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window-dressing
The deceptive practice of some mutual funds, in which recently weak stocks are sold and recently strong stocks are bought just before the fund's holdings are made public, in order to give the appearance that they've been holding good stocks all along.
The deceptive practice of using accounting tricks to make a company's balance sheet and income statement appear better than they really are.
The deceptive practice of some mutual funds, in which recently weak stocks are sold and recently strong stocks are bought just before the fund's holdings are made public, in order to give the appearance that they've been holding good stocks all along.
The deceptive practice of using accounting tricks to make a company's balance sheet and income statement appear better than they really are.
profit-sharing
An arrangement in which an employer shares some of its profits with its employees. The compensation can be stocks, bonds, or cash, and can be immediate or deferred until retirement. Profit-sharing allows for changing contributions each year. Contributions are determined by a formula to allocate the overall contribution and distribution of accumulated funds after the retirement age. Unless the plans are defined as an elective deferral plan, the contributions are not tax deductible. Contributions and earnings can grow tax-deferred until withdrawal.
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An arrangement in which an employer shares some of its profits with its employees. The compensation can be stocks, bonds, or cash, and can be immediate or deferred until retirement. Profit-sharing allows for changing contributions each year. Contributions are determined by a formula to allocate the overall contribution and distribution of accumulated funds after the retirement age. Unless the plans are defined as an elective deferral plan, the contributions are not tax deductible. Contributions and earnings can grow tax-deferred until withdrawal.
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Exchange Traded Fund
ETF. A fund that tracks an index, but can be traded like a stock. ETFs always bundle together the securities that are in an index; they never track actively managed mutual fund portfolios (because most actively managed funds only disclose their holdings a few times a year, so the ETF would not know when to adjust its holdings most of the time). Investors can do just about anything with an ETF that they can do with a normal stock, such as short selling. Because ETFs are traded on stock exchanges, they can be bought and sold at any time during the day (unlike most mutual funds). Their price will fluctuate from moment to moment, just like any other stock's price, and an investor will need a broker in order to purchase them, which means that he/she will have to pay a commission. On the plus side, ETFs are more tax-efficient than normal mutual funds, and since they track indexes they have very low operating and transaction costs associated with them. There are no sales loads or investment minimums required to purchase an ETF. The first ETF created was the Standard and Poor's Deposit Receipt (SPDR, pronounced "Spider") in 1993. SPDRs gave investors an easy way to track the S&P 500 without buying an index fund, and they soon become quite popular.
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ETF. A fund that tracks an index, but can be traded like a stock. ETFs always bundle together the securities that are in an index; they never track actively managed mutual fund portfolios (because most actively managed funds only disclose their holdings a few times a year, so the ETF would not know when to adjust its holdings most of the time). Investors can do just about anything with an ETF that they can do with a normal stock, such as short selling. Because ETFs are traded on stock exchanges, they can be bought and sold at any time during the day (unlike most mutual funds). Their price will fluctuate from moment to moment, just like any other stock's price, and an investor will need a broker in order to purchase them, which means that he/she will have to pay a commission. On the plus side, ETFs are more tax-efficient than normal mutual funds, and since they track indexes they have very low operating and transaction costs associated with them. There are no sales loads or investment minimums required to purchase an ETF. The first ETF created was the Standard and Poor's Deposit Receipt (SPDR, pronounced "Spider") in 1993. SPDRs gave investors an easy way to track the S&P 500 without buying an index fund, and they soon become quite popular.
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bid size
The number of shares that are being offered for purchase at the bid price, often expressed in terms of hundreds of shares. Some traders try to use the bid size and ask size to measure impending short term upward or downward pressure on the stock's price.
The number of shares that are being offered for purchase at the bid price, often expressed in terms of hundreds of shares. Some traders try to use the bid size and ask size to measure impending short term upward or downward pressure on the stock's price.
Adjustable Rate Mortgage
ARM. A mortgage with an interest rate that may change, usually in response to changes in the Treasury Bill rate or the prime rate. The purpose of the interest rate adjustment is primarily to bring the interest rate on the mortgage in line with market rates. The mortgage holder is protected by a maximum interest rate (called a ceiling), which might be reset annually. ARMs usually start with better rates than fixed rate mortgages, in order to compensate the borrower for the additional risk that future interest rate fluctuations will create.
ARM. A mortgage with an interest rate that may change, usually in response to changes in the Treasury Bill rate or the prime rate. The purpose of the interest rate adjustment is primarily to bring the interest rate on the mortgage in line with market rates. The mortgage holder is protected by a maximum interest rate (called a ceiling), which might be reset annually. ARMs usually start with better rates than fixed rate mortgages, in order to compensate the borrower for the additional risk that future interest rate fluctuations will create.
- liquidity risk
The risk that arises from the difficulty of selling an asset. An investment may sometimes need to be sold quickly. Unfortunately, an insufficient secondary market may prevent the liquidation or limit the funds that can be generated from the asset. Some assets are highly liquid and have low liquidity risk (such as stock of a publicly traded company), while other assets are highly illiquid and have high liquidity risk (such as a house).
The risk that arises from the difficulty of selling an asset. An investment may sometimes need to be sold quickly. Unfortunately, an insufficient secondary market may prevent the liquidation or limit the funds that can be generated from the asset. Some assets are highly liquid and have low liquidity risk (such as stock of a publicly traded company), while other assets are highly illiquid and have high liquidity risk (such as a house).
fund of funds
A mutual fund which invests in other mutual funds. Just as a mutual fund invests in a number of different securities, a fund of funds holds shares of many different mutual funds. These funds were designed to achieve even greater diversification than traditional mutual funds. On the downside, expense fees on fund of funds are typically higher than those on regular funds because they include part of the expense fees charged by the underlying funds. In addition, since a fund of funds buys many different funds which themselves invest in many different stocks, it is possible for the fund of funds to own the same stock through several different funds and it can be difficult to keep track of the overall holdings.
