Reference

Glossary Terms

Browse our comprehensive glossary of terms. Search, filter by topic, or navigate alphabetically.

463 Total Terms
18 Topics

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8 terms
10-Q The 10-Q is a detailed financial report that publicly traded companies in the United States must file with… Financial Statements & Accounting Stocks & Equity Markets 1099 A 1099 form is a series of tax documents issued by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and used… Taxation 50/30/20 rule The 50/30/20 rule is a simple and popular budgeting framework that helps individuals manage their after-tax income by… Personal Finance & Money Management

A

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Accrued interest Accrued interest is the interest that has accumulated on a bond or other fixed-income security since the last… Bonds & Fixed Income Amortization Amortization is an accounting and finance concept that refers to the process of spreading out the cost of… Financial Statements & Accounting Asset turnover Asset turnover is a financial ratio that measures how efficiently a company uses its assets to generate sales… Financial Ratios & Analysis Financial Statements & Accounting

B

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Business cycle The business cycle—also called the economic cycle or trade cycle—refers to the natural, recurring fluctuations in economic activity… Economics for Finance Benchmark A benchmark is a standard or point of reference against which the performance of an investment, portfolio, or… Investing Fundamentals Blue chip Blue chip stocks are shares of large, well-established, and financially sound companies that have a long history of… Stocks & Equity Markets

C

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Catch-up contribution A catch-up contribution is an additional retirement savings contribution that individuals aged 50 or older are allowed to… Retirement Planning Corporate bond A corporate bond is a debt security issued by a corporation to raise capital from investors. When an… Bonds & Fixed Income CAPM (Capital Asset Pricing Model) The Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) is a financial model that describes the relationship between systematic risk and… Corporate Finance

D

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Dow Jones Industrial Average The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), often simply called “the Dow,” is one of the oldest and most… Stocks & Equity Markets Dual mandate The Dual Mandate is the primary policy directive given to the Federal Reserve System (the Fed), the central… Monetary & Fiscal Policy Direct deposit Direct deposit is an electronic payment method that transfers funds directly from a payer’s bank account into the… Personal Finance & Money Management

E

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EBITDA EBITDA is an acronym that stands for Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization. It is a widely… Financial Statements & Accounting Expected return Expected return is a key concept in investing that represents the average amount of profit or loss an… Investing Fundamentals Exchange An exchange is a regulated marketplace where buyers and sellers come together to trade financial instruments such as… Financial Markets & Market Mechanics

F

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Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is the monetary policy body of the Federal Reserve System in the… Monetary & Fiscal Policy Financial goal setting Financial goal setting is the process of defining clear, specific objectives for your money, creating a plan to… Personal Finance & Money Management Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is a federal law enacted in 1970 that promotes the accuracy, fairness,… Credit, Debt & Lending

G

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Growth stock A growth stock is a share in a company that is expected to grow at an above-average rate… Stocks & Equity Markets Good-til-cancelled (GTC) A Good-Til-Cancelled (GTC) order is a type of trading instruction that remains active in the market until it… Financial Markets & Market Mechanics Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the total monetary value of all finished goods and services produced within a… Economics for Finance

H

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Homeowners insurance Homeowners insurance is a type of property insurance that protects an individual’s home and personal belongings against damage,… Insurance & Risk Protection Home equity loan A home equity loan is a type of second mortgage that allows homeowners to borrow money using the… Real Estate & Mortgage Finance Household cash flow Household cash flow is the total amount of money moving into and out of a household over a… Personal Finance & Money Management

I

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Immediate annuity An immediate annuity is a financial contract between you and an insurance company that converts a lump sum… Retirement Planning Investment-grade bond An investment-grade bond is a bond that is considered high quality and low risk by credit rating agencies.… Bonds & Fixed Income Interest rate An interest rate is the cost of borrowing money or the return earned on savings, expressed as a…

J

2 terms
JOBS Act The JOBS Act, officially the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act, is a landmark piece of U.S. legislation signed… Financial Regulation Jumbo loan A jumbo loan is a type of mortgage used to finance properties that are too expensive for a… Real Estate & Mortgage Finance

L

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Long-term capital gains Long-term capital gains are the profits you earn from selling an asset that you have held for more… Taxation Liquidity Liquidity is a financial concept that describes how quickly and easily an asset can be bought or sold… Financial Markets & Market Mechanics Limit order A limit order is a type of order to buy or sell a security at a specific price… Financial Markets & Market Mechanics

M

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Modigliani-Miller theorem The Modigliani-Miller theorem is a foundational theory in corporate finance that, under a specific set of ideal market… Corporate Finance Mortgage A mortgage is a type of secured loan used to finance the purchase of real estate, such as… Real Estate & Mortgage Finance Marginal tax rate The marginal tax rate is the percentage of tax applied to your last dollar of income. In a… Taxation

