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A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z #

A

ABA - American Bankers Association. National organization for all U.S. commercial banks.
Abandoned Property - Assets held in accounts that have a stop mail status, and have no owner-generated activity for a statutory period of time and for which administrative efforts to locate registered owners have failed; may be escheated to the owner's state of residence.
Account - A collection of investments, either taxable or tax-deferred. Account can be real (contains investments actually owned) or model (hypothetical). Account type can be brokerage, mutual fund, or other (a mutual fund can be an account of the fund is purchased directly from fund company or it can be an investment within an account, if purchased through a broker). Legally, accounts are set up as taxable or tax deferred. The legal owner of an account can be individual, joint, corporate, custodian, estate, or trust.
Account Executive (AE) -  An employee of a brokerage firm who must pass specified tests and must be registered with the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) before he or she may solicit or accept orders from clients. An account executive working for a full service brokerage firm generally provide their clients with advice, placement of orders and has the legal powers of an agent. In a discount brokerage firm, an account executive generally provides the client with customer service and handles the purchase and sale of securities on an unsolicited basis. Because account executives at discount brokerage firms usually do not provide advice for their clients, the commissions charged for the purchase and sale of securities are customarily much lower.
Accounts Payable - A current liability of a company owed to creditors and/or suppliers for goods and services obtained in the normal course of business.
Account Statement - A statement that includes all transactions, positions and open orders and indicates the status of a client's account with a brokerage firm. Statements are required to be issued at least quarterly for all accounts. However, statements for active accounts are often provided on a monthly basis.
Account Type - When placing an order through this site, you must be sure to select the proper Account Type for the position you wish to trade. If a particular position resides in your cash account, for example, this site will automatically reject a sell order that specifies your margin account, and visa versa.
Accounts Receivable - Current assets owed to a company for services or goods sold to clients on credit.
Accreted Interest - The difference between par value of a zero coupon security and purchase price. Also called original issue discount. Yearly accreted interest is the amount of accreted interest "earned" each year that you hold a zero coupon investment.
Accrued Dividend - Distribution which accumulates daily on a client's unpaid dividend balance and is distributed as cash or additional shares on the fund's payable date.
Accrued Interest - The amount of interest that the buyer owes the seller on transactions involving fixed income securities, such as most bonds, CDs and notes.
ACH - Automated Clearing House - A method of transferring funds. Member banks wire instructions to the Automated Clearing House which then wires to the appropriate receiving bank.
Acquisition - The process of one firm or company buying another firm or company.
Active Management - An investment approach that seeks to outperform benchmark returns
Adjusted Basis - The base price that is used to assess capital gains and losses when a security is sold. When net proceeds are used for tax purposes, the commissions are deducted at the time of sale. If any stock splits have occurred since the original purchase, the stock's price needs to be adjusted to obtain a correct adjusted basis.
Adjusted Debit Balance (ADB) - Under Regulation T of the Federal Reserve Board, it is the formula that is used to determine the status of a margin account. An account's ADB is effectual in ascertaining whether withdrawals of cash or securities are acceptable based on Special Miscellaneous Account (SMA) entries. The ADB is calculated by netting the balance owed to the brokerage firm with any balance in the SMA plus unrealized profits on short accounts.
Adviser - The firm primarily responsible for a fund's day-to-day operation.
Affidavit Of Domicile - A document that states the residence of the decedent at the time of death. The form is executed by the legal representative of an estate and is required when transferring ownership of a security from a deceased person. The security's transfer agent requires the affidavit to be notarized and dated within 90 days.
Affiliated Person - Any persons who are officers, directors, or owns 10 % or greater of the voting shares, and in most cases, the aforementioned immediate family and confidants. These people are in a position to exercise control on the performance and conduct of a corporation. The terms "affiliated person" and "control person" or interchangeable.
After Tax Real Rate of Return - The percentage gain on an investment, account, or portfolio after taxes and inflation have been abducted. 
