those orders are maintained in an
electronic record known as the limit
order book, or specialists book, until the
stock is trading at the acceptable price.
As principal, the specialist buys for his
or her own account to help maintain a
stable market in a security.
For example, if the spread, or
difference, between the bid and ask, or
the highest price offered by a buyer and
the lowest price asked by a seller, gets
too wide, and trading in the security hits
a lull, the specialist might buy, sell, or sell
short shares to narrow the spread and
stimulate trading.
But because of restrictions the
exchange puts on trading, a specialist
is not permitted to buy a security when
there is an unexecuted order for the same
security at the same price in the limit
order book.
Specialists display book
A display book was traditionally a written
chronological record of all limit, stop, and
short sale orders that had been placed
with a specialist for an individual security
on behalf of specific clients plus an
inventory of the specialists own holdings
in the security.
Display Book is an electronic extension
of that recordkeeping. Its part of an
integrated telecommunications system
that not only displays orders but executes
and reports transactions, handles trade
comparison, and links to a number of
other functions.
Speculator
When you make a financial commitment
because you believe something will
happen in the market where youre
trading that will provide a profit, you
are acting as a speculator.
For example, you might invest in a
bankrupt company because you expect
that it will emerge from bankruptcy and
its stock price will rise at some point in
the future. Or you might purchase futures
contracts or buy or sell options because
you think the contracts might increase
in value.
In contrast, hedgers buy futures
and options to protect their financial
interests. For example, a baker who buys
a wheat futures contract in order to
protect the cost of producing bread is
hedging the risk that wheat prices will
rise. Shes willing to spend a certain
amount to protect against a potentially
larger loss.
Spending plan
A spending plan can help you manage
your money more effectively, live within
your income limits, reduce your reliance
on consumer credit, and save for the
things you want.
You create a spending plan, or budget,
by dividing up your income so that it cov-
ers your regular expensesboth essential
and nonessential.
Its a good idea to include some income
for your emergency fundtypically about
three months of incomeand ideally
some for your investment account. As a
starting point, some people use what they
Special situation
Seek to
profit on
price
changes
Buy when
they think
prices
are lowest
Sell when
they think
prices are
highest
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191
spent the previous year to figure out their
spending plan for the next year.
You may want to check the Bureau of
Labor Statistics website (www.bls.gov)
for the average nationwide expenditures
for housing, food, and other costs. But you
may have to modify that information to
reflect local costs and your own situation.
Spin-off
In a spin-off, a company sets up one of
its existing subsidiaries or divisions as a
separate company.
Shareholders of the parent company
receive stock in the new company based
on an evaluation established for the new
entity. In addition, they continue to hold
stock in the parent company.
The motives for spin-offs vary. A
company may want to refocus its core
businesses, shedding those that it sees
as unrelated. Or it may want to set up a
company to capitalize on investor interest.
In other cases, a corporation may
face regulatory hurdles in expanding
its business and spin off a unit to be
in compliance. Sometimes, a group of
employees will assume control of the new
entity through a buyout, an employee
stock ownership plan (ESOP), or as the
result of negotiation.
Split-funded annuity
A split-funded annuity lets you begin
receiving income from a portion of your
principal immediately, while the rest of
the money goes into a deferred annuity.
The advantage of split-funding is
that you have the benefit of some income
right away for immediate needs or
wants, while the balance compounds
tax deferred, allowing you to build your
retirement assets.
One goal of a split-funded annuity is
providing a larger future income when
you begin to draw on the deferred portion
than you would receive if you annuitized
the entire principal now.
Spoofing
Some market analysts maintain that the
increased volatility in stock markets may
be the result of an illegal practice known
as spoofing, or phantom bids.
To spoof, traders who own shares of
a certain stock place an anonymous buy
order for a large number of shares of the
stock through an electronic communica-
tions network (ECN). Then they cancel,
or withdraw, the order seconds later.
As soon as the order is placed, however,
the price jumps. Thats because investors
following the market closely enter their
own orders to buy what seems to be a hot
stock and drive up the price.
When the price rises, the spoofer
sells shares at the higher price, and gets
out of the market in that stock. Investors
who bought what they thought was a hot
stock may be left with a substantial loss
if the price quickly drops back to its
prespoof price.
Spoofing is a variant of the scam
known as pump and dump.
Spot market
Commodities and foreign currencies
are traded for immediate delivery and
payment on the spot market, also known
as a cash market.
The term refers to the fact that the
current market price is paid in cash on
the spot, or within a short period of time.
A cash sale, whether arranged in per-
son, over the telephone, or electronically,
is the opposite of a forward contract,
where delivery and settlement are set for
a date in the future.
The same is true for a futures
contract, which is an agreement to trade
a commodity today for a set price at
delivery on a specific date in the future.
Spot price
The spot, or cash, price is the price of
commodities and foreign currencies that
are being sold for immediate delivery with
payment in cash.
Spread
In the most general sense, a spread
is the difference between two similar
measures. In the stock market, for
example, the spread is the difference
between the highest price bid and the
lowest price asked.
With fixed-income securities, such
as bonds, the spread is the difference
between the yields on securities having
the same investment grade but different
maturity dates. For example, if the yield
on a long-term Treasury bond is 6%, and
the yield on a Treasury bill is 4%, the
spread is 2%.
The spread may also be the difference
in yields on securities that have the
same maturity date but are of different
Spread
Will You
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Ill Offer
$22!
Ill Ask
$22!
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investment quality. For example, there
is a 3% spread between a high-yield bond
paying 9% and a Treasury bond paying
6% that both come due on the same date.
The term also refers to the price
difference between two different
derivatives of the same class.
For instance, there is typically a
spread between the price of the October
wheat futures contract and the January
wheat futures contract. Part of that
spread is known as the cost of carry.
However, the spread widens and narrows,
caused by changes in the marketin
this case the wheat market.
Standard & Poors (S&P)
Standard & Poors is a private,
independent source of financial market
intelligence for investors and other
market participants.
Its products include indexes, risk
evaluation, investment research and data,
and credit ratings on public companies,
financial institutions, insurance firms,
sovereign nations, municipal and state
governments, and many non-profit
organizations such as hospitals
and universities.
Standard & Poors Depositary
Receipt (SPDR)
When you buy SPDRspronounced
spidersyoure buying shares in a unit
investment trust (UIT) that owns a
portfolio of stocks included in Standard &
Poors 500 Index (S&P 500). A share
is priced at about 1/10 the value of
the S&P 500.
Like an index mutual fund that
tracks the S&P 500, SPDRs provide a way
to diversify your investment portfolio
without having to own shares in all the
S&P 500 companies yourself.
However, while the net asset value
(NAV) of an index fund is set only once
a day, at the end of trading, the price
of SPDRs, which are listed on the
American Stock Exchange (AMEX),
changes throughout the day, reflecting
the constant changes in the index.
SPDRs, which are part of a category
of investments known as exchange traded
funds (ETFs), can be sold short or bought
on margin as stocks can.
Each quarter you receive a distribution
based on the dividends paid on the stocks
in the underlying portfolio, after trust
expenses are deducted. If you choose,
you can reinvest those distributions to
buy additional shares.
Standard & Poors/Citigroup Growth
and Value Indexes
To provide benchmarks for specific
investment styles, Standard & Poors
offers complementary sets of style indexes
for the US market that subdivide the
S&P 500, the S&P MidCap 400, the S&P
SmallCap 600, the Composite 1500, the
S&P 1000, and the S&P 900 into to growth
and value segments.
One set, called the style index
series, divides each of the indexes into
approximately equal halves, with one half
comprising growth stocks and the other
value stocks. Stocks that dont fit clearly
into either category are distributed
between growth and value.
The other set, called the pure style
index series, tracks only those stocks that
fit clearly into the growth category or the
value category. Stocks in these indexes
are weighted by their style scores rather
than their market cap to eliminate the
impact of size on the index return.
Standard & Poors 500 Index
(S&P 500)
The benchmark Standard & Poors 500
Index, widely referred to as the
S&P 500, tracks the performance of
500 widely held large-cap US stocks in
the industrial, transportation, utility,
and financial sectors.
In calculating the changing value of
this capitalization-weighted index, also
called a market value index, stocks with
the greatest number of floating shares
trading at the highest share prices are
weighted more heavily than stocks with
lower market value.
This can mean that a relatively
few stocks have a major impact on the
movement of the index at any point in
time. The stocks included in the index,
their relative weightings, and the number
of stocks from each of the sectors vary
from time to time, at S&Ps discretion.
Standard deviation
Standard deviation is a statistical mea-
surement of how far a variable quantity,
such as the price of a stock, moves above
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or below its average value. The wider
the range, which means the greater
the standard deviation, the riskier an
investment is considered to be.
Some analysts use standard deviation
to predict how a particular investment or
portfolio will perform. They calculate the
range of the investments possible future
performances based on a history of past
performance, and then estimate the
probability of meeting each performance
level within that range.
Start-up
While any new company could be
considered a start-up, the description
is usually applied to aggressive young
companies that are actively courting
private financing from venture capitalists,
including wealthy individuals and private
equity partnerships. In many cases, the
start-ups plan to use the cash infusion
to prepare for an initial public
offering (IPO).
State guaranty funds
State guaranty funds, which are offered
in every state, protect contract owners
against the insolvency of an insurance
company that has issued insurance
contracts, including annuity contracts.
However, each states laws set
different limits on benefits and coverage.
The guaranty funds are backed by an
association of insurance companies, not
the state or federal government.
But all insurance companies in the
state must belong and contribute to the
fund in order to be licensed to sell their
products. However, if you buy your
contract from a highly rated company, its
financial strength and reputation stand
behind your contract.
Rating services such as Standard &
Poors, Moodys, A.M. Best, and Fitch rank
insurance companies on their overall
financial condition, which underlies their
ability to meet their obligations. You can
request these reports from the insurance
company. They are also available in public
libraries, on the Internet, and from your
financial adviser.
Statutory voting
When shareholders vote for candidates
nominated to serve on a companys board
of directors, they usually cast their ballots
using statutory voting.
Under this system, each shareholder
gets one vote for each share of stock he
or she owns, and may cast that number
of votes for or against each candidate.
For example, if you owned 100 shares,
and there were three candidates, you
could cast 100 votes for each of them.
That means the shareholders owning
greater numbers of shares have greater
influence on the outcome of the election.
In cumulative voting, on the other
hand, a shareholder may cast the total
number of his or her votesone vote for
every share of stock multiplied by the
number of candidates for the boardfor
or against a single nominee, divide them
between two nominees, cast an equal
number of shares for each candidate, or
any other combination.
For example, if you owned 100 shares,
and there were three candidates, you
could cast 300 votes for one of them
and ignore the others. With this system,
people owning a smaller number of
shares can concentrate on one or two
candidates. That means they may have a
better chance of influencing the makeup
of the board.
Step-up in basis
When you inherit assets, such as
securities or property, they are stepped-up
in basis.
That means the assets are valued at
the amount they are worth when your
benefactor dies, or as of the date on which
his or her estate is valued, and not on the
date the assets were purchased. That new
valuation becomes your cost basis.
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For example, if your father bought 200
shares of stock for $40 a share in 1965,
and you inherited them in 2000 when they
were selling for $95 a share, they would
have been valued at $95 a share.
If you had sold them for $95 a share,
your cost basis would have been $95,
not the $40 your father paid for them
originally. You would not have had a
capital gain and would have owed no tax
on the amount you received in the sale.
In contrast, if your father had given
you the same stocks as a gift where there
is no step-up, your basis would have been
$40 a share. So if you sold at $95 a share,
you would have had a taxable capital gain
of $55 a share (minus commissions).
Stochastic modeling
Stochastic modeling is a statistical
process that uses probability and random
variables to predict a range of probable
investment performances.
The mathematical principles behind
stochastic modeling are complex, so its
not something you can do on your own.
But based on information you
provide about your age, investments,
and risk tolerance, financial analysts
may use stochastic modeling to help you
evaluate the probability that your current
investment portfolio will allow you to
meet your financial goals.
Appropriately enough, the term
stochastic comes from the Greek word
meaning skillful in aiming.
Stock
Stock is an equity investment that
represents part ownership in a corpo-
ration and entitles you to part of that
corporations earnings and assets.
Common stock gives shareholders
voting rights but no guarantee of dividend
payments. Preferred stock provides no
voting rights but usually guarantees a
dividend payment.
In the past, shareholders received
a paper stock certificatecalled a
securityverifying the number of shares
they owned. Today, share ownership is
usually recorded electronically, and the
shares are held in street name by your
brokerage firm.
Stock certificate
A stock certificate is a paper document
that represents ownership shares in
a corporation.