N

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National debt The national debt is the total amount of money that a country’s federal government has borrowed and has… Monetary & Fiscal Policy No-load fund A no-load fund is a type of mutual fund in which shares are sold directly to investors without… Mutual Funds, ETFs & Pooled Vehicles NCUA The NCUA, or National Credit Union Administration, is an independent federal agency created by the United States Congress… Financial Regulation

O

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Online bank An online bank is a financial institution that operates entirely or primarily through digital channels, such as a… Banking & Depository Institutions OCC (Office of the Comptroller of the Currency) The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is an independent bureau within the U.S. Department of… Financial Regulation Out-of-pocket maximum The out-of-pocket maximum is the most money you will have to pay for covered healthcare services in a… Insurance & Risk Protection

P

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Pro forma financial statements Pro forma financial statements are forward-looking financial reports that project a company’s future financial performance based on hypothetical… Corporate Finance Profitability index The profitability index (PI) is a financial metric used in capital budgeting to evaluate the attractiveness of an… Corporate Finance P/E ratio The price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio is one of the most widely used tools for valuing a stock. It compares… Stocks & Equity Markets

Q

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Qualified dividend A qualified dividend is a type of dividend payment that meets specific criteria set by the Internal Revenue… Taxation Qualified plan A qualified plan is a retirement savings plan that meets the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC)… Retirement Planning Quantitative easing (QE) Quantitative easing (QE) is an unconventional monetary policy tool used by a central bank — like the U.S.… Monetary & Fiscal Policy

R

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Risk tolerance Risk tolerance is the degree of variability in investment returns that an individual is willing to withstand as… Investing Fundamentals Real GDP Real GDP (Gross Domestic Product adjusted for inflation) is a critical economic measure that reflects the total value… Economics for Finance Rule of 72 The Rule of 72 is a simple, widely used mental math shortcut that estimates how long it will… Investing Fundamentals

S

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Sector fund A sector fund is a type of mutual fund or exchange-traded fund (ETF) that invests exclusively in one… Mutual Funds, ETFs & Pooled Vehicles Stop-limit order A stop-limit order is an advanced trading instruction that combines the features of a stop order and a… Financial Markets & Market Mechanics SIMPLE IRA A SIMPLE IRA (Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees) is a tax-deferred retirement plan designed for small businesses… Retirement Planning

T

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Treasury bonds Treasury bonds (often called T-bonds) are long-term debt securities issued by the U.S. Department of the Treasury to… Bonds & Fixed Income Treasury notes Treasury notes, often called T-notes, are debt securities issued by the U.S. Department of the Treasury. They are… Bonds & Fixed Income Time value of money The time value of money (TVM) is a core concept in finance that describes how a sum of… Investing Fundamentals

U

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Underwater mortgage An underwater mortgage, also known as being in a state of negative equity, occurs when the outstanding balance… Real Estate & Mortgage Finance Underwriting Underwriting is the process by which a lender, insurer, or investment bank evaluates the risk involved in a… Insurance & Risk Protection Unemployment rate The unemployment rate is a key economic indicator that measures the percentage of the labor force that is… Economics for Finance

V

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Vesting Vesting is a legal and financial term that refers to the process by which an employee earns the… Retirement Planning Variable annuity A variable annuity is a type of insurance contract that offers a way to save for retirement by… Retirement Planning VA loan A VA loan is a mortgage loan in the United States guaranteed by the U.S. Department of Veterans… Real Estate & Mortgage Finance

W

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Wire transfer A wire transfer is an electronic method of transferring funds from one person or entity to another, directly… Banking & Depository Institutions Wash-sale rule The wash-sale rule is a regulation by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that prevents investors from claiming a… Taxation Withholding Withholding is the portion of an employee’s wages that an employer sends directly to the government to cover… Taxation

Y

3 terms
Yield Yield is a financial term that measures the income generated by an investment, typically expressed as a percentage… Investing Fundamentals Yield to maturity (YTM) Yield to Maturity (YTM) is the total return anticipated on a bond if it is held until it… Bonds & Fixed Income Yield curve The yield curve is a graphical representation that shows the relationship between interest rates (yields) and the time… Bonds & Fixed Income

Z

2 terms
Zero-based budgeting Zero-based budgeting (ZBB) is a method of budgeting where every expense must be justified for each new period,… Personal Finance & Money Management Zero-coupon bond A zero-coupon bond is a type of bond that does not pay periodic interest payments (coupons) to its… Bonds & Fixed Income