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
403(b) A 403(b) plan is a tax-advantaged retirement savings account designed specifically for employees of certain tax-exempt organizations, such… Retirement Planning 1099 A 1099 form is a series of tax documents issued by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and used… Taxation 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

A

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Accounts receivable Accounts receivable (AR) is the money owed to a business by its customers for goods or services that… Financial Statements & Accounting Above-the-line deduction An above-the-line deduction is a type of tax deduction that you can subtract directly from your gross income… Taxation APR APR stands for Annual Percentage Rate. It is the total yearly cost of borrowing money, expressed as a… Banking & Depository Institutions Credit, Debt & Lending

B

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Bankruptcy – Chapter 13 Bankruptcy – Chapter 13 is a legal process in the United States that allows individuals with a regular… Credit, Debt & Lending Bear market A bear market is a prolonged period of declining prices in a financial market, typically defined as a… Stocks & Equity Markets Beige Book The Beige Book, formally known as the Summary of Commentary on Current Economic Conditions by Federal Reserve District,… Monetary & Fiscal Policy

C

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Capital structure Capital structure is the specific mix of debt and equity that a company uses to finance its overall… Corporate Finance Check 21 / Electronic check Check 21 (short for the Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act) and electronic checks revolutionized how paper… Banking & Depository Institutions CPI (Consumer Price Index) The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a key economic indicator that measures the average change over time in… Economics for Finance

D

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Dot plot The dot plot is a visual chart published by the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) that shows individual… Monetary & Fiscal Policy Delinquency Delinquency is a term used in credit and lending to describe a situation where a borrower fails to… Credit, Debt & Lending Dollar-cost averaging Dollar-cost averaging (DCA) is an investment strategy where a fixed dollar amount of a particular asset—such as shares… Investing Fundamentals

E

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Elasticity Elasticity is an economic concept that measures how much one economic variable changes in response to a change… Economics for Finance Exchange-traded fund (ETF) An exchange-traded fund (ETF) is a type of pooled investment vehicle that combines the diversification of a mutual… Mutual Funds, ETFs & Pooled Vehicles Early withdrawal penalty An early withdrawal penalty is a fee imposed by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) when you take money… Retirement Planning

F

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FDIC The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is an independent agency of the United States government that protects depositors… Financial Regulation Free cash flow (FCF) Free cash flow (FCF) is the cash a company generates after spending the money required to maintain or… Corporate Finance Face / par value Face value, also known as par value, is the stated value of a bond as printed on the… Bonds & Fixed Income

G

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Goodwill Goodwill is an intangible asset that arises when one company purchases another company for a price greater than… Financial Statements & Accounting Glass-Steagall Act The Glass-Steagall Act (officially the Banking Act of 1933) was a landmark piece of U.S. legislation that created… Financial Regulation Gross profit Gross profit is the profit a company makes after deducting the costs directly tied to producing and selling… Financial Statements & Accounting

H

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HSA (Health Savings Account) An HSA, or Health Savings Account, is a tax-advantaged savings account that you can use to pay for… Insurance & Risk Protection 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 HELOC A Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) is a type of revolving debt that allows you to borrow… Real Estate & Mortgage Finance

I

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Internal rate of return (IRR) The Internal Rate of Return (IRR) is a powerful financial metric used to evaluate the profitability of potential… Corporate Finance Interest on reserve balances (IORB) Interest on reserve balances (IORB) is the interest rate that the Federal Reserve System pays to banks and… Monetary & Fiscal Policy Interest coverage The interest coverage ratio (also known as times interest earned) is a financial metric that measures a company’s… Financial Ratios & Analysis

J

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

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 Leverage Leverage is the strategic use of borrowed capital (debt) to increase the potential return on an investment. In… Corporate Finance Labor force participation rate The labor force participation rate (LFPR) is a key economic metric that measures the percentage of a country’s… Economics for Finance