In the past, when you bought stock,
you got a certificate that listed your name
as owner, and showed the number of
shares and other relevant information.
When you sold the stock, you endorsed
the certificate and sent it to your broker.
Stock certificates have been phased
out, however, and replaced by electronic
records. That means you dont have to
safeguard the certificates, and can sell
shares by giving an order over the phone
or online.
The chief objection thats been raised
to the new system is largely nostalgic and
aesthetic, since the certificates, with
their finely engraved borders and images,
are distinctive and often beautiful.
Stock market
A stock market may be a physical place,
sometimes known as a stock exchange,
where brokers gather to buy and sell
stocks and other securities.
The term is also used more broadly
to include electronic trading that takes
place over computer and telephone
lines. In fact, in many markets around
the world, all stock trading is handled
electronically.
Stock option
A stock option, or equity option, is a
contract that gives its buyer the right to
buy or sell a specific stock at a preset
price during a certain time period.
The exact terms are spelled out in the
contract. The same contract obligates the
seller, also known as the writer, to meet
its terms to buy or sell the stock if the
option is exercised. If an option isnt
exercised within the set period, it expires.
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The buyer pays the seller a premium
for the privilege of having the right to
exercise, and the seller keeps that
premium whether or not the option is
exercised. The buyer has the right to
sell the contract at any point before
expiration, and might choose to sell if
the sale provides a profit. The seller has
the right to buy an offsetting contract at
any time before expiration, ending the
obligation to meet the contracts terms.
Stock options are also a form of
employee compensation that gives
employeesoften corporate executives
the right to buy shares in the company at
a specific price known as the strike price.
If the stock price rises, and an employee
has a substantial number of options, the
rewards can be extremely handsome.
However, if the stock price falls, the
options can be worthless. Often, there
are time limits governing when employees
can exercise their options and when
they can sell the stock. These options,
unlike equity options, cant be traded
among investors.
Stock split
When a company wants to make its
shares more attractive and affordable to
a greater number of investors, it may
authorize a stock split to create more
shares selling at a lower price.
A 2-for-1 stock split, for example,
doubles the number of outstanding
shares and halves the price. If you own
100 shares of a stock selling at $50 a
share, for a total value of $5,000, and the
companys directors authorize a 2-for-1
split, you would own 200 shares priced at
$25, with the same total value of $5,000.
Announcements of stock splits, or
anticipated stock splits, often generate a
great deal of interest. Buyers may simply
want to take advantage of the lower share
price, or they may believe that the split
stock will increase in value, moving back
toward its presplit price.
While 2-for-1 splits are the most
common, stocks can be also be split
3-for-1, 10-for-1, or any other combination.
In addition, a company can reverse the
process and consolidate shares to reduce
their number by authorizing a reverse
stock split.
Stop order
You can issue a stop order, which
instructs your broker to buy or sell a
security once it trades at a certain price,
called the stop price.
Stop orders are entered below the
current price if you are selling and above
the current price if you are buying. Once
the stop price is reached, your order
becomes a market order and is executed.
For example, if you owned a stock
currently trading at $35 a share that you
feared might drop in price, you could
issue a stop order to sell if the price
dropped to $30 a share to protect
yourself against a larger loss.
The risk is that if the price drops
very quickly, and other orders have
been placed before yours, the stock could
actually end up selling for less than $30.
You can give a stop order as a day order
or as a good til canceled (GTC) order.
You might use a buy stop order if you
have sold stock short anticipating a down-
ward movement of the market price of
the security. If, instead, the price rises to
the stop price, the order will be executed,
limiting your loss.
However, there is a risk with this type
of order if the market price of the stock
rises very rapidly. Other orders entered
ahead of yours will be executed first, and
you might buy at a price considerably
higher than the stop limit, increasing
your loss.
Stop price
When you give an order to buy or sell
a stock or other security once it has
reached a certain price, the price you
name is known as the stop price.
When you ask your broker to buy, your
stop price is higher than the current
market price. When youre selling, the
stop price is lower than the current price.
In either case, once the stop price has
been reached, your broker will execute
the order even if a flurry of trading drives
the stocks price up or down quickly. That
might mean you end up paying more than
the stop price if youre buying or get less
than the stop price if youre selling.
Stop-limit order
A stop-limit is a combination order that
instructs your broker to buy or sell a stock
once its price hits a certain target, known
as the stop price, but not to pay more for
Stop-limit order
196
the stock, or sell it for less, than a specific
amount, known as the limit price.
For example, if you give an order to
buy at 40 stop 43 limit, you might end
up spending anywhere from $40 to $43 a
share to buy a stock, but not more
than $43.
A stop-limit order can protect you from
a rapid run-up in pricesuch as those
that may occur with an initial public
offering (IPO)but you also run the risk
that your order wont be executed because
the stocks price leapfrogs your limit.
Straddle
A straddle is hedging strategy that
involves buying or selling a put and a call
option on the same underlying instrument
at the same strike price and with the
same expiration date.
If you buy a straddle, you expect the
price of the underlying to move signifi-
cantly, but youre not sure whether it will
go up or down. If you sell a straddle, you
hope that the underlying price remains
stable at the strike price.
Your risk in buying a straddle is limited
to the premium you pay. As a seller, your
risk is much higher because, if the price
of the underlying security moves signifi-
cantly, you may be assigned at exercise to
purchase or sell the underlying security
at a potential loss.
Similarly, if you choose to buy off-
setting contracts when the prices move,
it may cost you more than the premium
you collected.
Straight life
A straight life insurance policy is a type
of permanent insurance that provides a
guaranteed death benefit and has fixed
premiums. This traditional life insurance
is sometimes also known as whole life
insurance or cash value insurance.
With a straight life policy, a portion of
the rest accumulates tax deferred in a
cash value account.
You may be able to borrow against
the cash value, but any amount that you
havent repaid when you die reduces the
death benefit.
If you end the policy, you get the cash
surrender value back, which is the cash
value minus fees and expenses. However,
ending the policy means you no longer
have life insurance and no death benefit
will be paid at your death.
Strangle
A strangle is a hedging strategy in which
you buy or sell a put and a call option
on the same underlying instrument
with the same expiration date but at
different strike prices that are equally
out-of-the-money.
That is, the strike price for a put is
above the current market price of the
stock, stock index, or other product, and
the strike price for a call is below the
market price.
If you buy a strangle, you hope for
a large price move in one direction or
another that would allow you to sell one
of the contracts at a significant profit.
If you sell a strangle, you hope theres
no significant price move in either
direction so that the contracts expire
out-of-the-money and you keep the
premium you received.
Street name
Street name is a way to identify stock that
is registered in a broker-dealers name
rather than in the name of the actual, or
beneficial, owner.
Stock registered in street name is
also said to be held in nominee name.
The advantage of having your stocks
registered in street name is that the
shares are secure and at the same time
can be traded more easily. Thats because
you dont have to sign and deliver the
stock certificates before a sale can
be completed.
Theres an advantage from the
broker-dealers perspective as well,
since stocks held in street name can be
used to complete a trade or in other
transactions, subject to regulatory limits.
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Strike price
The strike price, also called the exercise
price, is the price at which you as an
options holder can buy or sell the stock
or other financial instrument underlying
the options contract if you choose to
exercise before expiration.
While the strike price is set by the
exchange on which the option trades,
and changes only if theres a stock split,
merger, or some other corporate action
that affects the underlying instrument,
the market price of the underlying
instrument rises and falls during the
life of the contract.
As a result, the underlying instrument
might reach a price that would put the
strike price in-the-money and make
exercising the option at the strike price,
or selling the option in the marketplace
financially advantageous, or it might not.
If not, you let the option expire.
STRIPS
STRIPS, an acronym for separate trading
of registered interest and principal of
securities, are special issues of US
Treasury zero-coupon bonds. Theyre
created and sold by brokerage firms, not
by the government.
The bonds are prestripped, which
means that the issue is separated into
the principal and a series of individual
interest payments, and each of those
parts is offered separately as a zero-
coupon security.
Structured product
Financial institutions create investment
products, known generically as structured
products, that trade on a stock exchange
and link the return on an investors
principal to the performance of an under-
lying security, such as a stock or basket
of stocks, or to a derivative, such as a
stock index.
For example, the return on debt
securities known as structured notes is
determined by the performance of a stock
index such as the Standard & Poors 500
(S&P 500) rather than the market
interest rate. The objective is to provide
the potential for higher returns than
are available through a conventional
investment.
Each product has a distinctive name,
often expressed as an acronym, and its
terms and conditions vary somewhat
from those offered by its competitors.
For example, in some cases the
principal is protected and in others it
isnt. But some features are characteristic
of these complex investmentstheir
value always involves an underlying
financial instrument and they require
investors to commit a minimum
investment amount for a specific term,
such as three years.
Stub stock
When a company has a negative net
worth as a result of being bought out or
going bankrupt, it may convert some of
the bonds it has issued into shares of
common stock.
Perhaps because each share is worth
only a portion of the original bonds value,
this new stock is known as stub stock.
The issuing companys financial
instability makes stub stock a volatile
investment. But if the company regains
its strength, stub stock can increase
dramatically in value.
Subaccount
The separate account funds to which you
allocate your variable annuity premiums
are sometimes called subaccounts.
Each subaccount is managed by
an investment specialist, or team of
specialists, who make buy and sell
decisions based on the subaccounts
objective and their analysts research.
If youre comparing different contracts
to decide which to purchase, among the
factors to consider are the variety of sub-
accounts each contract offers, the past
performance of those subaccounts, the
experience of the professional manager,
and the fees.
In evaluating the past performance
and other details of the subaccounts a
contract offers, or those you select in
the contract you choose, you can use the
prospectus the annuity company provides
for each subaccount. You may also be able
to find independent research from firms
such as Morningstar, Inc., Standard &
Poors, and Lipper. However, past perfor-
mance is not indicative of future results.
Subclass
Each asset classstock, bonds, and cash
equivalents, for exampleis made up of a
number of different groups of investments
called subclasses.
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198
Each member of a subclass shares
distinctive qualities with other members
of the subclass.
For example, some of the subclasses
of the asset class bonds are US Treasury
bonds, mortgage-backed agency bonds,
corporate bonds, and high-yield bonds.
Similarly, some of the subclasses of
stock are large-, medium-, and small-
company stock, blue chip stock, growth
stock, value stock, and income stock.
Because different subclasses of an
asset class perform differently, carry
different risks, and may go up and down
in value at different times, you may be
able to increase your return and offset
certain risks by diversifying your portfolio,
which means holding individual securities
within a variety of subclasses within each
asset class.
Subordinated debt
Subordinated debt generally refers to
debt securities that have a secondary or
lesser claim to the issuers assets than
more senior debt, should the issuer
default on its obligations.
In fact, there are also levels of sub-
ordinated debt, with senior subordinated
debt having a higher claim to repayment
than junior subordinated debt.
Subscription price
The subscription price is the discounted
price at which a current shareholder can
buy additional shares of company stock
before these newly available shares are
offered for sale to the general public.
In some cases the shareholder can
buy the new shares without incurring a
brokerage fee.
Subscription right
If a corporations charter has a pre-
emptive rights clause, before the
company offers a new issue of securities
to the public, it must offer existing
shareholders the opportunity to buy
new shares of stock in proportion to the
number they already own.
That obligation is known as a subscrip-
tion right, or a rights offering, and allows
you to maintain the same percentage of
ownership you had before the new issue.
Usually you receive one right for every
share you already own, although the
number of rights you need to buy a share
depends on the number of outstanding
shares in relation to the number in the
proposed new issue.
Rights are transferable, and may be
traded on the secondary market. For
example, if you dont wish to purchase
additional shares, you may choose to sell
your rights.
If you need additional rights to make a
purchase, you may buy them. Rights have
expiration dates, so you typically must act
promptly to take advantage of the offer.
Substitute check
Substitute checks are digital copies of
the fronts and backs of paper checks that
provide the same legal protections and
obligations as the originals, including
serving as proof of payment.
Each check is formatted on a separate
piece of paper a little larger than the
original with the words This is a legal
copy of your check appearing next to
the image.
Using digital copies, which can be
transmitted electronically, allows banks
to process payments faster and more
efficiently than they could when paper
checks had to be routed through the
check clearing system. Most banks
destroy original checks once theyve
archived the substitutes, which means
that you probably no longer receive can-
celled checks with your bank statement.
Your bank may send you substitute
checks but is more likely to provide
either a line item statement or an image
statement that has photocopies of the
fronts and backs of cancelled checks
grouped on a page. These are not
substitute checks, although they can
often be used as proof of payment.
If you need an actual copy of a
substitute check, you can request it from
your bank. However, there may be a fee.
