Chapter 1: Intro Flashcards
What is Finance
the study of how and under what terms savings (money) are allocated between lenders and borrowers
How is finance different than economics?
it addresses 1. how resources are allocated (same as economics) 2. under what terms and through what channels resources are allocated
When do financial contracts or securities happen
whenever funds are transferred form issuer to buyer
What does the study of finance require a basic understanding of?
- securities 2. corporate law 3. financial instituions and markets
what are real assets? Definition
they are tangible items owned by persons and businesses
Give some examples of real assets: Personal
- value of residential structures (houses) 2. Land 3. Major appliances (televisions, washing machines etc) 4. cars
Give some examples of real assets: business
- NOn-residential structures (office buildings, factories, mines) 2. Machinery and Equipment 3. Land 4. Stock Inventories (items waiting to be sold)
What are financial assets: Definition
are what one individual has lent to another
Give some examples of financial assets
- consumer credit 2. Loans 3. Mortgages
a household with no financial assets often has what?
financial problems - because real assets cannot be easily used to pay off or service debt (ie make loan payments) - real assets as not as LIQUID as most financial assets
who is the primary provider of funds to business and government?
hosueholds
Why do households have to accumulate financial resources?
so they have enough (pension) to live during their retirement
Who are financial intermediaries
transform the nature of the securities they issue and invest in (eg. banks, trust companies, credit unions, insurance firms, mutual funds)
who are market intermediaries
such as investment dealers and brokers (investment advisors) - help make markets work by adding liquidity
What are the 3 channels of intermediation
- direct transfer - from lender to borrower in a non-market transaction 2. direct intermediation - through a market intermediary such as a broker in a market-based transaction 3. indirect claims through financial intermediary (such as a bank offers deposit0taking services and ultimately lends the deposited funds out a mortgages or loans
what is an example of a direct transfer
people borrow from friends, relatives, acquaintance - non-market transaction
What is an indirect claim through a financial intermediary??????
borrow form financial institution (people have loaned their money (savings) to financial institutions - still direct intermediation between the lender and borrower except some help is needed (no one has enough money to lend all the amount, usually)
What is an indirect claim?
when an individual or the lender deposits money in the bank and the business or borrower borrows the money. the borrower pays interest of say 10% - the bank receives 5% and the individual receives 5%
what are the 4 major areas of fianance
- personal finance 2. government finance 3. corporate finance 4. international finance
Describe life insurance and Pension claims
- make up a large part of household wealth - if the promises are made by a private co, this ability to fulfil them can be severely compromised if its own future is in doubt -therefore, pensions can be a major issue in salary and benefit negotiations
Describe the mortgage market
- shock to a financial system like a recession and job loss or collapse in house prices - can have a huge impact on the mortgage market and therefore the financial system as a whole
What are the key questions to ask regarding finance
- How does money flow from those who have it to those who want it 2. Who are the agents in the financial system 3. what types of securities are isused
Who is the primary contributor in Canada financial system to government and business
- household
what are financial intermediaries
transforms the nature of the securities they issue and invest in - facilitate exchange - balance the demands on its resources (match borrowers to lenders) - conduit
what does household include
personal and unincorporated businesses?
What are market intermediaries
- make the markets work better
What are the 4 main financial intermediaries in Canada
- Banks and other deposit taking institutions 2. insurance companies 3. pension funds 4. mutual funds
Which asset usually the most liquid asset?
Financial assets
Intermediaries: Canadian Chartered Banks, what do they do?
- Deposits from numerous depositors from across canada are “pooled” into banks
- pooled funds are lent to households and businesses in the fomr of mortgages and loans
- the bank transforms the original nature of the savers’ (depositros’) money:
1) Individual depositors save in small amount and want to face little or no risk, but expect to be able to withdrawl their deposit at any time
2) loans and mortgages are usually large in amount, borrowed for long periods fo time and for risky purpsoes, and may not always be repaid in full
Why can banks be th eintermediaries
banks can perorm this transformation function because they become experts at risk assessment, finanical contracting (pricing the risk) and monitoring hte acitivities of borrowers
Intermediaries: Insurance companies who are they and what do they do
- insurers sell policies and collect premiums from cusotmers based on the pricing of those policies given
1. the probability of a claim
2. size of the policy and
3. administrative fees - premiums are invested so that the accumualted value in the future will grow to meet the anticipated claims of hte policyholders
- allows househlds and businesses to take on more riks (in case something happens, we are insured)
What are Pension Plans
- individuals and employees make payments over thier entire working lives to pension plans, which invest those funds to grow over time
- the accumulated value of the pension can be used to fund retirement
- starts out small but accumulates
- individuals deposit funds into pension -> they funds pooled together and invested for the long term therefore can take on more risk, -> payout , possilby with restrictions(ie how much per year you can take out)
What are the funds in a pension plan often used for?
- they are a major source of capital, fuelling investment in
- research and development
- capital equipment
- resource exploration
ultimately contributes to the growth of the ecomony
What are Canadian Mutual Funds Assets
- give small investors access to diversified, professionally-managed portfolios of securities
- small investors often do not have the funds necessary to invest directly into makret-traded financial instruments (eg. stocks and bonds)
What is the process called for mutual funds
- the process is called denomination intermediation because the mutual fund divides investments denominated in larger amounts of fund into smaller more affordable amounts (eg. a $1 million treasury bill could be purchased in $10 units in a money- market fund)
- canadian indirect investmnt in the markets through managed products such as mutual funds and segregated funds has gorwn exponentially in recent years