TOP

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 #

J

Joint Account - An account with two or more individuals acting as co-owners.
Joint Tenants with Rights of Survivorship (JTWROS) - A joint account which allows the remaining tenant(s) to retain the deceased tenant’s interest in the account.
Joint Tenancy (JT) - An account or ownership of property where there are two or more owners. There are several types of joint tenancy. State laws and the relationship between the owners will determine the type of joint account one will want to establish.
Joint Tenants By Entirety - Ownership of assets by a married couple where the husband or wife automatically acquires the other's share upon death.
Joint Tenants In Common (JTIC) - Ownership of assets by two or more individuals. A specific ownership percentage is assigned to each individual. In the event of the death of one party, the deceased's interest passes to their estate and not to the surviving tenant(s).
Jumbo CD - A certificate of deposit with a high minimum deposit required, often $90,000 or more. They carry a slightly higher interest rate; however, if the value of the CD plus interest held in the account exceeds $100,000, this excess is not insured by the FDIC. To be safe, you can hold several jumbo CDs at different banks.
Junk Bond - A bond rated lower than Baa/BBB, also called a "high-yield" bond. Junk bonds are speculative compared with investment grade bonds.
Junk Bond Funds - Also known as high-yielding bond funds. Try to generate higher returns by investing primarily in below investment-grade bonds, and are subject to extra risk and require special disclosures and considerations before investing. Dreyfus does not offer any junk bond funds.

K

Keogh Plan Keogh Plan - Tax-deferred retirement plan for a self-employed and unincorporated person or a person who has earned extra income aside from regular employment through personal services.
Know Your Customer - Securities industry ethics established by exchange rules, NASD Rules of Fair Practice and other authorities regulating broker-dealer practices. In order to satisfy the "know your customer" rules, when opening an account with a brokerage firm, the customer must provide information regarding his financial situation. Based upon the facts disclosed by the customer, the broker must have a reasonable belief that the recommendation they are making is suitable for the customer.

L

Large-Cap (Capitalization) Stocks - Companies with outstanding shares valued at $6 billion or more.
Last - The price at which the security last traded.
Last Split - After a stock split, the number of shares distributed for each share held and the date of the distribution.
Last Split Date - The last date on which the shares of a security were increased or decreased by splitting.
Last Trade - The price at which the last trade was executed; after market close, this is the closing price.
Legal Transfer - A type of transfer that requires legal documentation in addition to the normal forms. Usually in the name of a deceased person, a trust, or other third party.
Letter of Intent (LOI) - A contract signed by a mutual fund shareholder that indicates that the shareholder intends to invest at least a certain amount of money, during a 13-month period, to qualify for a reduced percentage sales charge. A letter of intent may be backdated a maximum of 90 days. Any shares, bought before the letter of intent was signed and within the 90 days, will be adjusted to reflect the reduced sales charge.
Letter of Renunciation - This applies to a rights issue and is the form attached to an Allotment Letter which is completed should the original holder wish to pass his entitlement to someone else or to renounce his rights absolutely.
Letter of Testamentary - A court issued affidavit that appoints an executor for a decedent's estate
Level-Load Funds - Funds that charge a relatively high 12b-1 fee over the life of the fund. This annual fee frequently amounts to 0.75% or 1.00% of a fund's assets. These funds charge no other sales fee.
Liability - Any claim against the corporation, including accounts payable, salaries payable, and bonds.
LIBOR - (see London Inter-Bank Offer Rate)
Life Expectancy - The statistical age to which an average person is expected to live, as calculated by IRS tables.
Life Expectancy Method - The formula used to calculate RMDs under the 1987/1988 proposed regulations. Three methods are allowed by the IRS — recalculation, term certain, and adjusted age. Prior to beginning RMDs, the account owner chooses one method, which applies to all future distributions.
Limit - In relation to dealing instructions, a restriction set on an order to buy or sell, specifying the minimum selling or maximum buying price.
Limited Discretion - An agreement whereby a client allows their broker to make certain types of transactions without first notifying the client. For example, the broker will sell an option position that is about to expire when it is in-the-money.
Limited Partner - An investor in a limited partnership who does not participate in the management of the partnership and have limited liability.
Limited Tax Bond - A municipal bond whose ability to pay back principal and interest is based on special tax.
Limited Trading Authorization - An account in which the customer gives the power to buy and sell only in his account to another person.
Limit Order - An order that sets the highest price the customer is willing to be paid or the lowest price acceptable. Buy orders may be executed at or below the limit price, but never higher. Sell orders may be executed at or above the limit price, but never lower.
Liquid Asset - Cash or items easily converted into cash like money market fund shares, U.S. Treasury bills, and bank deposits.
Liquidate - Process of converting mutual fund shares into cash. Also known as Redemption.
Liquidation - (1) Closing out a position. (2) An action taken by the margin department when a client hasn’t paid for a purchase.
Liquidation Price - Represents the net asset value of one unit, with any front-end and deferred sales charges accounted for if one was to liquidate their unit or units.
Liquidity - The characteristic of a market that enables investors to buy and sell securities easily.
Liquidity Risk - The risk that arises from the difficulty in selling an asset. It can be viewed as the difference between the ''true value'' of the asset and the likely price minus commissions.
Listed Options - An option that trades on a national option exchange.
Listed Securities - Securities that trade on a national exchange.
Listed Stock - Stock that has qualified for trading on an exchange.
Load - The sales charge on the purchase of the shares of some open-end mutual funds.
Load Fund - A mutual fund with shares sold at a price including a sales charge, typically 4% to 9.3% of the net amount indicated. These funds are usually purchased through a financial advisor or some other salesperson.
Load Mutual Fund - Mutual fund that charges a fee when investors make purchases. This fee (or "load" as it is called) is used primarily to compensate salespeople selling the fund.
Loan Consent Agreement - An agreement whereby the customer gives the brokerage firm permission to lend his securities.
Loan Market Value - Value of securities in customer’s account.
Loan Stock - Stock bearing a fixed rate of interest. Unlike a Debenture, loan stocks may be unsecured.
Loan Value - The amount of money, expressed as a percentage of market value, that the customer may borrow from the firm.
London Inter-Bank Offer Rate (LIBOR) - The interest rate that the largest international banks charge each other for loans.
Long - Brokerage lingo signifying that an investor has ownership of a security. Ownership rights entitle the investor to receive any income and dividends paid by the security and, once sold, to profit or to lose money. The owner also may transfer ownership of the security by sale or by gift.
Long Position - (1) In a customer’s account, securities that are either fully paid for (a cash account) or partially paid for (a margin account). (2) Any position on the firm’s security records that has a debit balance.
Long-Term Assets - Value of property, equipment and other capital assets minus the depreciation. This is an entry in the bookkeeping records of a company and does not necessarily reflect the market value of the assets.
Long-Term Bonds - Bonds that mature in more than ten years.
Long-Term Debt - An obligation having a maturity of more than one year from the date it was issued.
Long-Term Debt/Capitalization - An indicator of financial leverage. Shows long-term debt as a proportion of the capital available. Determined by dividing long-term debt by the sum of long-term debt, preferred stock and common stockholders' equity. In strategic investing, industry value represents the sum of long-term debt for all companies within the same industry divided by the sum of the capitalization for those companies.
Long-Term Liabilities - Amount owed for leases, bond repayment and other items due after one year.
Loss - The loss realized on the sale of a capital asset. An unrealized loss is the amount by which a security depreciates in value before it is sold.
Low - The lowest closing price of a stock over a certain period of time.