Glossary Flashcards
A-Shares
Mutual fund shares sold with a front-end sales load/charge. Lower annual expenses than B- and C-shares.
Account at maintenance
The point at which a customer’s equity in a margin account is just high enough to avoid a margin call.
Account Executive (AE)
Another name for a registered representative or agent.
Account Statement
Document sent to a broker-dealer customer showing the recent value of all cash and securities, plus all recent activity in an investment account.
Accounts Payable
What the company owes its vendors, a current liability.
Accounts Receivable
What customers owe a corporation, a current asset.
Accredited Investors
Large institutional investors, and individuals meeting certain income or net worth requirements allowing them to participate in, for example, a private placement under
Reg D of the Securities Act of 1933, or hedge funds.
Accretion
Increasing the cost basis of a discount bond for tax purposes
Accrued Interest
The interest that the buyer of a debt security owes the seller. Bond interest is payable only twice a year, and the buyer will receive the next full interest payment. Therefore, the buyer owes the seller for every day of interest since the last payment up to the day before the transaction settles.
Accrued Taxes
Taxes that are owed by a corporation, a current liability.
Accrued Wages
Wages that are owed by a corporation, a current liability.
Accumulation Stage/Period
The period during which contributions are made to an annuity, during which the investor holds “accumulation units.”
Accumulation Units
What the purchaser of an annuity buys during the pay-in or accumulation phase, an accounting measure representing a proportional share of the separate account during the accumulation/deposit stage.
Ad Valorem
Property tax. Literally “as to value.”
Additional Takedown
Piece of the spread that goes to the various members of the syndicate when the bonds they’ve been allotted are sold.
Adjustable Rate Preferred Stock
Preferred stock whose dividend is tied to another rate, often the rate paid on T-bills.
Adjusted Gross Income (AGI)
Earned income plus passive income, portfolio income, and capital gains. The amount upon which we pay income tax.
Adjustment Bond
Another name for an “income bond,” on which the issuer may skip interest payments without going into default.
Administrator
(1) The securities regulator of a particular state; (2) A person or entity authorized by the courts to liquidate an estate.
ADR/ADS
American Depository Receipt/Share. A foreign stock on a domestic market. Toyota and Nokia are two examples of foreign companies whose ADRs trade on American stock markets denominated in dollars. Carry all the risks of owning stocks, plus “currency exchange risk.”
Advance Refunding/Pre-refunding
Issuing new bonds and depositing part of the proceeds in escrow ahead of the first legal call date on the existing bond issue.
Advance/Decline Line
The number of stocks whose market prices increased versus the number of stocks whose market prices decreased during a trading session.
Advertising
Communications by a member firm directed at a general, uncontrolled audience, e.g., billboard, radio/TV/newspaper ads, website.
Affiliated Investor
A person who is an officer or director of the issuer, or a 10%+ owner of its common stock.
Affiliated Person
Anyone in a position to influence decisions at a public corporation, including board members (directors), officers (CEO, CFO), and large shareholders (Warren Buffett at Coca-Cola or Wells Fargo).
Agency Issue (Agency Bond)
A debt security issued by an agency authorized by the federal government but not directly backed by the federal government.
Agency Transaction
A securities transaction in which the broker-dealer acts as an agent for the buyer or seller, completing the transaction between the customer and another party.
Agent
An individual representing a broker-dealer or issuer in effecting/completing transactions in securities for compensation. What you will be after passing your exams and obtaining your securities license.
Agreement Among Underwriters
A document used by an underwriting syndicate bringing an issue of securities to the primary market. This document sets forth the terms under which each member of the syndicate will participate and details the duties and responsibilities of the syndicate manager.
AIR
Assumed Interest Rate. Determined by an actuary, representing his best estimate of the monthly annualized rate of return from the separate account. Used to determine value of annuity units for annuities and death benefit for variable life contracts.