Suitability rules
Self-regulatory organizations (SROs),
such as NASD, securities exchanges, and
individual brokerage firms require that
stockbrokers ensure that the investments
they buy for you are suitable for you.
This means, for example, that the
investments are appropriate for your age,
financial situation, investment objectives,
and tolerance for risk.
Subordinated debt
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Brokerage firms require investors
opening accounts to provide enough
information about their financial picture
to enable the broker to know what
investments would be suitable.
Surrender fee
A surrender fee is the penalty you owe if
you withdraw money from an annuity or
mutual fund within a certain time period
after purchase. The period is set by
the seller.
In the case of a mutual fund, its
designed to prevent in-and-out trading
in a fund, which might require the fund
manager to liquidate holdings in order to
redeem your shares.
In the case of an annuities contract,
theres the additional motive of covering
the sales charge paid to the investment
professional who sold you the product.
Survivorship life
Survivorship life insurance, also known
as a second-to-die policy, is permanent
insurance that covers the lives of two
people and pays the death benefit only
after the death of the second person.
Survivorship life may be appropriate
for married couples with substantial
wealth if estate taxes might be due after
the death of the second person.
The death benefit would be available
to cover the amount due at the federal
or state level, protecting some of or all
the assets from having to be sold to cover
these tax bills.
However, the premiums on survivorship
life policies are often higher than the cost
of other types of permanent insurance.
Suspended trading
Suspended trading means that an
exchange has temporarily stopped trading
in a particular stock or other security.
Trading is typically halted either be-
cause an important piece of information
about the issuing company is about to
be released or because theres a serious
imbalance between buy and sell orders,
often triggered by speculation.
In the case of an expected announce-
ment, the affected company generally
notifies the exchange that the news is
imminent. The suspension, or trading
halt, provides time for the marketplace
to absorb the announcement, good or
bad, and helps reduce volatility in the
stock price.
Examples of news that could cause a
suspension are a poorer than expected
earnings report, a major innovation or
discovery, a merger, or significant legal
problems. The Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC) can also suspend
trading in the stock of a company it
suspects of misleading or illegal activity.
Swap
When you swap or exchange securities,
you sell one security and buy a compa-
rable one almost simultaneously.
Swapping enables you to change the
maturity or the quality of the holdings in
your portfolio. You can also use swaps to
realize a capital loss for tax purposes by
selling securities that have gone down in
value since you purchased them.
More complex swaps, including
interest rate swaps and currency swaps,
are used by corporations doing business
in more than one country to protect them-
selves against sudden, dramatic shifts in
currency exchange rates or interest rates.
Sweep account
A brokerage firm or bank may auto-
matically transferor sweepa clients
uninvested or surplus funds into a
designated account.
For instance, at the end of each
business day, a bank might sweep a
business clients surplus cash from a
checking account into a high-yield money
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200
market or savings account, where the
money earns interest overnight. The next
morning, the bank would make these
funds again available to the customer.
Individuals are more likely to have
sweep arrangements with their brokerage
firm to handle investment earnings.
Syndicate
When a group of investment banks works
together to underwrite and distribute a
new security issue, they are acting as
a syndicate.
Syndicates are temporary, forming
to purchase the securities from the
issuer and dissolving once the issue
is distributed.
However, new syndicates, involving
some of or all the same banks, form on
a regular basis to underwrite each new
issue. You may also hear these under-
writing syndicates called purchase
groups, underwriting groups, or
distributing syndicates.
In other financial contexts, syndicate
may refer to any group of financial
institutions that works together on a
particular project. Syndicate also
describes a group of investors who
make a joint investment in a company.
Synthetic investment
A synthetic investment simulates the
return of an actual investment, but the
return is actually created by using a
combination of financial instruments,
such as options contracts or an equity
index and debt securities, rather than a
single conventional investment.
For example, an investment firm
might create a synthetic index that seeks
to outperform a particular index by
purchasing options contracts rather
than the equities the actual index owns,
and using the money it saves to buy cash
equivalents or other debt securities to
enhance its return on the derivatives.
Options spreads, structured products,
and certain investments in real estate and
guaranteed investment contracts can be
described as synthetic products.
While they are artificial, they can
play a legitimate role in an individual or
institutional investors portfolio as a way
to reduce risk, increase diversification,
enjoy a stronger return, or meet needs
that conventional investments
dont satisfy.
However, synthetic investments may
carry added fees and add more complexity
than you are comfortable dealing with.
Systematic risk
Systematic risk, also called market risk,
is risk thats characteristic of an entire
market, a specific asset class, or a
portfolio invested in that asset class.
Its the opposite of the risk posed by
individual securities in a class or port-
folio, also known as nonsystematic
risk. The predictable impact that rising
interest rates have on the prices of
previously issued bonds is one example
of systematic risk.
Systematic withdrawal
Systematic withdrawal is a method of
receiving income in regular installments
from your mutual fund accounts,
retirement plans, or annuity contracts.
Generally, you decide how much you
want to receive in each payment, and the
schedule on which you want to receive the
income. Those payments continue until
you stop them or you run out of money.
Unlike the alternatives, such as a
pension annuity, systematic withdrawal
gives you the flexibility to stop payments
at any time, adjust the amount you
receive, or choose a different way to
access your money.
By withdrawing the same amount on
a regular schedule, you limit the risk of
taking a large lump sum at a time when
your account value has dropped because
of a market decline.
The chief drawback of this withdrawal
method is that theres no guarantee of
lifetime income, so its possible to deplete
your account more quickly than the rate
at which its growing. That could mean
running out of money.
After you reach 70, you can use
systematic withdrawals as a way to ensure
you take out the minimum required
distribution (MRD) from qualified
retirement accounts and IRAs to avoid
the risk of incurring IRS penalties.
Syndicate
PAY
O
U
TS
$450.00
WITHDRAWAL
201
Tailgating
When a broker places your order for a
security, and then immediately places an
order for his or her own account for the
same security, the broker is tailgating.
Although this practice, which is also
known as piggybacking, isnt illegal,
it is considered unethical, because the
assumption is that the broker is trying
to profit from information the broker
believes you have about the stock.
A broker will typically tailgate only
when you buy stock in a sufficient
quantity to potentially affect the price
of the security.
Target date fund
A target date fund is a fund of funds
that allows you to link your investment
portfolio to a particular time horizon,
typically your expected retirement date.
In fact, a target date fund characteris-
tically has a date in its name, such as
a 2015 Fund or a 2030 Fund.
A target fund aiming at a date in the
somewhat distant future tends to have a
fairly aggressive asset allocation, with
a focus on growth. As the target date
approaches, the fund is designed to be-
come more conservative to preserve
the assets that have accumulated and
eventually to provide income.
Each fund company formulates its own
approach to risk, so that the allocation
of one 2025 Fund may be noticeably
different from the allocation of a 2025
Fund from a different company.
You can find model portfolios and
statements of investment strategy in the
funds prospectus. Each mutual fund
company that offers target date funds
tends to offer a series, with dates five or
ten years apart.
Most companies populate their funds
of funds with individual funds from their
fund family, though some companies add
mutual funds or exchange traded funds
from other investment companies.
Like other funds of funds, the fees you
pay for a target date fund may be higher
than you would pay to own each of the
individual funds separately. However,
these fees pay for an additional level of
professional oversight.
Tax bracket
T
T
Target risk fund
A target risk fund is a fund of funds that
maintains a specific asset allocation in
order to provide an essentially level
exposure to investment risk.
You may find a target risk fund
attractive if you want a professional
manager to keep your portfolio aligned
with your risk tolerance as you pursue
specific investment goals.
Target risk funds are generally
available with conservative, moderate,
and aggressive portfolios, and some
mutual fund companies offer even more
finely tuned approaches.
Like other funds of funds, the fees
you pay for a target risk fund may be
higher than you would pay to own each
of the individual funds separately.
However, these fees pay for an additional
level of professional oversight.
Tax bracket
A tax bracket is a range of income that
is taxed at a specific rate.
In the United States there are six
brackets, taxed at 10%, 15%, 25%, 28%,
33%, and 35% of the amount that falls
into each bracket.
For example, if your taxable income
was high enough to cross three brackets,
youd pay tax at the 10% rate on income
in the lowest bracket, at the 15% rate on
income in the next bracket, and at the
25% rate on the rest.
The rates remain fixed until they
are changed by Congress, but the dollar
amounts in each bracket change slightly
each year to adjust for inflation.
In addition, the income that falls into
each bracket varies by filing status, so
that if you file as a single taxpayer you
may owe more tax on the same taxable
income as a married couple filing a
joint return.
%
202
Tax credit
A tax credit is an amount you can subtract
from the tax you would otherwise owe.
Unlike a deduction or exemption, a credit
is a dollar-for-dollar reduction of your
tax bill.
For example, if you pay someone to
care for your young children or for elderly
or disabled relatives, you may be able to
subtract that money, up to a set limit.
Among the other tax credits for which
you may qualify are the Hope scholarship
and lifetime learning education credits,
a credit for purchasing a hybrid car, or a
credit for adopting a child. The list
changes from time to time.
Some but not all credits are available
to people whose income is less than the
ceilings Congress sets. Other credits
are available to anyone who has spent
the money.
Tax deferred
A tax-deferred account allows you to post-
pone income tax that would otherwise be
due on employment or investment earn-
ings you hold in the account until some
point the future, often when you retire.
For example, you can contribute pretax
income to employer retirement plans,
such as a traditional 401(k) or 403(b).
You owe no tax on any earnings in
these plans, or in traditional individual
retirement accounts (IRAs), fixed and
variable annuities, and some insurance
policies until you withdraw the money.
Then tax is due on the amounts you take
out, at the same rate you pay on your
regular income.
A big advantage of tax deferral is that
earnings may compound more quickly,
since no money is being taken out of the
account to pay taxes. But in return for
postponing taxes, you agree to limited ac-
cess to your money before you reach 59.
Tax exempt
Some investments are tax exempt, which
means you dont have to pay income tax
on the earnings they produce.
For example, the interest you receive
on a municipal bond is generally exempt
from federal income tax, and also exempt
from state and local income tax if you live
in the state where the bond was issued.
However, if you sell the bond before
maturity, any capital gain is taxable.
Similarly, dividends on bond mutual
funds that invest in municipal bonds are
exempt from federal income tax. And for
residents of the issuing state for single-
state funds, the dividends are also exempt
from state and local taxes.
Capital gains on these funds are never
tax exempt.
Earnings in a Roth IRA are tax exempt
when you withdraw them, provided your
account has been open for five years or
more and youre at least 59 years old.
And earnings in 529 college savings plans
and Coverdell education savings accounts
(ESAs) are also tax exempt if the money is
used to pay qualified education expenses.
When an organization such as a
religious, educational, or charitable
institution, or other not-for-profit group,
is tax exempt, it does not owe tax of
any kind to federal, state, and local
governments. In addition, you can take
an income tax deduction for gifts you
make to such organizations.
Tax-efficient funds
When a mutual fund minimizes the
income earnings and capital gains it
distributes to its shareholders, it may be
described as a tax-efficient fund.
In general, the smaller a funds turn-
over, or the less buying and selling it does,
the more tax-efficient it has the potential
to be. Thats one reason why index funds,
which buy and sell investments only when
the composition of the index they track
changes, are generally tax-efficient.
In addition to reducing turnover,
actively managed funds may increase tax
efficiency by emphasizing investments
expected to grow in value over those that
produce current taxable income, or yield.
And they may postpone the sale of certain
Tax credit
$300,000
$200,000
$100,000
Tax-deferred
Taxable
Investment
value
203
investments until they qualify as long-
term capital gains, making them subject
to a lower tax rate.
Funds that emphasize tax efficiency
generally include that goal in their
statement of investment objectives.
Teaser rate
A teaser rate is a low introductory interest
rate on a credit card or an adjustable rate
mortgage (ARM). The lender must tell you
how long the teaser rate lasts and what
the real cost of borrowing will be at the
end of the introductory period.
Technical analysis
Technical analysts track price movements
and trading volumes in various securities
to identify patterns in the price behavior
of particular stocks, mutual funds, com-
modities, or options in specific market
sectors or in the overall financial markets.
The goal is to predict probable, often
short-term, price changes in the invest-
ments that they study, which allows them
to choose an appropriate trading strategy.
The speed and accuracy with which
the analysts create their tracking charts
has been enhanced by the development of
increasingly sophisticated software.
Tenancy-in-common
When two or more people own property as
tenants-in-common (TIC), they share in
the propertys tax benefits, any income it
generates, and its growth in value, as well
as expenses of ownership.
If one owner dies, that owners share
of the property becomes part of his or her
estate, to be sold or distributed among
heirs as the owner instructs.
