asset allocation fund
An asset allocation fund is a single mutual fund that spreads its portfolio across a variety of investments to further more... http://www.investorglossary.com/asset-allocation-fund.htm
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assets under management
An important measure of the size of a fund or group of funds is assets under management. Assets under more... http://www.investorglossary.com/assets-under-management.htm
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automatic reinvestment plan
An automatic reinvestment plan is an arrangement whereby a mutual fund automatically reinvests any gains back into the fund. Most more... http://www.investorglossary.com/automatic-reinvestment-plan.htm
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average price per share
The average price per share is determined by dividing the cost of acquiring the shares by the number of shares more... http://www.investorglossary.com/average-price-per-share.htm
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back-end load
A back-end load is a sales charge or a commission paid when an investor sells an investment. A back-end load more... http://www.investorglossary.com/back-end-load.htm
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balanced fund
A balanced fund is a mutual fund that invests in stocks, bonds, and money market investments (cash). The proportion of more... http://www.investorglossary.com/balanced-fund.htm
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bid
In practical terms, the bid is the available price at which an investor can sell shares of stock. The ask more... http://www.investorglossary.com/bid.htm
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bid/ask spread
The bid/ask spread is the difference between the price sellers are asking for and the price that buyers are willing more... http://www.investorglossary.com/bid-ask-spread.htm
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capital appreciation fund
A capital appreciation fund is a mutual fund that is structured to gain the maximum amount of growth possible. To more... http://www.investorglossary.com/capital-appreciation-fund.htm
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capital gains distribution
A capital gains distribution is a distribution of income from a mutual fund to its shareholders. It occurs when the more... http://www.investorglossary.com/capital-gains-distribution.htm
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cash equivalents
Cash equivalents are investments that are so liquid and so safe that they are nearly the same as cash. Statement more... http://www.investorglossary.com/cash-equivalents.htm
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closed-end fund
A closed-end fund is legally known as a closed-end management company. A closed-end fund issues a fixed number of more... http://www.investorglossary.com/closed-end-fund.htm
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CUSIP
CUSIP is an abbreviation for Committee on Uniform Securities Identification Procedures of the American Bankers Association. CUSIP numbers are more... http://www.investorglossary.com/cusip.htm
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denomination
The word denomination has three distinct but closely related uses in a financial context. First, in a given currency, more... http://www.investorglossary.com/denomination.htm
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discount
A discount is a difference between the price paid for an asset and the specified list price of a good more... http://www.investorglossary.com/discount.htm
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diversified investment company
A diversified investment company is an investment fund that adheres to a diversification strategy by investing in a wide array more... http://www.investorglossary.com/diversified-investment-company.htm
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dollar cost averaging
Dollar cost averaging is long-term investment strategy in which a fixed dollar amount is added to an investment on a more... http://www.investorglossary.com/dollar-cost-averaging.htm
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downgrade
A downgrade is a reduction in the rating awarded a debt or equity security. A major credit agency downgrades the more... http://www.investorglossary.com/downgrade.htm
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dressing up a portfolio
Dressing up a portfolio refers to the practice of some portfolio managers of selling weak stocks and purchasing strong stocks more... http://www.investorglossary.com/dressing-up-a-portfolio.htm
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ETF
ETF stands for Exchange Traded Fund. An ETF is registered with the SEC as an investment company, and it more... http://www.investorglossary.com/etf.htm
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Exchange Traded Fund
An exchange traded fund (ETF) is a pool of stocks or commodities trading as a single stock on a stock more... http://www.investorglossary.com/exchange-traded-fund.htm
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expense ratio
The expense ratio measures the percentage of a mutual fund's assets dedicated to running the fund. If the expense ratio more... http://www.investorglossary.com/expense-ratio.htm
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face value
Face value is the nominal, or stated, amount of security. The face value of a bond is the amount the more... http://www.investorglossary.com/face-value.htm
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family of funds
A family of funds refers to a group of mutual funds that are offered, managed and/or distributed by the same more... http://www.investorglossary.com/family-of-funds.htm
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financial analyst
Financial analyst is a finance professional who studies and reports on financial performance of corporations, industries, and securities. A financial more... http://www.investorglossary.com/financial-analyst.htm
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front-end load