All or None
A type of underwriting in which the syndicate will cancel the offering if a sufficient dollar amount is not raised as opposed to being responsible for the unsold shares (as in a “firm commitment”). Also a type of order on the secondary market in which the investor wants the order to be canceled if the broker cannot acquire the full number of shares on one attempt.
American Stock Exchange (AMEX)
A private, not-for-profit corporation that handles roughly 20% of all securities trades in the U.S. One of the big secondary markets, along with NYSE, and the various NASDAQ markets.
American Style
An option that can be exercised at any time up to expiration.
Amortize
Reducing the cost basis on an intangible item, i.e. a bond premium.
AMT (Alternative Minimum Tax)
Tax computation that adds certain “tax preference items” back into adjusted gross income. Some municipal bond interest is treated as a “tax preference item” that can raise the investor’s tax liability through the AMT.
Annual Compliance Review
A broker-dealer’s annual compliance meeting that is mandatory for principals and registered representatives.
Annual Report
A formal statement issued by a corporation to the SEC and shareholders discussing the company’s results of operations, challenges/risks facing the company, any lawsuits against the company, etc. Required by the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
Annuitant
The person who receives an annuity contract’s distribution.
Annuitize
The process of changing the annuity contract from the “pay-in” or accumulation phase to the “pay-out” or distribution phase. Defined benefit pension plans, such as the ones that have done so much good for GM and Ford, generally offer their pensioners either a lump sum
payment or the chance to annuitize. Hint to all pensioners—take the LUMP SUM!
Annuity Units
What the annuitant holds during the pay-out phase. Value tied to AIR.
Annuity
A contract between an individual and an insurance company that generally guarantees income for the rest of the individual’s life in return for a lump-sum or periodic payment to the insurance company.
Anticipation Notes
Short-term debt obligations of a municipality typically held primarily by tax- exempt money market mutual funds.
Appreciation
The increase in an asset’s value that is not subject to tax until realized.
Arbitrage
A word that has no business being mentioned on the Series 7. Arbitrage involves taking advantage of the disparity of two things. If you think GE will buy a small company, you can make a bet that GE will temporarily drop and the small company’s stock will skyrocket. Then, when you make your fantastic and fortuitous gain, you can explain to the SEC how you happened to make that bet.
Arbitration
Settling a dispute without going to an actual court of law.
Arbitration Award
The decision rendered through FINRA Arbitration.
Ask, Asked
The higher price in a quote representing what the customer would have to pay/what the dealer is asking the customer to pay. Customers buy at the ASK because dealers sell to customers at the ASK price. Ask/asked is also called “offer/offered.”
Assessed Value
The value of property used to calculate property tax. For example, a home with a market value of $300,000 might have an assessed value of $150,000 against which the rate of tax is applied.
Asset Allocation
Maintaining a percentage mix of equity, debt, and money market investments, based either on the investor’s age (strategic) or market expectations (tactical).
Assets
Something that a corporation or individual owns, e.g., cash, investments, accounts receivable, inventory, etc.
Associated Person
A registered representative or principal of a FINRA member firm.
Assumed Interest Rate
Assumed Interest Rate. Determined by an actuary, representing his best estimate of the monthly annualized rate of return from the separate account. Used to determine value of annuity units for annuities and death benefit for variable life contracts.
Auction Market
The NYSE, for example, where buyers and sellers simultaneously enter competitive prices. Sometimes called a “double auction” market because buying and selling occur at the same time.
Auction Rate Securities
Debt securities with a variable rate of interest or preferred stock with a variable dividend rate that is re-set at regular auctions.
Authorized Stock
Number of shares a company is allowed to issue by its corporate charter. Can be changed by a majority vote of the outstanding shares.
Automated Client Account Transfer (ACAT)
A system that provides instructions among broker- dealers for transfer and delivery of customer assets.
Automatic Reinvestment
A feature offered by mutual funds allowing investors to automatically reinvest dividend and capital gains distributions into more shares of the fund, without paying a sales charge.