TIC arrangements are a popular way
to structure the ownership of real estate
investments, in which two or more
parties buy commercial property to
generate income. However, siblings
might also own family property in this
way, as might business partners.
Tender offer
When a corporation or other investor
offers to buy a large portion of outstand-
ing shares of another company, called the
target company, at a price higher than the
market price, it is called a tender offer.
The tender is usually part of a bid to
take over the target company. Current
stockholders, individually or as a group,
can accept or reject the offer.
If the tender offer is successful and
the corporation accumulates 5% or more
of another company, it has to report its
holdings to the Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC), the target company,
and the exchange or market on which the
target companys shares are traded.
Term
A term is the length of time between
when a fixed-income security, such as a
bond or note, is offered for sale and its
maturity date.
When the term ends, the issuer repays
the par value of the security, often along
with the final interest payment. In gen-
eral, the longer the term, the higher the
rate of interest the investment pays, to
offset the increased risk of tying up your
money for a longer period of time.
Term is also the lifespan of a certificate
of deposit (CD), called a time deposit. If
you hold a CD for the entire term, which
may run from six months to five years, you
collect the full amount of interest the CD
has paid during the term and are free to
roll the principal into a new CD or use the
money for something else.
Term insurance
A term life insurance policy provides a
guaranteed death benefit for a set period
of time, such as five, ten, or 20 years,
provided you continue to pay the
premiums as they are due.
At the end of the term, the coverage
ends unless you renew the policy or
switch to another one.
Term life insurance policies have
either a level term, which means that the
annual premium remains the same for
the life of the policy, or a graduated term,
which means that the premium is smaller
in the early years and grows larger each
year. In most cases, level term policies
cost less if you keep the policy in force
for the entire term.
Term policies dont accumulate a
cash value, so you get nothing back if you
end your coverage before the end of the
term. However, term insurance may be
less expensive than a permanent policy
providing the same coverage, although
the cost of new coverage increases as you
get older.
Thin market
A thin market is one where securities
trade infrequently. The term can refer to
an entire securities market, such as one
in an emerging nation, a specific class of
securities, such as micro-cap stocks, or
an individual security.
Thinly traded
A particular stock, sector, or market is
said to be thinly traded if transactions
Thinly traded
204
occur only infrequently, and there are a
limited number of interested buyers
and sellers.
Prices of thinly traded securities tend
to be more volatile than those traded
more actively because just a few trades
can affect the market price substantially.
It can also be difficult to sell shares
of thinly traded securities, especially in
a downturn, if there is no ready buyer.
Shares of small- and micro-cap companies
are more likely to be thinly traded than
those of mid- or large-cap stocks.
Third market
Exchange-listed securities, such as
those that are traded on the New York
Stock Exchange (NYSE) or the American
Stock Exchange (AMEX), may also be
bought and sold off the exchange, or
over-the-counter (OTC), in what is
known as the third market.
Typically, third-market transactions
are large block trades involving securities
firms and institutional investors, such as
investment companies and pension funds.
With the growth of electronic
communications networks (ECNs), more
institutional investors are buying and
selling in this way. Among the appeals
of the third market are speed, reduced
trading costs, and anonymity.
Tick
A tick is the minimum movement by
which the price of a security, option, or
index changes.
With stocks, a tick may be little as
one cent. With US Treasury securities,
the smallest increment is 1/32 of a point,
or 31.25 cents.
An uptick represents an increase over
the last different price, and a downtick a
drop from the last different price.
Ticker (tape)
While the stock markets are in session,
there is a running record of trading
activity in each individual stock. Todays
computerized system, still referred to as
the ticker, actually replaces the scrolling
paper tape of the past.
Ticker symbol
A ticker symbol, also known as a stock
symbol, is a unique string of letters
that identifies a particular stock on
one of two electronic tapes that report
market transactions.
The consolidated tape includes
companies that trade on the New York
Stock Exchange (NYSE), the American
Stock Exchange (AMEX), regional ex-
changes and other markets. A second
tape includes companies that trade on the
Nasdaq Stock Market.
Most corporations have a say in what
their symbol will be, and many choose one
thats clearly linked to their name, such
as IBM or AMZN for Amazon.com.
Various letters may be added to a
ticker symbol to indicate where the trade
took place or that there was something
atypical about the transaction. For
example, IBM.Pr would indicate that
the trade involved preferred stock.
Time deposit
When you put money into a bank or
savings and loan account with a fixed
term, such as a certificate of deposit
(CD), you are making a time deposit.
Time deposits may pay interest at
a higher rate than demand deposit
accounts, such as checking or money
market accounts, from which you can
withdraw at any time.
But if you withdraw from a time
deposit account before the term ends, you
may have to pay a penaltysometimes
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205
as much as all the interest that has been
credited to your account. Some other
time deposits require you to give advance
notice if you plan to withdraw money.
Time value of money
The time value of money is moneys
potential to grow in value over time.
Because of this potential, money thats
available in the present is considered
more valuable than the same amount in
the future.
For example, if you were given $100
today and invested it at an annual rate of
only 1%, it could be worth $101 at the end
of one year, which is more than youd have
if you received $100 at that point.
In addition, because of moneys poten-
tial to increase in value over time, you can
use the time value of money to calculate
how much you need to invest now to meet
a certain future goal. Many financial
websites and personal investment hand-
books help you calculate these amounts
based on different interest rates.
Inflation has the reverse effect on
the time value of money. Because of the
constant decline in the purchasing power
of money, an uninvested dollar is worth
more in the present than the same
uninvested dollar will be in the future.
Title
A title is a legal document proving
ownership of a piece of property.
If you are buying real estate you
authorize a title search, or examination
of property records, to insure that the
seller holds the title and has the right
to transfer it.
In most cases, if youre taking a mort-
gage to buy the property, the lender will
require you to arrange title insurance to
protect its interest until the full amount
of the loan has been repaid. You may also
arrange for your own title insurance to
protect you from losing your property if
your ownership is successfully contested.
Title insurance
Title insurance protects your lenders
interest in your home and real property in
case its ownership is contested in court.
Before you close on any property
purchase, your lender will require a
title searchan examination of all the
property records by an attorney or title
company, to ensure that the seller owns
the property and has the right to sell it.
But just in case something is not
revealed in the title search, your lender
will usually require you to obtain title
insurance as added protection until you
have paid off your mortgage. You may also
choose to purchase additional insurance
to protect your own title and claim to
the property.
Usually, you pay for title insurance as
a one-time cost at closing. While some
states regulate title insurance costs,
others dont.
Title search
A title search is an examination of
property records by a title company or
attorney to ensure that the person from
whom you are buying a piece of property
is its legal owner, and that there are no
outstanding legal claims against
the property.
Your lender will require you to pay
for a title search before the closing, or
settlement, on your new home.
The title search consists of a close
examination of public records, such as
deeds, wills, court judgments, and trusts,
to make sure that the seller has the right
to sell the property to you and that all
prior mortgages, liens, and judgments
have been settled.
Sometimes the title search uncovers
pending legal actions, undisclosed ease-
ments, or even claims on the property
by heirs to prior owners. Since title
examiners might miss problems and
public records can contain errors, most
lenders will require you to purchase title
insurance at closing to protect their
interest in the property.
Toehold purchase
A toehold purchase is one in which
an individual investor or investment
firm caps holdings in a potential target
company at less than 5% of the companys
outstanding stock.
Presumably thats because once an
investor has acquired 5% or more of
the stock, the investor must notify the
company, the market where the company
is listed, and the Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC). That notification
must explain the next steps the investor
intends to take, such as a possible take-
over bid.
Total return
Total return is your annual gain or loss on
an equity or debt investment.
It includes dividends or interest, plus
any change in the market value of the
investment. When total return is ex-
pressed as a percentage, its figured by
dividing the increase or decrease in value,
plus dividends or interest, by the original
purchase price.
Total return
206
On bonds you hold to maturity, how-
ever, your total return is the same as your
yield to maturity (YTM).
Calculating total return is more
complex if your earnings have been
reinvested, as they often are in a
mutual fund, to buy more shares. But
fund companies do that calculation on a
regular basis.
Total return index
A total return index is an equity market
index thats calculated using the assump-
tion that all the dividends that the stocks
in the index pay are reinvested in the
index as a whole.
Since an index is not an investment,
but a statistical computation, the re-
investment occurs only on paper, or,
more precisely, in a software program.
Tracking stock
Some corporations issue tracking stock,
a type of common stock whose value is
linked to the performance of a particular
division or business within a larger corpo-
ration rather than to the corporation
as a whole.
Tracking stock separates the finances
of the division from those of the parent
company, so that if the division falters or
takes time to become profitable, the value
of the traditional common stock wont
be affected.
If you own tracking stock, you actually
are invested in the parent company, since
it continues to own the division thats
being tracked, though typically you have
no shareholders voting rights in
the corporation.
Trade date
The trade date is the day on which
you buy or sell a security, option, or
futures contract.
The settlement date, on which cash
and securities are delivered, occurs one
or more days after the trade date,
depending on the type of security that
youre trading.
Options and futures contracts settle on
T+1, or one business day after the trade
date, and stocks settle on T+3, or three
business days after the trade.
Trader
Traders who are dealers or market makers
select the securities in which they will
specialize and provide quotes on those
securities in the marketplace.
They commit their firms capital by
taking positions in those securities and
are ready to buy and sell at the prices
they quote.
Traders known as competitive or
floor traders buy and sell securities for
their own accounts. They dont pay
commissions, so they can profit on small
differences in price, but they must abide
by the rules established by the exchange
or market on which they trade.
The term trader also describes people
who execute transactions at brokerage
firms, asset management firms, and
mutual fund companies.
Trading floor
The trading floor is the active trading
area of a stock exchange, such as the
New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
Securities are traded double auction
style on an exchange trading floor. That
means the prices are set by competitive
bidding between brokers representing
buyers and brokers representing sellers,
following a series of clearly established
exchange rules.
Many market maker firms refer to
the space in their offices that they have
allocated for trading as their trading
floor. The same term is used to describe
the trading areas in banks and
brokerage firms.
Trading range
A trading range means different things
on different types of markets.
On a stock exchange or over-the-
counter market, its the spread between
the highest and lowest prices at which a
particular stock or market as a whole
has been trading over a period of time.
Some of the commodities exchanges
set a trading range for each commodity
because of the minimum margin required
to maintain a position. If the market price
moves above or below the trading range,
trading is halted to give the member
Total return index
TOTAL RETURN
Change in value + earnings
Cost of initial investment
=
TOTAL
RETURN (%)
207
firms the opportunity to issue margin
calls and collect the required money
from customers whose account values
are below the margin requirements.
Trading symbol
All companies listed on the New York
Stock Exchange (NYSE), the American
Stock Exchange (AMEX), or the NASDAQ
Stock Market are represented by a unique
combination of one to five letters of
the alphabet.
Some, but not all, trading symbols are
easily associated with their companies,
such as GE for General Electric or YHOO
for Yahoo!.
Sometimes, the exchange trading
symbol varies slightly from the way the
company is designated on the ticker.
Trading volume
Trading volume is the quantity of stocks,
bonds, futures contracts, options, or other
investments that are bought sold in a
specific period of time, normally a day. Its
an indication of the interest that investors
have in that particular security or product
at its current price.
Tranche
Certain securities, such as collateralized
mortgage obligations (CMOs), are made
up of a number of classes, called tranches,
that differ from each other because they
pay different interest rates, mature on dif-
ferent dates, carry different levels of risk,
or differ in some other way.
When the security is offered for sale,
each of these tranches is sold separately.
Similarly, a large certificate of deposit
(CD) may be subdivided into smaller
certificates for sale to individual
investors. Each smaller certificate, or
tranche, matures on the same date and
pays the same rate of interest, but is
worth a fraction of the total amount.
Transfer
In a transfer, a 401(k) or IRA custodian
or trustee moves the assets in your
existing account directly to the custodian
or trustee of your new account.
With a transfer, you dont risk failing to
deposit the full amount of your withdrawal
within the 60-day deadline for rollovers.
And, in the case of a transfer from a
401(k) or similar retirement savings plan,
nothing is withheld for income taxes.
In contrast, if you handle the rollover
yourself, your employer must withhold
20% of the account value.
When securities are sent to a transfer
agent for reregistration of the ownership
name, this process is also known as
a transfer.
Securities may be registered in the
actual, or beneficial, owners name, or
in the name of a nominee, known as
street name. Most stocks that are held
by brokerage firms for their clients are
registered in nominee name on the
transfer agents books.
Transfer agent
A transfer agent is responsible to a
corporation for keeping track of who owns
the corporations stock and bonds and
whether those securities are registered
in the name of an individual investor or a
brokerage firm, which is known as street
name registration.