M

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Money supply – M2 Money supply M2 is a broad measure of the total amount of money in an economy. It includes… Monetary & Fiscal Policy Mid-cap Mid-cap, short for mid-capitalization, refers to companies with a market capitalization typically between $2 billion and $10 billion.… Stocks & Equity Markets Mutual fund A mutual fund is a type of investment vehicle that pools money from many investors to purchase a… Mutual Funds, ETFs & Pooled Vehicles

N

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Nonrefundable tax credit A nonrefundable tax credit is a type of tax credit that can reduce your tax liability to zero,… Taxation Net worth Net worth is a snapshot of your financial health at a single moment. It is calculated by subtracting… Personal Finance & Money Management Net (take-home) income Net income, often called take-home pay, is the amount of money you actually receive after all deductions are… Personal Finance & Money Management

O

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Open-end fund An open-end fund is a type of mutual fund that can issue an unlimited number of shares. The… Mutual Funds, ETFs & Pooled Vehicles Ordinary dividend An ordinary dividend is a type of payment that a corporation makes to its shareholders from its profits,… Taxation Overdraft An overdraft occurs when you spend more money than you have available in your checking account. In simple… Banking & Depository Institutions

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 PEG ratio The PEG ratio (Price/Earnings to Growth ratio) is a fundamental financial metric used to evaluate a stock’s value… Financial Ratios & Analysis Productivity In economics and finance, Productivity measures how efficiently inputs (like labor, capital, and materials) are converted into useful… Economics for Finance

Q

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Quantitative tightening (QT) Quantitative tightening (QT) is a contractionary monetary policy tool used by a central bank, like the Federal Reserve,… Monetary & Fiscal Policy Quick (acid-test) ratio The quick ratio, also known as the acid-test ratio, is a stringent measure of a company’s short-term liquidity.… Financial Ratios & Analysis Qualified plan A qualified plan is a retirement savings plan that meets the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC)… Retirement Planning

R

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Rider A rider is an amendment or attachment to an insurance policy that modifies the standard terms, coverage, or… Insurance & Risk Protection Reverse split A reverse stock split is a corporate action where a company reduces the total number of its outstanding… Stocks & Equity Markets Real return Real return is a measure of investment performance that accounts for the eroding effects of inflation. While a… Investing Fundamentals

S

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Secured debt Secured debt is a type of loan or credit that is backed by an asset, known as collateral.… Credit, Debt & Lending Short selling Short selling, often called shorting, is an investment strategy where a trader borrows shares of a stock and… Financial Markets & Market Mechanics S&P 500 The S&P 500, or Standard & Poor’s 500, is a stock market index that tracks the performance of… Stocks & Equity Markets

T

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Target-date fund A target-date fund is a type of mutual fund or exchange-traded fund designed to simplify retirement investing for… Mutual Funds, ETFs & Pooled Vehicles Truth in Lending Act (TILA) The Truth in Lending Act (TILA) is a landmark federal law enacted in 1968 as part of the… Credit, Debt & Lending 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

U

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Universal life insurance Universal life insurance is a type of permanent life insurance that offers flexible premiums, adjustable death benefits, and… 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 Umbrella policy An umbrella policy, also known as personal umbrella insurance, is an extra layer of liability insurance that goes… Insurance & Risk Protection

V

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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 VantageScore VantageScore is a credit scoring model developed by the three major credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. It… Credit, Debt & Lending Value stock A value stock is a share of a company that trades at a lower price relative to its… Stocks & Equity Markets

W

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Wash-sale rule The wash-sale rule is a regulation by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that prevents investors from claiming a… Taxation W-2 A W-2 form, officially called the “Wage and Tax Statement,” is a crucial tax document that employers in… Personal Finance & Money Management Whole life insurance Whole life insurance is a type of permanent life insurance that provides coverage for the insured’s entire lifetime,… Insurance & Risk Protection

Y

3 terms
Yield curve The yield curve is a graphical representation that shows the relationship between interest rates (yields) and the time… Bonds & Fixed Income 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 Yield is a financial term that measures the income generated by an investment, typically expressed as a percentage… Investing Fundamentals

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