Average Cost Basis
A method of figuring cost basis on securities for purposes of reporting capital gains and/or losses. The investor averages the cost for all purchases made in the stock, as opposed to identifying particular shares to the IRS when selling.
B-Shares
Mutual fund shares charging a load only when the investor redeems/sells the shares. Associated with “contingent deferred sales charges.” B-shares have higher operating expenses than A-shares by way of a higher 12b-1 fee. Although the back-end load or “contingent deferred sales charges” decline over time, the higher 12b-l fee usually makes B-shares appropriate only for investors who lack the ability to reach the first or second breakpoint offered on A-shares.
Backdating
Pre-dating a letter of intent (LOI) for a mutual fund in order to include a prior purchase in the total amount stated in the letter of intent. LOIs may be backdated up to 90 calendar days.
Back-end Load
A commission/sales fee charged when mutual fund or variable contracts are redeemed. The back-end load declines gradually, as described in the prospectus. Associated with “B-shares” and, occasionally, “C-shares.”
Backing Away
A violation in which a market maker fails to honor a published firm quote to buy or sell a security at a stated price.
Backup Withholding
A required withholding from an investment account that results when the customer refuses/fails to provide a tax identification number.
Balance Sheet
A financial statement of a corporation or individual showing financial condition (assets vs. liabilities) at a particular moment in time.
Balance Sheet Equation
Assets - Liabilities = Shareholders’ Equity, or Assets = Liabilities + Shareholders’ Equity.
Balanced Fund
A fund that maintains a mix of stocks and bonds at all times. Asset allocation funds are a type of balanced fund (or so darned close that they should be).
Bank Qualified Municipal Bond
Municipal bonds that allow banks to deduct 80% of the interest costs incurred to buy them.
Bankers’ Acceptance (BA)
Money-market security that facilitates importing/exporting. Issued at a discount from face-value. A secured loan.
Bar
The most severe sanction that FINRA can impose on an individual, effectively ending his/ her career.
Basis Points
A way of measuring bond yields or other percentages in the financial industry. Each basis point is 1% of 1%. Example: 2% = .0200 = 200 basis points. 20 basis points = .2% or 2/10ths of 1%.
Basis Quote
The price at which a debt security can be bought or sold, based on the yield. A bond purchased at a “5.50 basis” is trading at a price that makes the yield 5.5%.
Bear Market
A market for stock or bonds in which prices are falling and/or expected to fall.
Bear Spread
A call or put spread in which the investor benefits if the underlying instrument’s value drops. For example, an investor who buys the ABC Aug 50 call and sells the ABC Aug 45 call establishes a bear spread. The spread would also happen to be a “credit spread” in this case.
Bearer Bond
An unregistered bond that pays principal to the bearer at maturity. Bonds have not been issued in this way for over two decades, but they still exist on the secondary market.
Bearish, Bear
An investor who takes a position based on the belief that the market or a particular security will fall. Short sellers and buyers of puts are “bearish.” They profit when stocks go down. Seriously.
Beneficiary
The one who benefits. An insurance policy pays a benefit to the named beneficiary. IRAs and other retirement plans, including annuities, allow the owner to name a beneficiary who will receive the account value when the owner dies. A 529 plan names a beneficiary, who will use the money for educational expenses someday.
Best Efforts
A type of underwriting leaving the syndicate at no risk for unsold shares, and allowing them to keep the proceeds on the shares that were sold/subscribed to. Underwriters act as “agents,” not principals, in a best efforts underwriting.
Beta Coefficient
Another way of referring to “beta.”
Beta
A way of measuring the volatility of a security or portfolio compared to the volatility of the overall market. A beta of more than 1 is associated with an investment or portfolio that is more volatile than the overall market. A beta of less than 1 is associated with an investment or portfolio that is less volatile than the overall market.
Bid Form
Document used by the syndicate to submit a competitive bid to the issuer.
Bid
What a dealer is willing to pay to a customer who wants to sell. Customers sell at the bid, buy at the ask.