In some cases, stocks can be
registered directly on the books of an
issuer or its transfer agent using the
direct registration system (DRS).
Increasingly, ownership records are
electronic, though a transfer agent may
issue stock and bond certificates to new
owners if they request them. The transfer
agent also receives certificates that
represent securities that have been
sold or returned to be reregistered.
Transferable-on-death
A securities or brokerage account titled
transferable-on-death (TOD) lets you
name one or more beneficiaries, to whom
the account assets are transferred when
you die. TOD accounts are available only
in some states, and laws may vary.
Nonetheless, TOD accounts can be
useful estate planning tools where they
are available, since the assets in the
account can pass to your beneficiaries
directly, outside the probate process.
Transferable-on-death
TICKER SYMBOLS
Single letter
F Ford Motor Co. (NYSE)
T AT&T (NYSE)
S Sprint Nextel (NYSE)
Symbols for Smiles
DNA Genentech (NYSE)
BOOT La Crosse Footwear (Nasdaq)
TAP Molson Coors (NYSE)
Simple Symbols
MSFT Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq)
IBM International Business
Machines (NYSE)
EBAY eBay Inc. (Nasdaq)
208
A similar type of registration is avail-
able in some states for bank accounts.
Theyre known as payable-on-death, or
POD, accounts.
Transparency
Transparency is a measure of how much
information you have about the markets
where you invest, the corporations whose
stocks or bonds you buy, or the mutual
funds or other investments you select.
For example, in order to achieve
maximum transparency in US markets,
the Securities and Exchange Commission
(SEC) requires corporations to disclose
all information that might have an impact
on their financial status so that investors
can make fully informed decisions.
Real-time trading information,
increasingly available to individuals as
well as institutional investors, and linked
pricing systems are other steps toward
complete transparency.
Treasury bill (T-bill)
Treasury bills are the shortest-term
government debt securities.
They are issued with a maturity date
of 4, 13, or 26 weeks. The 13- and 26-week
bills are sold weekly by competitive
auction to institutional investors, and to
noncompetitive bidders through Treasury
Direct for the same price paid by the
competitive bidders.
Treasury bond
Treasury bonds are long-term government
debt securities with a maturity date of
30 years that are issued in denominations
of $1,000.
You can buy any number of these bonds
at issue in $1,000 increments, but not
more than $5 million. Those purchases
as well as sales can be made through a
Treasury Direct account. Existing bonds
trade in the secondary market.
While interest on Treasury bonds
is federally taxable, it is exempt from
state and local taxes. Treasury bonds
are considered among the most secure
investments in the world, since they are
backed by the federal government.
However, like all debt securities, they
are subject to market risk. This means
their prices change to reflect supply
and demand.
Treasury Direct
Treasury Direct is a direct investment
system, offered through the US
Department of the Treasury, that lets
you make competitive or noncompetitive
bids for new US Treasury issues.
Once you open a Treasury Direct
account, you can buy, sell, or roll over
your investments by mail, telephone, or
online. Interest paid on your investments,
and the value of any securities you
redeem at maturity or by sale, are
deposited directly into the bank account
you designate.
Treasury inflation-protected
securities (TIPS)
TIPS, or Treasury inflation-protected
securities, are inflation-indexed Treasury
bonds and notes.
TIPS pay a fixed rate of interest like
traditional Treasurys, but their principal,
to which the interest rate is applied, is
adjusted twice a year to reflect changes
in inflation as measured by the Consumer
Price Index (CPI). However, those
increases are not paid until the end of
the term.
Twice a year
the interest rate
is multiplied
by the new
principal, so
the interest
you receive
will increase
or decrease as
well. Interest
is federally
taxable, as are
any increases
in the value of
your principal.
The interest is exempt from state and
local income taxes.
At maturity, youre repaid the inflation-
adjusted principal or par value, whichever
is more.
Treasury note
Like US Treasury bills, Treasury notes
are debt securities issued by the US gov-
ernment and backed by its full faith
and credit.
They are available at issue through
Treasury Direct in denominations of
$1,000 and are traded in the secondary
market after issue.
Notes are intermediate-term
securities, with a maturity dates of two,
three, five or ten years. The interest you
earn on Treasury notes is exempt from
state and local, but not federal, taxes.
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And while the rate at which the
interest is paid is generally less than on
long-term corporate bonds, the shorter
term means less inflation risk.
Treasury stock
Treasury stock is stock that an
issuing company repurchases from
its shareholders.
The company may choose to repur-
chase if it has cash available, as an
alternative to investing it in expanding
the business. Or it may issue bonds to
raise the money it needs to repurchase,
which changes the companys debt-to-eq-
uity ratio.
In most cases, the company offers to
pay a premium, or more than the market
price, to build its cache of Treasury stock.
Reducing the number of outstanding
shares boosts the per-share value of the
remaining shares and tends to increase
the market price of the stock. That
results, in part, because no dividends
are paid on Treasury stock and its
not included in earnings-per-share
calculations, boosting that ratio.
A company may buy back its stock
for a number of other reasons, ranging
from preventing a hostile takeover to
having shares available if employees exer-
cise their stock options.
It may also choose to resell the
shares or use them to meet the demand
for shares from holders of convertible
securities.
Trust
When you create a trust, you transfer
money or other assets to the trust.
You give up ownership of those assets
in order to accomplish a specific financial
goal or goals, such as protecting assets
from estate taxes, simplifying the transfer
of property, or making provision for a
minor or other dependents.
When you establish the trust, you are
the grantor, and the people or institutions
you name to receive the trust assets at
some point in the future are known as
beneficiaries. You also designate a trustee
or trustees, whose job is to manage the
assets in the trust and distribute them
according to the instructions you provide
in the trust document.
Trustee
A trustee is a person or institution
appointed to manage assets for someone
elses benefit.
For example, a trustee may be
responsible for money you have trans-
ferred to a trust, or money in certain
retirement accounts.
Trustees are entitled to collect a fee
for their work, often a percentage of the
value of the amount in trust. In turn,
they are responsible for managing the
assets in the best interests of the
beneficiary of the trust. Thats known
as fiduciary responsibility.
Truth-in-Lending Act
The Truth-in-Lending Act requires
every lender to provide a complete and
clear disclosure of the key terms of any
lending or leasing arrangement, plus a
statement of all costs, before the
agreement is finalized.
The statement must include the
finance charges stated in dollars and as
an annual percentage rate (APR).
For most loans, it must also include
the total of the principal amount being
financed, all the interest, fees, service
charges, points, credit-related insurance
premiums, payment due date and terms,
and any other charges.
The consumer lending section of
the Act, which was first passed in 1968
and then simplified and reformed in
1980, is also known as Regulation Z. The
consumer leasing section is known as
Regulation M.
Turnover ratio
A mutual funds turnover ratio measures
the percentage of holdings that the fund
sells, or turns over, in a year.
For example, if a stock fund manager
has a portfolio of 100 stocks at the begin-
ning of the year, sells 75 of them and buys
75 different stocks, the turnover rate of
the fund is 75%.
Some investors look for funds with
lower turnover ratios, since limited
trading may help to minimize capital
gains taxes and trading costs. However,
a high turnover ratio can also produce
strong returns, which can offset the
added costs and produce a net gain.
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Uncovered option
An uncovered option, also known as a
naked option, is an option that is not
backed by another position.
For example, if you sell a call option
without owning the stock that you would
have to deliver if the option holder
exercised, the call is uncovered.
Similarly, if you sell an uncovered put,
you dont have adequate cash in reserve
to fulfill your obligation to purchase the
underlying instrument at exercise.
Writing uncovered contracts can
put you at significant risk despite the
premium you collect when you open
the position.
For example, if a naked call option
were exercised and assigned to you, you
would have to buy the underlying instru-
ment at its market price to be able to
meet the terms of the contract. Because
of the potential risk, your brokerage firm
may restrict your right to write uncovered
positions or may require you to trade
these options in a margin account.
Underlying instrument
An underlying instrument is a security,
such as a stock, a commodity, or other
type of financial product, such as a stock
index, whose value determines the value
of a derivative investment or product.
For example, if you own a stock option,
the stock you have the right to buy or sell
according to the terms of that option is
the options underlying instrument.
Underlying instruments may also
be called underlying products, under-
lying interest, or sometimes the
underlying investment.
Underlying investment
The investments in a mutual fund, a
variable annuitys separate account fund,
or other fund makes are considered the
funds underlying investments.
The value of a single share or unit of
the fund is based on the combined value
of all its underlying investments, minus
fees and expenses, divided by the number
of outstanding shares or units.
In some cases, when the item under-
lying a derivative investment is a security,
such as the individual stock underlying an
equity options contract, it is also called
an underlying investment.
However, when the underlying item is
a consumable commodity, such as corn,
or a financial product, such as an equity
index, it is called the underlying product,
the underlying instrument, or sometimes
simply the underlying.
Undervaluation
Any stock that trades at a lower price
than the issuing companys reputation,
earnings outlook, or financial situation
would seem to merit is considered
undervalued.
Undervaluation may occur when
investors lose interest in a company,
perhaps because it hasnt kept pace
with its competitors, or if there are
management problems.
Some investors concentrate on
identifying and investing in undervalued
stocks, sometimes called simply value
stocks, drawn by their bargain prices
and the expectation of recovery.
Underwater
Youre underwater when your employee
stock options are out-of-the-money and
so currently worthless.
For example, if you have options to
buy your company stock at a strike price
of $50, and the stock is currently trading
at $30, youre $20 underwater on each
option. You can see how the next step
may be drowningfinancially speaking,
of course.
The term underwater is also used to
describe situations where the principals
are unable to meet their financial
obligations.
For example, if an investor is unable
to meet margin calls on a margin account
that has lost a considerable amount of
money, the account is said to be under-
water. Similarly a firm that is having
financial difficulty is described as
underwater.
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Underweighted
When you own less of a security, an asset
class, or a subclass than your target asset
allocation calls for, you are said to be
underweighted in that security, asset
class, or subclass.
For example, if you have decided
to invest 30% of your portfolio in fixed-
income investments, but the actual
holdings account for only 10% of your
portfolio, you are underweighted in
fixed income.
In another use of the term, a securities
analyst might recommend underweighting
a particular security, which you might
reasonably interpret as advice to sell.
Underwriter
An underwriter, typically an investment
banker, may buy an entire new securities
issue from the company or government
offering it and resell the issue as indi-
vidual stocks or bonds to the public.
Or, in a best-efforts arrangement on a
stock IPO, the underwriter may commit to
selling as many shares as possible without
actually buying the securities.
Part of the underwriters job is to
weigh the risks involved in taking on
the financial responsibility of finding
buyers against the profit to be made on
the difference between the price paid for
the issue and the profit it will generate.
Typically, a number of bankers join
forces as a purchase group, or syndicate,
to spread the risk around and to reach
the widest possible market.
Insurance policies also need an
underwriter. In this case, the term refers
to a company that is willing to take the
risk of insuring your life, property, income,
or health in return for a premium,
or payment.
Underwriting
Underwriting means insuring.
An insurance company underwrites
your policy when it agrees to take the
risk of insuring your life or covering your
medical expenses in exchange for the
premium you pay.
An investment bank underwrites an
initial public offering (IPO) or a bond
issue when it buys the shares or bonds
from the issuer and takes the risk of
having to sell them to individual or
institutional investors to recover
its investment.
Uniform Gifts to Minors Act (UGMA)
Under the UGMA, you as an adult can set
up a custodial account for a minor and
put assets such as cash, securities, and
mutual funds into it.
You pay no fees or charges to set up
the account, and there is no limit on the
amount you can put into it. To avoid owing
potential gift tax, however, you may want
to limit what you add each year to an
amount that qualifies for the annual gift
tax exclusion.
One advantage of an UGMA custodial
account is that you can transfer to it
assets that you expect to increase in
value. That way, any capital gains occur
in the account, and you avoid potential
estate taxes that might have been due
had you owned the asset at your death.
If you sell an asset in the account,
taxable capital gains are calculated at
the beneficiarys capital gains tax rate
provided he or she is 18 or older. Taxable
capital gains are calculated at the par-
ents rate if the child is younger than 18.
One potential disadvantage of a
custodial account is that any gift to the
account is irrevocable.
The assets become the property of the
beneficiary from the moment they go into
the account, even though as a minor he or
she cannot legally control activity in the
account or take money out. At majority,
which typically occurs at 18 or 21
depending on the state, the beneficiary
may use the assets as he or she wishes.
In addition, if you are both the donor
and the custodian, and die while the
beneficiary is still a minor, the assets are
considered part of your estate. That could
make your estates value large enough to
be vulnerable to estate taxes.
