A
Ask Price: The lowest price that any investor or dealer has declared that he/she will sell a given security or equity investment.
B
Bid Price: The highest price any buyer is willing to pay for a given security at a given time.
Bond: A debt instrument issued for a period of more than one year with the purpose of raising capital by borrowing. Generally, a bond is a promise to repay the principal along with interest (coupons) on a specified date (maturity).
C
Commercial Paper: An unsecured obligation issued by a corporation or bank to finance its short-term credit needs.
Credit Rating: A published ranking, based on detailed financial analysis by a credit bureau, of an issuer's financial history, specifically as it relates to one's ability to meet debt obligations.
E
Equity Fund: A mutual fund which invests primarily in stocks, usually common stocks.
F
Fixed Income Fund: A fund that invests solely in fixed income investments, such as bonds or mortgage backed securities.
I
Interest Rate: A rate which is charged or paid for the use of money. An interest rate is often expressed as an annual percentage of the principal amount. It is calculated by dividing the amount of interest by the amount of principal.
M
Market Value: An investment’s last reported sale price or its current bid/ask prices; i.e. the price as determined dynamically by buyers and sellers in an open market.
Maturity Date: The date on which a debt becomes due for payment.
Mutual Fund: An open-ended fund operated by an investment company which raises money from shareholders and invests in a group of assets, in accordance with a stated set of objectives.
P
Primary Market: The market for new securities issues. In the primary market the security is purchased directly from the issuer. This differs from the secondary market.
R
Rating Agency: A company that publishes ratings for securities such as preferred stock and debt issues based on the likelihood of consistent and timely payments.
Realized Gain/(Loss): A capital gain or loss on a completed transaction.
S
Secondary Market: A market in which an investor purchases a security from another investor rather than the issuer, subsequent to the original issuance in the primary market.
Settlement Date: The date by which an executed securities transaction must be settled, by paying for a purchase or by delivering a sold asset.
Stock: An instrument that signifies an ownership position (called equity) in a corporation, and represents a claim on its proportional share in the corporation's assets and profits.
T
Total Return: The return of an investment, including income from dividends and interest, as well as appreciation or depreciation in the price of the security, over a given time period.
Trade Date: The date on which the transaction occurs; typically one to five days prior to settlement date.
U
Unrealized Gain/(Loss): Profit or loss which has been made but not yet realized through a transaction, such as a bond which has risen or fallen in value but is still being held.
Y
Yield: The annual rate of return of an investment expressed as a percentage.