Agency Bonds - Bonds also are issued by U.S. government agencies. Some of these bonds carry a direct obligation of the Treasury, while others do not. Three types of agency bonds include Ginnie Maes, Fannie Maes and Freddie Macs.
Agency Paper - A kind of government, fixed-income security issued by entities such as GNMA, the Department of Veterans Affairs or Fannie Mae. Some government agency paper carries a government guarantee and some kinds do not.
Agency Security - Any of the bills, notes, and bonds issued by agencies of the federal government.
Aggressive Growth Funds - Mutual funds that focus on small-company stocks that have the potential for accelerated earnings.
AGI - Adjusted Gross Income. Income before deductions used to calculate income tax liability on a federal income tax return.
Allocation - The process of deciding which investment (choice or combination of choices) best fits your goals, time horizons, and capital availability.
All or None (AON) - A type of order where the client wants the entire order executed or none of it.
Alpha -  A risk-adjusted performance measure. A positive (negative) alpha indicates stronger (poorer) fund performance than predicted by the fund's level of risk (measured by beta). Alpha and beta are more reliable measures when used in combination with a high R2 which indicates a high correlation between the movements in a fund's returns and movements in a benchmark index. Alpha is annualized.
Alpha Equation - The alpha of a fund is determined as follows: [(sum of y) - ((b)(sum of x))] / n, where: n = number of observations (36 mos.), b = beta of the fund, x = rate of return for the S&P 500, y = rate of return for the fund.
Alpha Coefficient - Measures volatility where the reasons for fluctuations are due to the investment vehicle itself, not from market conditions. For example, a stock with an alpha factor of 1.25 is projected to rise in price by 25% in a year regardless of the performance of the market as a whole.
Alternatives - Investment strategy which looks at non-traditional asset classes such as Real Estate.
American Depository Receipt (ADR) - A share of stock that is issued by an American bank and is backed by foreign securities on deposit.
American Depositary Share (ADS) - The share issued under an ADR agreement, which is actually traded.
American Stock Exchange (AMEX) - Located at 86 Trinity Place, New York, NY; a major stock and option exchange.
Amortization - An accounting term indicating the appointment of an incurred expense over the life of an asset. For example, if a three-year magazine subscription (an expense) is paid in year one, it should be "amortized" (or "spread out") over the three-year life of the subscription (the asset).
AMT - Alternative Minimum Tax. A parallel tax system which disregards certain preferential tax treatments, created to ensure that wealthy individuals and corporations pay some income tax.
Analyst - Individual in a brokerage firm, bank trust department, or mutual fund group who researches corporations, industry groups and the market to make buy and sell recommendations on specific securities. A majority of analysts specialize in a particular industry. However, some analyze corporations that interest them, regardless of its industry group.
Annualized Return - Projects the year to date return over a full 12 month calendar year. Most useful for projecting return for money market mutual funds, CDs, and bonds. Annualized return for equities can be misleading if YTD return is high and covers a short period of time.
Annual Meeting - A stockholder meeting that is held yearly. Functions of an annual meeting are for corporate executives to report on the year's results, to elect the board of directors, and to transact other business. The chief executive officer customarily makes a statement on the outlook for the next year and conducts a question and answer period. If a shareholder is unable to attend the annual meeting, the owner may vote for directors and pass on resolutions through the use of a proxy. Proxy materials are mailed to all shareholders of record.
Annual Percentage Rate (APR) - The total cost of a loan per year, including both interest charges and most or all fees.
Annual Percentage Yield (APY) - The effective, or true, annual rate of return. The APY is the rate actually earned or paid in one year, taking into account the effect of compounding.
Annual Report - A formal presentation of the corporation’s financial statements that is sent to its registered stockholders. If shares are registered in the nominee name (in the care of the brokerage firm), the proxy department has to obtain copies of the report and mail them to the beneficial owners (clients).
Annuity - A contract with an insurance company in which the individual makes either lump-sum or periodic payments to the insurance company and in return receives a lifetime income (usually guaranteed).