Uniform Transfers to Minors Act
(UTMA)
The UTMA allows you as an adult to set up
a custodial account for a minor, who owns
any assets placed in the account. You may
act as custodian of the account or name
another adult to serve in that role.
Uniform Transfers to Minors Act (UTMA)
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The UTMA is similar to the Uniform
Gifts to Minors Act (UGMA) in many
respects, but you can use an UTMA to gift
assets in addition to cash and securities,
including real estate, fine art, antiques,
patents, and royalties.
You may choose to transfer assets that
you expect to increase in value into the
UTMA account. That way, any capital
gains occur in the account, and you avoid
potential estate taxes that might have
been due had you owned the asset at
your death.
If you sell an asset in the account,
taxable gain is figured at the beneficiarys
capital gains tax rate provided he or she
is 18 or older. Taxable capital gains above
a certain limit that Congress sets each
year are calculated at the parents rate
if the child is younger than 18.
One potential disadvantage of a
custodial account is that any gift to the
account is irrevocable. The assets become
the property of the beneficiary from the
moment they go into the account, even
though as a minor he or she cannot
legally control activity in the account
or take money out.
At majority, which occurs typically at
18, 21, or 25 depending on the state, the
beneficiary may use the assets as he or
she wishes. To avoid owing potential gift
tax, you may want to limit what you add
each year to an amount that qualifies for
the annual gift tax exclusion.
In addition, if you are both the donor
and the custodian, and die while the
beneficiary is still a minor, the assets are
considered part of your estate. That could
make your estates value large enough to
be vulnerable to estate taxes.
Unit investment trust (UIT)
A UIT may be a fixed portfolio of bonds
with specific maturity dates, a portfolio
of income-producing stocks, or a port-
folio of all the securities included in a
particular index.
Examples of the latter include the
DIAMONDs Trust (DIA), which mirrors
the composition of the Dow Jones
Industrial Average (DJIA), and Standard
& Poors Depositary Receipts (SPDR),
which mirrors the Standard & Poors
500 Index (S&P 500). Index UITs are
also described as exchange traded
funds (ETFs).
UITs resemble mutual funds in the
sense that they offer the opportunity to
diversify your portfolio without having to
purchase a number of separate securities.
You buy units, rather than shares, of the
trust, usually through a broker.
However, UITs trade more like stocks
than mutual funds in the sense that you
sell in the secondary market rather than
redeeming your holding by selling your
units back to the issuing fund.
Further, the price of a UIT fluctuates
constantly throughout the trading day,
just as the price of an individual stock
does, rather than being repriced only
once a day, after the close of trading. As a
result, some UITs, though not index-based
UITs such as DIAMONDS or SPDRs, trade
at prices higher or lower than their net
asset value (NAV).
One additional difference is that
many UITs have maturity dates, when the
trust expires, while mutual funds do not.
A fund may be closed for other reasons,
but not because of a predetermined
expiration date.
Unit of trading
When you buy stocks, bonds, options
and commodities futures, its typical to
buy in a particular volume or a particular
dollar value, called a round lot or a unit
of trading.
For example, stocks are usually
traded in lots of 100 shares, or multiples
of 100 shares, and bonds in multiples of
$1,000. For some preferred stocks, known
as ten-share traders, the unit of trading
is ten shares.
Any variation from the standard unit
of trading is known as an odd lot.
Unit trust
The category of investment known as a
mutual fund in the United States is called
a unit trust in other parts of the world.
Universal life insurance
Universal life insurance is a type of
permanent insurance that offers flexible
premiums and a flexible death benefit.
Your tax-deferred cash value account
accumulates at least the guaranteed rate
of interest, but may accumulate at a
Unit investment trust (UIT)
213
higher rate if market rates are higher
than the guaranteed rate.
You can use the money in your cash
value account to pay premiums if theres
enough available. And you can also
increase the amount of the death
benefit without having to qualify for the
additional protection. This alternative
allows you to build inflation protection
into your insurance.
As with other permanent policies, you
may be able to borrow against your cash
value account, though any outstanding
loan reduces your death benefit. You
also get a portion of the cash value back,
minus fees and expenses, if you end
the policy.
However, universal life is a more
complex product than straight life and
the premiums are higher for a comparable
death benefit.
Universe
In the world of investments, the word
universe refers to a specific group or
category of investments that share
certain characteristics.
A universe might be the stocks that
are included in a particular index,
the stocks evaluated by a particular
analytical service, or all the stocks in a
particular industry.
Unlisted security
A security, such as a stock, is unlisted
when it does not meet the listing
requirements or pay the listing fee of any
of the organized exchanges or markets.
Unlisted stock may be traded over-the-
counter (OTC), however, and its price and
volume may be tracked in the Pink Sheets
or on the OTC Bulletin Board (OTCBB).
In most cases, unlisted stocks are
thinly traded because they do not
get much attention from the media or
financial analysts, and so may be too risky
for many investors.
Unrealized gain
If you own an investment that has
increased in value, your gain is unrealized
until you sell and take your profit.
In most cases, the value continues to
change as long as you own the investment,
either increasing your unrealized gain or
creating an unrealized loss.
You owe no income or capital gains tax
on unrealized gains, sometimes known
as paper profits, though you typically
compute the value of your investment
portfolio based on currentand
unrealizedvalues.
Unrealized loss
If the market price of a security you own
drops below the amount you paid for it,
you have an unrealized loss.
The loss remains unrealized as long as
you dont sell the security while the price
is down. In a volatile market, of course, an
unrealized loss can become an unrealized
gain, and vice versa, at any time.
One reason you might choose to sell
at a loss, other than needing cash at that
moment, is to prevent further losses in
a security that seems headed for a still
lower price.
You might also sell to create a capital
loss, which you could use to offset
capital gains.
Unsecured bond
When a bond isnt backed by collateral or
security of some kind, such as a mortgage,
that can be used to repay the bondholders
if the bond issuer defaults, the bond is
described as unsecured.
However, most unsecured bonds
pose limited risk of default, since the
companies that issue them are usually
financially sound. Unsecured bonds are
also known as debentures.
Uptick
An uptick is the smallest possible
incremental increase in a securitys
price, which, for stocks, is one cent. So
when theres an uptick in a stock selling
at $20.25 cents, the new price is
$20.26 cents.
US savings bond
The US government issues two types of
savings bonds: Series EE and Series I.
You buy electronic Series EE bonds
through a Treasury Direct account for
face value and paper Series EE for half
their face value. You earn a fixed rate
of interest for the 30-year term of these
bonds, and they are guaranteed to double
in value in 20 years. Series EE bonds
issued before May 2005 earn interest at
variable rates set twice a year.
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Series I bonds are sold at face value
and earn a real rate of return thats
guaranteed to exceed the rate of
inflation during the term of the bond.
Existing Series HH bonds earn interest
to maturity, but no new Series HH bonds
are being issued.
The biggest difference between
savings bonds and US Treasury issues is
that theres no secondary market for
savings bonds since they cannot be traded
among investors. You buy them in your
own name or as a gift for someone else
and redeem them by turning them back
to the government, usually through a
bank or other financial intermediary.
The interest on US savings bonds
is exempt from state and local taxes
and is federally tax deferred until the
bonds are cashed in. At that point, the
interest may be tax exempt if you use the
bond proceeds to pay qualified higher
education expenses, provided that your
adjusted gross income (AGI) falls in the
range set by federal guidelines and you
meet the other conditions to qualify.
US Treasury bond
US Treasury bonds are long-term
government debt securities, typically
issued with 30-year terms.
New bonds are sold at a par value of
$1,000, and existing bonds trade in the
secondary market at prices that fluctuate
to reflect changing demand. These bonds,
sometimes referred to as long bonds, are
often used as a benchmark for market
interest rates.
While interest on US Treasury bonds
is federally taxable, it is exempt from
state and local taxes. Treasury bonds are
considered among the worlds the most
secure investments, since they are
backed by the full faith and credit of
the US federal government.
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Valuation
Valuation is the process of estimating the
value, or worth, of an asset or investment.
Sometimes it means determining a
fixed amount, such as establishing the
value of your estate after your death.
Other times, valuation means estimating
future worth.
For example, fundamental stock
analysts estimate the outlook for a
companys stock by looking at data such
as the stocks price-to-earnings (P/E),
price-to-sales, and price-to-book (net
asset value) ratios.
In general, a company with a high P/E
is considered overvalued, and a company
with a low P/E is considered undervalued.
Value fund
When a mutual fund manager buys
primarily undervalued stocks for the
funds portfolio with the expectation that
these stocks will increase in price, that
fund is described as a value fund.
A value fund may be limited to stocks
of a certain size, such as those included in
a small-cap value fund, or it may include
undervalued stocks with different levels
of capitalization.
Value Line Composite Index
Value Line, an independent investment
research service, tracks the performance
of approximately 1,700 common stocks in
its composite index. The index, which is
equally weighted, is considered a reliable
indicator of overall market trends.
Value Line, Inc.
Value Line is an investment research
company that provides detailed analysis
on a range of stocks, mutual funds, and
convertible investments.
Their publications include The Value
Line Investment Survey and The Value
Line Mutual Fund Survey, which contain
regularly updated rankings of specific
investments that the company covers.
The company uses a dual ranking
system in its evaluations. For example,
Value Line ranks stocks for their safety
and timeliness, and mutual funds both for
their overall performance and for their
risk-adjusted performance.
Value stock
Value stocks, also known as undervalued
stocks, trade at a lower price than the
companys reputation, earnings outlook,
or financial situation would seem to merit.
Investors who seek them out expect
the companys fortunes to turn around,
and the price of the stock to increase
accordingly.
Variable annuity
A variable annuity is an insurance
company product designed to allow you
to accumulate retirement savings.
When you purchase a variable annuity,
either with a lump sum or over time, you
allocate the premiums you pay among the
various separate account funds offered in
your annuity contract.
The tax-deferred return on your
variable annuity fluctuates with the
performance of the underlying invest-
ments in your separate account funds,
sometimes called investment portfolios
or subaccounts.
You may purchase qualified variable
annuities, which are offered as options
within an employer sponsored retirement
savings plan, or nonqualified variable
annuities. Nonqualified annuities are
those you purchase on your own, often
to supplement other retirement savings.
Variable annuity
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You can also choose an individual
retirement annuity, which resembles an
individual retirement account except that
the underlying investments are separate
account funds.
Among the appeals of both qualified
and nonqualified variable annuities are
the promise of a stream of income for
life if you annuitize the assets in your
account and the right to make tax-exempt
transfers among separate account funds.
If you purchase a nonqualified annuity,
there are no federal limits on the annual
amounts you can invest, no requirement
that you purchase the annuity with earned
income, and no minimum required with-
drawals beginning at age 70.
However, with both types of variable
annuities, withdrawals before you reach
age 59 may be subject to a 10% early
withdrawal tax penalty.
Variable life insurance
Variable life insurance policies are cash-
value policies that allow you to choose
how your premium is invested from among
a package of alternatives offered by
the insurer.
In many variable life policies, the
face value of your policy depends on
how well the investments youve chosen
are performing.
Venture capital (VC)
Venture capital is financing provided by
wealthy independent investors, banks,
and partnerships to help new businesses
get started, reach the next level of growth,
or go public.
In return for the money they put up,
also called risk capital, the investors may
play a role in the companys management
as well as receive some combination of
equity, profits, or royalties.
Some venture capital also goes
into bankrupt companies to help them
turn around, or to companies that the
management wants to take private by
buying up all the outstanding shares.
Vesting
If you are part of an employer pension
plan or participate in an employer spon-
sored retirement plan, such as a 401(k),
you become fully vestedor entitled to
the contributions your employer has
made to the plan, including matching and
discretionary contributionsafter a cer-
tain period of service with the employer.
Qualified plans must use one of the
standards set by the federal government
to determine that period.
If you become entitled to full benefits
gradually over several years, the process
is called graded vesting. But if you have
are entitled only when the full waiting
period is up, the process is called cliff
vesting. If you leave your job before
becoming fully vested, you forfeit all
or part of your employer-paid benefits.
However, you are always entitled
to all the contributions you make to a
retirement plan yourself through salary
reduction or after-tax payments.
Viatical settlement
Technically speaking, a viatical settlement
occurs when a life insurance policy is
sold for cash to a third party before the
original owner dies.
Most viatical settlements involve
terminally ill people with life expectan-
cies of less than two years who choose to
sell their life insurance policies to raise
money for their medical care.
In a viatical settlement, the third party
pays the former policy owner an amount
that is typically more than the surrender
value of the policy, but less than the death
benefit. When the insured person dies,
the new policy owner collects the death
benefit and makes a profit on the differ-
ence between the amount paid to the
insured and the amount paid on the claim.
