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 457 plan A 457 plan is a type of tax-advantaged retirement savings account offered to employees of state and local… Retirement Planning

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 Aggregate supply Aggregate supply (AS) is the total quantity of goods and services that all firms in an economy are… Economics for Finance

B

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Bank statement A bank statement is a document issued by a bank or credit union that summarizes all financial transactions… Banking & Depository Institutions Bond ladder A bond ladder is an investment strategy that involves purchasing a portfolio of bonds with different maturity dates.… Bonds & Fixed Income Budget deficit A budget deficit occurs when a government’s total expenditures exceed its total revenues over a specific period, typically… Monetary & Fiscal Policy

C

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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 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 Duration Duration is a fundamental concept in bond investing. It measures how sensitive a bond’s price is to changes… Bonds & Fixed Income Debt Debt is a financial obligation that occurs when one party borrows money from another. The borrower receives a… Credit, Debt & Lending Investing Fundamentals

E

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Exchange An exchange is a regulated marketplace where buyers and sellers come together to trade financial instruments such as… Financial Markets & Market Mechanics Exchange rate An exchange rate is the price of one country’s currency expressed in terms of another country’s currency. It… Economics for Finance ERISA ERISA, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, is a landmark federal law that sets minimum standards… Retirement Planning

F

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Federal Reserve Chair The Federal Reserve Chair is the head of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the… Monetary & Fiscal Policy Foreclosure Foreclosure is the legal process that occurs when a homeowner fails to make their mortgage payments, leading the… Real Estate & Mortgage Finance FHA loan An FHA loan is a government-backed mortgage insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), which is part of… Real Estate & Mortgage Finance

G

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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 Gross profit Gross profit is the profit a company makes after deducting the costs directly tied to producing and selling… Financial Statements & Accounting Gross margin Gross margin is a key financial metric that shows how efficiently a company produces and sells its products.… Financial Ratios & Analysis

H

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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 Hurdle rate The hurdle rate is the minimum acceptable rate of return on an investment or project that a company… Corporate 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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Investment Company Act of 1940 The Investment Company Act of 1940 is a landmark piece of U.S. federal legislation that created a comprehensive… Financial Regulation Inflation-adjusted income Inflation-adjusted income, also called real income, is a measure of how much your purchasing power has changed after… Personal Finance & Money Management 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

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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Loan-to-value (LTV) Loan-to-Value (LTV) is a critical financial ratio used by mortgage lenders to evaluate the risk of a loan.… Real Estate & Mortgage 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 Liabilities Liabilities are financial obligations or debts that a company or individual owes to others. They represent claims against… Financial Statements & Accounting

M

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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 Modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) is a critical calculation used by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to determine… Taxation Money market fund A money market fund is a type of mutual fund that invests in short-term, high-quality, low-risk debt securities.… Mutual Funds, ETFs & Pooled Vehicles

N

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Nonfarm payrolls Nonfarm payrolls are a monthly economic indicator released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) that measures… Economics for Finance Net margin Net margin, also known as net profit margin, is a key profitability ratio that measures how much of… Financial Ratios & Analysis Nominal GDP Nominal Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is a measure of the total value of all final goods and services… Economics for Finance

O

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Opportunity cost Opportunity cost is the value of the next best alternative that you give up when you make a… Economics for Finance 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 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

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 Price-to-earnings (P/E) The price-to-earnings ratio, commonly known as the P/E ratio, is one of the most widely used metrics in… Financial Ratios & Analysis Payback period The payback period is a fundamental capital budgeting tool used to evaluate the profitability and risk of a… Corporate Finance

Q

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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 dividend A qualified dividend is a type of dividend payment that meets specific criteria set by the Internal Revenue… Taxation 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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Rule of 72 The Rule of 72 is a simple, widely used mental math shortcut that estimates how long it will… Investing Fundamentals Return on invested capital (ROIC) Return on Invested Capital (ROIC) is a key financial metric that shows how well a company turns the… Financial Ratios & Analysis Russell 2000 The Russell 2000 is a stock market index that tracks the performance of roughly 2,000 of the smallest… Stocks & Equity Markets

S

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Secondary offering A secondary offering, also known as a follow-on public offering (FPO), occurs when a company that is already… Stocks & Equity Markets Short-term disability insurance Short-term disability insurance (STD) is a type of insurance policy that provides partial income replacement for a limited… Insurance & Risk Protection 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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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 TransUnion TransUnion is one of the three major consumer credit reporting agencies in the United States, alongside Equifax and… Credit, Debt & Lending Trade-off theory The trade-off theory is a core concept in corporate finance that explains how companies decide on their mix… Corporate Finance

U

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Unsecured debt Unsecured debt is a type of loan or credit that is not backed by any form of collateral.… Credit, Debt & Lending Unemployment rate The unemployment rate is a key economic indicator that measures the percentage of the labor force that is… Economics for Finance Underwriting Underwriting is the process by which a lender, insurer, or investment bank evaluates the risk involved in a… Insurance & Risk Protection

V

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VantageScore VantageScore is a credit scoring model developed by the three major credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. It… Credit, Debt & Lending Vesting Vesting is a legal and financial term that refers to the process by which an employee earns the… 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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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 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 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

Z

2 terms
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 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