AON - See All or None.
Appreciation - Increase in the value of an asset such as a stock, bond, or mutual fund share over time. Also known as Growth.
Arbitration - A method of settling a dispute by utilizing an impartial individual or individuals. All exchanges and securities associations have adopted a Code of Arbitration through which all disputes between firms, employees and firms, and firms and clearing corporations are settled.
ARM - Adjustable Rate Mortgage. Mortgage loan that provides for an adjustment of the interest rate at specified times.
Arms Index - Also known as TRading INdex (TRIN) - A market indicator used in technical analysis, calculated as follows: Arms Index = ((# of advancing issues / # of declining issues) / (Total up volume / Total down volume)). A value of less than 1 is considered bullish, greater than 1 bearish.
Ask (Asked Price) - The lowest round lot price at which a broker will offer for sale a security on an exchange or over-the-counter market.
As-of - A term used to describe any trade processed not on the actual trade date, but "as of" the actual trade date.
Asset - Goods available to pay debts. Anything owned by an individual or corporation.
Asset Allocation - Weighting of a portfolio of investments among stocks, bonds and money market instruments as market conditions suggest.
Asset Allocation Funds - Mutual funds that feature a mix of stocks, bonds, and cash equivalents to meet the investment objectives of individual investors. Asset allocation funds take the concept of a private asset manager a skilled professional who builds and manages a comprehensive portfolio for a client - and apply it to a mutual fund.
Asset-Backed Securities - Bonds or notes backed by a loan paper or accounts receivable originated by banks, credit card companies, or other providers of credit and often "enhanced" by a bank letter of credit or by insurance coverage provided by an institution other than the issuer.
Asset Classes - Appreciating assets are put into 7 asset classes: maximum capital gain equity, long term equity, international equity, U.S. government bond, corporate bond, precious metals, and cash.
At the Close Order - An order to execute a buy or sell within the last 30 seconds of the trading day. There is no guarantee that the execution price will be the closing price or that the order will be executed at all.
At the Opening Order -  An order to execute a buy or sell at the opening price. If the order can not be executed at the opening, it will be automatically canceled.
Auction - The issuance of new Treasury bills, notes, and bonds at stated intervals by the Federal Reserve.
Auction Market - A market where buyers and sellers enter simultaneous bids and offers such as the New York Stock Exchange.
Automated Clearing-House (ACH) - A method of transferring funds. Member banks wire instructions to the automated clearing-house that will then wire to the appropriate receiving bank.
Automatic Investment Plan - A fixed sum that is regularly deducted from your paycheck or bank account, then automatically invested in a mutual fund, 401(k) plan or a retirement investment account.
Autoregressive - Using previous data to predict future data.
Average - Also known as an index, a mathematical computation that indicates the value of a number of securities as a group. The three most popular averages are the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI), Standard & Poor’s (S&P) 500, and the New York Stock Exchange Composite. The average, which may be market-weighted, share-weighted, or price-weighted, indicates performance.
Average Annual Return - The cumulative return divided by the number of years of life of the investment or account, with the compounding effect factored in. In reverse, the average annual return times a given number of years equals the cumulative return for that time frame. AAR is used to compare returns of two or more investments of unequal track records.
Average Life - The estimate of maturity for a pool of mortgage-backed securities.
Average Maturity - The lifetime of a bond, concluding when the final payment of that obligation is due.
Average Quality - Represents the market-weighted average of the quality of the portfolio's individual holdings.
Average Years to Call - The average number of years to the date when securities, usually bonds, can be redeemed prior to their maturities, which is known as the call date.
Average Yield to Maturity - The weighted average internal rate of return of the bonds held, reflecting the reinvestment of coupon interest at the imputed rate, and the effect of embedded options.
Away From the Market - A trade order placed that is either below or above the current trading range. This type of order can be placed under a specialist's care. From this point on, the specialist is in charge of representing the order.