A mutual fund which invests in other mutual funds. Just as a mutual fund invests in a number of different securities, a fund of funds holds shares of many different mutual funds. These funds were designed to achieve even greater diversification than traditional mutual funds. On the downside, expense fees on fund of funds are typically higher than those on regular funds because they include part of the expense fees charged by the underlying funds. In addition, since a fund of funds buys many different funds which themselves invest in many different stocks, it is possible for the fund of funds to own the same stock through several different funds and it can be difficult to keep track of the overall holdings.
minority ownership
Less than 50% ownership of a corporation's voting stock, or not enough ownership to control company operations. From a purely accounting point of view, a parent company which owns less than 100% but more than 50% of a subsidiary presents the value of the remaining ownership (the minority ownership) on the balance sheet in a separate account. In such cases, minority interest is shown as either a liability or an equity item on the consolidated balance sheet, and the income (or loss) owed to the minority owners is subtracted from (or added to) the parent's income to arrive at a net income number (consolidated).
Less than 50% ownership of a corporation's voting stock, or not enough ownership to control company operations. From a purely accounting point of view, a parent company which owns less than 100% but more than 50% of a subsidiary presents the value of the remaining ownership (the minority ownership) on the balance sheet in a separate account. In such cases, minority interest is shown as either a liability or an equity item on the consolidated balance sheet, and the income (or loss) owed to the minority owners is subtracted from (or added to) the parent's income to arrive at a net income number (consolidated).
law of one price
An economic rule which states that in an efficient market, a security must have a single price, no matter how that security is created. For example, if an option can be created using two different sets of underlying securities, then the total price for each would be the same or else an arbitrage opportunity would exist.
An economic rule which states that in an efficient market, a security must have a single price, no matter how that security is created. For example, if an option can be created using two different sets of underlying securities, then the total price for each would be the same or else an arbitrage opportunity would exist.
triple witching hour
That time every 3 months when four different contracts reach maturity – stock index futures contracts, stock index options on index futures and some options on index futures and some options on individual stocks.
The final hour of the stock market trading session on the third Friday of March, June, September, and December, when option contracts and futures contracts expire on market indexes used by program traders. The simultaneous expirations often set off heavy trading of options, futures and the underlying stocks, which can cause large fluctuations in the value of their underlying stocks.
That time every 3 months when four different contracts reach maturity – stock index futures contracts, stock index options on index futures and some options on index futures and some options on individual stocks.
The final hour of the stock market trading session on the third Friday of March, June, September, and December, when option contracts and futures contracts expire on market indexes used by program traders. The simultaneous expirations often set off heavy trading of options, futures and the underlying stocks, which can cause large fluctuations in the value of their underlying stocks.
weighted rate of return
The rate of return that would make the present value of future cash flows plus the final market value of an investment or business opportunity equal the current market price of the investment or opportunity; in other words, the rate of return at which the net present value of the project is zero. If the internal rate of return exceeds the cost of financing the project, then the project is viable. The internal rate of return is also useful in ranking competing investment projects (the higher the internal rate of return, the better the project is), but there are some limitations with this technique. First, if cash flows change from negative or positive, or vice versa, a unique internal rate of return cannot be calculated, Second, in the case that competing projects are being considered, the internal rate of return criteria sometimes gives a different ranking than the net present value criteria. Thus, net present value is usually preferred over internal rate of return, since net present value is a specific number and is usually easier to calculate. also called dollar-weighted rate of return
The rate of return that would make the present value of future cash flows plus the final market value of an investment or business opportunity equal the current market price of the investment or opportunity; in other words, the rate of return at which the net present value of the project is zero. If the internal rate of return exceeds the cost of financing the project, then the project is viable. The internal rate of return is also useful in ranking competing investment projects (the higher the internal rate of return, the better the project is), but there are some limitations with this technique. First, if cash flows change from negative or positive, or vice versa, a unique internal rate of return cannot be calculated, Second, in the case that competing projects are being considered, the internal rate of return criteria sometimes gives a different ranking than the net present value criteria. Thus, net present value is usually preferred over internal rate of return, since net present value is a specific number and is usually easier to calculate. also called dollar-weighted rate of return
ex-dividend
A security which no longer carries the right to the most recently declared dividend; or the period of time between the announcement of the dividend and the payment. A security becomes ex-dividend on the ex-dividend date ,which is usually two business days before the record date (set by the company issuing the dividend). For transactions during the ex-dividend period, the seller, not the buyer, will receive the dividend. Ex-dividend is usually indicated in newspapers with an x next to the stock or mutual fund's name. In general, a stock's price drops the day the ex-dividend period starts, since the buyer will not receive the benefit of the dividend payout till the next dividend date. As the stock gets closer to the next dividend date, the price may gradually rise in anticipation of the dividend.
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A security which no longer carries the right to the most recently declared dividend; or the period of time between the announcement of the dividend and the payment. A security becomes ex-dividend on the ex-dividend date ,which is usually two business days before the record date (set by the company issuing the dividend). For transactions during the ex-dividend period, the seller, not the buyer, will receive the dividend. Ex-dividend is usually indicated in newspapers with an x next to the stock or mutual fund's name. In general, a stock's price drops the day the ex-dividend period starts, since the buyer will not receive the benefit of the dividend payout till the next dividend date. As the stock gets closer to the next dividend date, the price may gradually rise in anticipation of the dividend.
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