Some businesses specialize in
viatical settlements, and may resell
them as investments, arrangements that
are regulated by the state in which the
policies are sold.
Because viaticals are controversial,
more complex than they seem, and
have been aggressively and sometimes
misleadingly marketed, both people
considering selling their policies and
people considering investing in them
are advised to proceed with caution.
Variable life insurance
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Virtual bank
A virtual bank offers of some or all the
same types of accounts and services that
traditional bricks-and-mortar banks do,
but virtual banks exist only online. They
typically charge lower fees and pay higher
interest because of low overhead.
Virtual bank transactions can be
checked in real time, as they happen,
rather than at the end of the banking day
or the end of the monththough those
services may also be available through
the online branches of traditional banks.
Virtual banks dont have branches or
own ATM machines, so you make deposits
electronically or by mail. Your virtual
bank may reimburse your ATM fees for
using other banks machines. However,
there may be a limit to the number of
transactions a virtual bank will cover
each month.
Volatility
The term volatility indicates how
much and how quickly the value of
an investment, market, or market
sector changes.
For example, because the stock prices
of small, newer companies tend to rise
and fall more sharply over short periods
of time than stock of established, blue-
chip companies, small caps are described
as more volatile.
The volatility of a stock relative to the
overall market is known as its beta, and
the volatility triggered by internal factors,
regardless of the market, is known as a
stocks alpha.
Volume
Volume is the number of shares traded in
a companys stock or in an entire market
over a specified period, typically a day.
Unusual market activity, either higher
or lower than average, is typically the
result of some external event. But unusual
activity in an individual stock reflects
new information about that stock or the
stocks sector.
Voting right
Investors who own shares of a common
stock or shares in a mutual fund typically
have voting rights, which allow them to
participate in the election of boards
of directors.
These shareholders can also vote for
or against certain propositions put
forward by management or by other
stockholders. In contrast, investors who
own preferred shares or corporate bonds
have no voting rights.
Vulture fund
Like the scavenging bird of prey that
lends its name to the fund, a vulture
fund seeks out depressed or endangered
investments.
Many vulture funds focus on real
estate, but others invest in bonds that
have been downgraded or are in default
and other high-risk securities.
The strategy behind vulture investing
is that such troubled securities have
the potential to provide a large return
eventually, in spite of their current
vulnerable position. Most vulture funds
are limited partnerships, but some are
retail mutual funds that are open to
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Waiver of premium
If you have a waiver of premium provision
in your long-term care or disability
insurance policy, you may qualify to stop
paying premiums once youve begun
collecting benefits.
A waiver of premium provision
increases the cost of your insurance, but
means that you wont be left without
coverage if you are no longer able to pay
the premiums.
Warrant
Corporations may issue warrants that
allow you to buy a companys stock at a
fixed price during a specific period of
time, often 10 or 15 years, though some-
times there is no expiration date.
Warrants are generally issued as an
incentive to investors to accept bonds
or preferred stocks that will be paying a
lower rate of interest or dividends than
would otherwise be paid.
How attractive the warrants areand
so how effective they are as an incentive
to purchasegenerally depends on the
growth potential of the issuing company.
The brighter the outlook, the more
attractive the warrant becomes.
When a warrant is issued, the exer-
cise price is above the current market
price. For example, a warrant on a stock
currently trading at $15 a share might
guarantee you the right to buy the stock
at $30 a share within the next 10 years.
If the price goes above $30, you can exer-
cise, or use, your warrant to purchase the
stock, and either hold it in your portfolio
or resell at a profit. If the price of the
stock falls over the life of the warrant,
however, the warrant becomes worthless.
Warrants are listed with a wt
following the stock symbol and traded
independently of the underlying stock. If
you own warrants to purchase a stock at
$30 a share that is currently trading for
$40 a share, your warrants are theoreti-
cally be worth a minimum of $10 a share,
or their intrinsic value.
Wash sale
When you purchase and then sell or sell
and then repurchase the same security
or a substantially similar security within
30 days, the double transaction is called
a wash sale.
As an individual investor, you cant use
any capital losses that the sale produces
to offset capital gains from selling other
securities in your portfolio.
For example, if you sold 200 shares of
an underperforming stock on December
15 intending to use the loss on that sale
to offset gains on other sales, your offset
would be invalid if you repurchased the
stock before the following January 15.
But if you repurchased on January 16,
the offset would be valid. In fact, avoiding
wash sales is an important part of
tax planning.
In a broader use of the term,
purchasing and then quickly reselling
a security may be described as a wash
sale, whether the transaction is part
of an innocent trading strategy or a
pump-and-dump scheme.
Weather derivative
A weather derivative is a futures
contractor options on that futures
contractwhere the underlying
commodity is a weather index.
These derivatives work much the
same way that interest-rate or stock
index futures and options do, by creating
a tradable commodity out of something
that is relatively intangible.
Analysts look at historical weather
patternstemperature, rainfall and
other thingsdevelop averages, and
quantify the risk that weather will
deviate from the average.
Corporations use weather derivatives
to hedge their risk that bad weather will
cause a financial loss. For a cereal com-
pany, bad weather might be a drought,
Waiver of premium
219
which would cause wheat prices to go
up. For a home heating company, it could
be warm days in November, which could
lower demand for home heating oil. And
for an amusement park it could be rain.
The cereal company and the
amusement park might buy futures
contracts with an underlying weather
index based on rainfall. The home heating
company might want contracts based on
a temperature index.
Weather derivatives are different
from insurance, because theyre linked
to common weather events, like dry
seasons, or a warm autumn, that affect
particular businesses.
Insurance is still required to protect
against major weather events, like
tornadoes, hurricanes, and floods.
You can buy weather derivatives as an
individual, but youll want to consider the
trading costs carefully to ensure that your
risk of loss is worth the expense.
Weighted stock index
In weighted stock indexes, price
changes in some stocks have a much
greater impact than price changes in
others in computing the direction of the
overall index.
For example, in a market capitalization
weighted index, such as the benchmark
Standard & Poors 500 Index (S&P 500),
price changes in securities with the
highest market valuations have a greater
impact on the Index than price changes
in stocks with a lower valuation.
Market capitalization of S&P indexes
is calculated by multiplying the current
price per share times the number of float-
ing shares. Other market cap weighted
indexes multiply the price by the number
of outstanding shares. Market cap indexes
may also be called market value indexes.
In contrast, in an unweighted index,
such as the Dow Jones Industrial Average
(DJIA), a similar price change in any
of the stocks in the index has an equal
impact on the changing value of the index.
The theory behind weighting is that
price changes in the most widely held
securities have a greater impact on the
overall economy than price changes in
less widely held stocks.
However, some critics argue that
strong market performance by the biggest
stocks can drive an index up, masking
stagnant or even declining prices in large
segments of the market, and providing a
skewed view of the economy.
Whisper number
A whisper number is an unofficial
earnings estimate for a particular
company that a stock analyst shares
with clients to supplement the official
published estimate.
If the company reports earnings in
line with the official estimate when the
whisper number has been higher, the
stock price may fall anyway since inves-
tors were expecting something better.
The same is true in reverse. If earnings
fall short of official expectations but meet
a lower whisper number, the stock price
may go up.
White knight
A corporation that is the target of a
hostile takeover sometimes seeks out a
white knight that comes to the rescue by
making an offer to acquire the target
company in a friendly takeover that
suits the needs and goals of the targets
management and board.
White knight
220
The hostile acquirer is called a black
knight, and if the white knight is outbid
by a third potential acquirer, who is both
less friendly than the white knight and
more friendly than the black knight, the
third bidder is called a gray knight.
Whole life insurance
A whole life insurance policy is a type
of permanent insurance that provides
a guaranteed death benefit and has
fixed premiums.
This traditional life insurance is
sometimes also known as straight life
insurance or cash value insurance.
With a whole life policy, a portion of
the rest accumulates tax deferred in a
cash value account. You may be able to
borrow against the cash value, but any
amount that you havent repaid when
you die reduces the death benefit.
If you end the policy, you get the cash
surrender value back, which is the cash
value minus fees and expenses. However,
ending the policy means you no longer
have life insurance and no death benefit
will be paid at your death.
Will
A will is a legal document you use to
transfer assets you have accumulated
during your lifetime to the people and
institutions you want to have them after
your death.
The will also names an executorthe
person or people who will carry out
your wishes.
You can leave your assets directly to
your heirs, or you can use your will to
establish one or more trusts to receive the
assets and distribute them at some point
in the future.
The danger of dying without a will is
that a court in the state where you live
will decide what happens to your assets.
Its decision may not be what you would
have chosen, and its deliberations can be
costly and delay settling your estate.
Wire house
National brokerage firms with multiple
branches were, in the past, linked by
private telephone or other telecommuni-
cations networks that enabled them
to transmit important news about the
financial markets almost instantaneously.
Because of these lines, or wires, the
firms became known as wire houses.
Although the Internet now makes
it possible for all firmsand even
individual investorsto have access to
high-speed electronic data, the largest
brokerage firms are still referred to as
wire houses because of the technological
edge they once enjoyed.
Wire room
When brokerage firm orders to buy and
sell were handled manually, the firms
back office was called the wire room.
People who worked there received
the buy or sell orders that came in from
brokers and transmitted them to the
firms trading department or floor traders
for execution. The wire room also received
notifications when the transactions were
completed and sent those notifications
back to the brokers who took the orders.
However, as electronic systems increas-
ingly handle these communications, wire
rooms have essentially disappeared.
Withdrawal
A withdrawal is money you take out
of your banking, brokerage firm, or
other accounts.
If you withdraw from tax-deferred
retirement accounts before you turn
59, you may owe a 10% early withdrawal
penalty plus any income tax thats due on
the amount youve taken out.
In everyday usage, the term withdrawal
is used interchangeably with distribution
to describe money you take from your tax-
deferred accounts, though distribution is
actually the correct term.
Withholding
Withholding is the amount that employers
subtract from their employees gross pay
for a variety of taxes and benefits, includ-
ing Social Security and Medicare taxes,
federal and state income taxes, health
insurance premiums, retirement savings,
education savings, or flexible spending
plan contributions, union dues, or prepaid
transportation.
Contributions to tax-deferred savings
plans are withheld from your pretax
income, as are amounts you put into
Whole life insurance
221
tax-free flexible spending and prepaid
transportation accounts. Those amounts
reduce the taxable salary that your
employer reports to the IRS.
Working capital
Working capital is the money that allows
a corporation to function by providing
cash to pay the bills and keep operations
humming.
One way to evaluate working capital is
the extent to which current assets, which
can be readily turned into cash, exceed
current liabilities, which must be paid
within one year.
Some working capital is provided by
earnings, but corporations can also get
infusions of working capital by borrowing
money, issuing bonds, and selling stock.
World Bank
Formally known as the International Bank
for Reconstruction and Development
(IBRD), the World Bank was established
in 1944 to aid Europe and Asia after the
devastation of World War II.
To fulfill its current roles of providing
financing for developing countries and
making interest-free and low-interest
long-term loans to poor nations, the World
Bank raises money by issuing bonds to
individuals, institutions, and governments
in more than 100 countries.
World fund
US-based mutual funds that invest in
securities from a number of countries,
including the United States, are known as
world funds or global funds.
Unlike international funds that buy
only in overseas markets, world funds may
keep as much as 75% of their investment
portfolio in US stocks or bonds.
Because world fund managers can
choose from many markets, they are
often able to invest in those companies
providing the strongest performance in
any given period.
World Trade Organization (WTO)
The WTO was formed in 1995 to enforce
the regulations established by the
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
(GATT) and several other international
trade agreements.
Composed of representatives from
150 nations and observers from additional
nations, it regulates international trade
with the goal of helping it to flow as
smoothly and freely as possible.
Advocates praise the WTO for helping
create an increasingly global economy
and bringing prosperity to developing
nations through increased trade.
Critics, however, assert that
industrialized nations such the United
States, Canada, and the countries of the
European Union have used the WTO to
open trade with developing nations while
disregarding these nations environmental
and labor-related practices.
Wrap account
A wrap account is a professionally
managed investment plan in which
all expenses, including brokerage
commissions, management fees, and
administrative costs, are wrapped into a
single annual charge, usually amounting
to 2% to 3% of the value of the assets in
the account.
Wrap accounts combine the services
of a professional money manager, who
chooses a personalized portfolio of
stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and other
investments, and a brokerage firm,
which takes care of the trading and
recordkeeping on the account.
Writer
In the options market, a writer is someone
who sells put or call options, an activity
known as writing a call or writing a put.
Unlike the buyer, or holder, of an
option, who can exercise an option or let
it expire, as the writer you must meet
the terms of the contract if the option
is exercised and assigned to you.
You collect a premium for selling the
option, which may provide a profit if the
option expires worthless, and you always
have the right, before exercise, to buy
an offsetting contract and end your
obligation to buy or sell.
Writer
222
X-Y
X-Y
Xenocurrency
Xenocurrency is currency that trades
outside its own borders.
Yankee bond
Yankee bonds are bonds issued in
dollars in the United States by overseas
companies and governments.
The purpose is to raise more money
than the issuers may be able to borrow
in their home markets, either because
there is more money available for invest-
ment in the United States, or because
the interest rate the issuers must pay to
attract investors is lower.
US investors buy these bonds as a way
to diversify into overseas markets without
the potential drawbacks of currency
fluctuation, foreign tax, or different
standards of disclosure that may be
characteristic of other markets.
Yield
Yield is the rate of return on an
investment expressed as a percent.
Yield is usually calculated by dividing
the amount you receive annually in
dividends or interest by the amount you
spent to buy the investment.
In the case of stocks, yield is the
dividend you receive per share divided by
the stocks price per share. With bonds,
it is the interest divided by the price you
paid. Current yield, in contrast, is the
interest or dividends divided by the
current market price.
In the case of bonds, the yield on
your investment and the interest rate
your investment pays are sometimes, but
by no means always, the same. If the price
you pay for a bond is higher or lower than
par, the yield will be different from the
interest rate.
For example, if you pay $950 for a bond
with a par value of $1,000 that pays 6%
interest, or $60 a year, your yield is 6.3%
($60 $950 = 0.0631). But if you paid
$1,100 for the same bond, your yield would
be only 5.5% ($60 $1,100 = 0.0545).
Yield curve
A yield curve shows the relationship
between the yields on short-term and
long-term bonds of the same investment
quality.
Since long-term yields are character-
istically higher than short-term yields, a
yield curve that confirms that expectation
is described as positive. In contrast, a
negative yield curve occurs when short-
term yields are higher.
A flat or level yield curve occurs when
the yields are substantially the same on
bonds with varying terms.
A negative yield curve has generally
been considered a warning sign that the
economy is slowing and that a recession
is likely.

Yield to maturity (YTM)
Yield to maturity is the most precise
measure of a bonds anticipated return
and determines its current market price.
YTM takes into account the coupon
rate and the current interest rate in rela-
tion to the price, the purchase or discount
price in relation to the par value, and the
years remaining until the bond matures.
Xenocurrency
%
YIELD
Dividends or
interest you receive
What you invested
for example
$60 interest
$950 invested
= YIELD
= 6.3% YIELD
$
223
Z
Z
Zacks Investment Research
This Chicago-based company tracks
changes in earnings estimates, as well as
buy, sell, and hold recommendations for
approximately 5,000 stocks.
The information is provided by more
than 3,500 financial analysts at more than
210 brokerage firms.
Based on its research, Zacks compiles
consensus earnings estimates, industry
group reports, and company reports that
are widely followed by both individual and
institutional investors.
The service is available to all investors
by subscription.
Zero sum
A zero-sum market is one in which one
investors profit mirrors another investors
loss. For every dollar one person makes,
someone else loses a dollar. Commodities
and options markets are examples of
zero-sum markets. Stock markets are not.
Zero-coupon bond
Zero-coupon bonds, sometimes known
as zeros, are issued at a deep discount to
par value and make no interest payments
during their term.
At maturity, the bondholder receives
par value, which includes the interest that
has accrued since issue. For example, you
may purchase a zero-coupon bond with
a six-year term for $13,500, and collect
$20,000 at maturity.
One advantage of zeros is that you
can invest relatively smaller amounts and
choose maturity dates to coincide with
times you know youll need the money
for example, when you expect college
tuition bills to come due.
One drawback of zeros, however, is
that income taxes are due annually on the
interest that accrues, even though you
dont receive the actual payment until the
bond matures. The exception occurs if
you buy tax-exempt municipal zeros, on
which no tax is due either during the term
or at maturity.
Another drawback is that zero coupon
bonds are volatile in the secondary mar-
ket, so if you have to sell before maturity,
you might have a loss.
These bonds get their namezero
couponfrom the fact that coupon
means interest in bond terminology, and
theres no periodic interest.
Zero-coupon convertible bond
A zero-coupon convertible bond, like
other convertible bonds, can be converted
into stock in the issuing corporation if the
stock reaches the trigger price.
Municipalities may issue tax-exempt
zero-coupon convertible bonds you can
exchange before maturity for conventional
taxable bonds.
The advantage of both taxable and
tax-exempt zero-coupon convertibles is
that they give you access to a potentially
substantial gain for a small initial
investment since you purchase the zero-
coupon for less than the face value. But
like all zero-coupons, these convertibles
tend to be more volatile in the secondary
market than nonconvertible bonds.
Zero-coupon convertible bond
ON SALE
*
NO INTEREST
TILL MATURITY
DEEP DISCOUNT
*
TA
X
D
U
E

A
N
N
U
A
LLY
224
a c r o n y m s
ADR American depositary receipt
ADS American depositary share
AGI Adjusted gross income
AMEX American Stock Exchange
AMT Alternative minimum tax
APR Annual percentage rate
APY Annual percentage yield
ARM Adjustable rate mortgage
CATS Certificate of accrual on
Treasury securities
CBOE Chicago Board Options Exchange
CD Certificate of deposit
CEA Council of Economic Advisors
CFTC Commodity Futures Trading
Commission
CME Chicago Mercantile Exchange
CMO Collateralized mortgage
obligation
COLA Cost-of-living adjustment
CPI Consumer Price Index
CUSIP Committee on Uniform Secu-
rities Identifying Procedures
DJIA Dow Jones Industrial Average
DPP Direct purchase plan
DRIP Dividend reinvestment plan
DTCC Depository Trust and
Clearing Corporation
ECB European Central Bank
ECN Electronic communications
network
EPS Earnings per share
ERISA Employee Retirement Income
Security Act
ESA Education savings account
ESOP Employee stock ownership plan
ETF Exchange traded fund
FASB Financial Accounting Standards
Board
FDIC Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation
FHA Federal Housing Administration
FICA Federal Insurance
Contributions Act
FOF Fund of Funds
FOMC Federal Open Market Committee
FOREX Foreign exchange
FSA Flexible spending account
GATT General Agreement on Tariffs
and Trade
GDP Gross domestic product
GDR Global depositary receipt
GIC Guaranteed investment contract
GNMA Government National Mortgage
Association
GTC Good til canceled
HDHP High deductible health plan
HELOC Home equity line of credit
HSA Health savings account
IMF International Monetary Fund
IPO Initial public offering
IRA Individual retirement arrangement
ISO Incentive stock option
LEAPS Long-term equity anticipation
security
MAGI Modified adjusted gross income
MRD Minimun required distribution
NAV Net asset value
NMS National Market System
NYSE New York Stock Exchange
OCC Options Clearing Corporation
OTC Over the counter
P/E Price-to-earnings ratio
PIN Personal identification number
REIT Real estate investment trust
RIA Registered investment adviser
S&P500 Standard & Poors 500 Index
SEC Securities and Exchange
Commission
SEP Simplified employee pension plan
SIPC Securities Investor Protection
Corporation
SPDR Standard & Poors Depositary
Receipt
SRO Self-regulatory organization
TIPS Treasury inflation-protected
securities
UGMA Uniform Gifts to Minors Act
UIT Unit investment trust
UTMA Uniform Transfers to
Minors Act
VA Department of Veterans Affairs
VC Venture capital
YTM Yield to maturity
a u t h o r s
a u t h o r s
LIGhtBuLB PRess
Project Team
Design Director Dave Wilder
Design Mercedes Feliciano
Editors Michael D. Bromberg, Jackie Day, Sophie Forrester, Mavis Morris
Production and Illustration Krista K. Glasser, Thomas F. Trojan
PIctuRe cRedIts
Chicago Board of Trade (page 144); FPG, New York (page 112); NASDAQ (page 135);
New York Stock Exchange (pages 50, 206); Alan Rosenburg, New York (pages 22, 83)
AcKNoWLedGMeNts
Cirrus logo courtesy of MasterCard International (page 51); Dow Jones logo courtesy of
Dow Jones & Company (page 62); NASDAQ logo courtesy of NASDAQ (page 100); NYCE logo
courtesy of NYCE Corporation (page 51); STAR logo courtesy of STAR Systems (page 51)
2007 By LIGhtBuLB PRess, INc. ALL RIGhts ReseRVed.
Lightbulb Press, Inc., 112 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Tel. 212-485-8800, www.lightbulbpress.com
ISBN: 978-1-933569-32-1
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted by any means, including electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher,
except for brief quotes used in a review. While great care was taken in the preparation of this book, the
author and publisher disclaim any legal responsibility for any errors or omissions, and they disclaim any
liability for losses or damages incurred through the use of the information in the book. This publication
is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered.
It is sold with the understanding that neither the author nor the publisher is engaged in rendering
financial, legal, accounting, or other professional service. If legal advice, financial advice, or other
expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.
a u t h o r s
a u t h o r s
Kenneth m. morris is the CEO of
Lightbulb Press. Since founding the company in 1990,
Ken has fostered the development of Lightbulbs widely
acclaimed consumer guides and educational websites
that are recognized for their clear language and
illuminating graphics. Lightbulbs signature style
stems from Kens pioneering work in the plain
language movement.
Ken has co-authored several Lightbulb guides,
including The Standard & Poors Guide to
Money & Investing, The Standard & Poors Guide
to Understanding Personal Finance, The Standard & Poors Guide to Saving
for Retirement, Your Guide to Understanding Investing, A Womans Guide to
Investing, and Users Guide to the Information Age.
Ken holds a PhD and an MA in English from Columbia University and a BA with
high honors from Cornell University.
Virginia B. morris is the editorial director
of Lightbulb Press. She oversees the development of a
wide range of consumer content on investing, personal
finance, and healthcare for print and interactive media.
She serves as a consultant for financial literacy and
consumer education websites for both adults and
young people, and she has worked with the Jump$tart
Coalition to establish best practices guidelines for
financial education.
Virginia is the author of more than a dozen books on
fnancial subjects, including The Standard & Poors
Guide to Money & Investing, Creating Retirement
Income, A Womans Guide to Investing, Welcome to Your Financial Life, and
An Investors Guide to Trading Options. Her articles appear in a wide variety of
magazines and on corporate websites, and shes a frequent guest on radio and
television fnancial programs.
Virginia holds a PhD and an MA from Columbia University and a BA from
Beaver College.
LightBuLB Press creates print and online content for consumers,
businesses, and educators. Lightbulb specializes in transforming perplexing
subjectssuch as personal finance, investing, information age technologies,
and the intricacies of wineinto easy-to-read, imaginatively designed guides
and Web-based learning centers.
The companys offerings include branded books for individual sponsors, licensed
online content for third-party websites, and the creation of original, customized
content on an exclusive work-for-hire basis.
72 73
Eurodollar
The EMUs
National Central
Banks (such as the
Banque de France
and the Deutsche
Bundesbank),
together with the
ECB, form the
Ex-dividend
payable date.
Excess contribution
by federal law.
retirement plans.
Exchange
Exchange (CBOE).
Exchange rate
from day to day.
the future.
annual fee.
by the fund.
prices do.
funds stocks.
Exclusion
Executor/Executrix
Exemption
To my children
I leave
To my
loving wife
I leave
I name as
my executor
Eurodollar Exemption
72
73
Eurodollar
The EMUs
National Central
Banks (such as the
Banque de France
and the Deutsche
Bundesbank),
together with the
ECB, form the
Ex-dividend
payable date.
Excess contribution
by federal law.
retirement plans.
Exchange
Exchange (CBOE).
Exchange rate
from day to day.
the future.
annual fee.
by the fund.
prices do.
funds stocks.
Exclusion
Executor/Executrix
Exemption
To my children
I leave
To my
loving wife
I leave
I name as
my executor
Eurodollar
Exem
ption
Lightbulb Press, Inc.
112 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10016
www.lightbulbpress.com
Phone: 212-485-8800
Orders: 800-581-9884
www.standardandpoors.com
The Dictionary of Financial Terms tells you not only what words
mean, but what they mean to you. Youll fnd the dictionary is an ideal
resource, whether youre just starting out in the world of fnance, are
an experienced investor, or youre a professional looking for a handy
reference or a practical way to explain fnancial terms to your clients.
di c t i onar y of
f i nanc i al t e r ms
The financial words you need to know in
language you can understand
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VI RGI NI A B. MORRI S ANd KENNETH M.

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