A front-end load is a sales charge or commission that an investment levies on shares bought. Mutual funds and insurance more... http://www.investorglossary.com/front-end-load.htm
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fund family
A fund family is a set of related funds, usually mutual finds, with a common brand. One minor advantage more... http://www.investorglossary.com/fund-family.htm
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fund manager
A fund manager is an investment professional, who manages the allocation of the financial resources in order to achieve optimal more... http://www.investorglossary.com/fund-manager.htm
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fund of funds
A fund of funds is an investment vehicle that invests entirely in other funds. An early and still typical more... http://www.investorglossary.com/fund-of-funds.htm
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growth and income fund
A growth and income fund is a mutual fund structured to provide both growth in value and current income payments. more... http://www.investorglossary.com/growth-and-income-fund.htm
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hedge fund
A hedge fund is a private investment vehicle for institutional investors and high net worth individuals. In the US, more... http://www.investorglossary.com/hedge-fund.htm
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hidden load
A hidden load is a charge that an investor pays without realizing it. The charge from a hidden load may more... http://www.investorglossary.com/hidden-load.htm
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in escrow
An item of value is in escrow when that item is transferred to a third party (an escrow agent) for more... http://www.investorglossary.com/in-escrow.htm
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income fund
An income fund is a mutual fund structured to provide maximum income. To achieve this goal, an income fund selects more... http://www.investorglossary.com/income-fund.htm
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index fund
An index fund is a portfolio of assets with allocation rules that remain fixed regardless of market conditions, commonly for more... http://www.investorglossary.com/index-fund.htm
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institutional shares
Institutional shares are a class of shares made available by mutual funds only to institutional investors. The owners of more... http://www.investorglossary.com/institutional-shares.htm
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international fund
An international fund is a mutual fund that invests in stocks and/or bonds of foreign companies. Some invest in only more... http://www.investorglossary.com/international-fund.htm
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intrinsic value
The actual value of a security, as opposed to its market or book value, is the intrinsic value of more... http://www.investorglossary.com/intrinsic-value.htm
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investment company
An investment company is a firm whose business is to invest in securities. An investment company is also known as more... http://www.investorglossary.com/investment-company.htm
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load fund
A load fund is a mutual fund that charges a sales commission in addition to its net asset value (NAV). more... http://www.investorglossary.com/load-fund.htm
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load-adjusted return
A load-adjusted return is the investment return on a mutual fund adjusted for loads and certain other charges, such as more... http://www.investorglossary.com/load-adjusted-return.htm
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long position
A long position in the stock market means that an investor has purchased a stock with the expectation that its more... http://www.investorglossary.com/long-position.htm
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money market fund
A money market fund is open-ended and invests only in short-term debt securities such as CDs (certificates of deposit), Treasury more... http://www.investorglossary.com/money-market-fund.htm
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money market mutual fund
A money market mutual fund is a mutual fund that invests in short-term money market investments, such as US Treasury more... http://www.investorglossary.com/money-market-mutual-fund.htm
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Morningstar Rating System
The Morningstar rating system evaluates mutual funds according to a statistical method of risk and returns. One to five more... http://www.investorglossary.com/morningstar-rating-system.htm
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mutual fund
A mutual fund is an investment company designed to pool the funds of smaller investors and place them under professional more... http://www.investorglossary.com/mutual-fund.htm
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mutual fund symbol
A mutual fund symbol is a group of letters and/or numbers that helps identify a mutual fund; so a mutual more... http://www.investorglossary.com/mutual-fund-symbol.htm
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NAV
NAV (Net Asset Value) is a financial entity's assets minus its liabilities. For funds and trusts, NAV is typically quoted more... http://www.investorglossary.com/nav.htm
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Net Asset Value
Net asset value (NAV) refers to the assets of a financial entity minus its liabilities. For funds and trusts, net more... http://www.investorglossary.com/net-asset-value.htm
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New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is a for-profit organization that enables trading and listing of securities on the stock more... http://www.investorglossary.com/new-york-stock-exchange.htm
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no-load fund
A no-load fund is a mutual fund that is offered by an investment company for which no sales charge is more... http://www.investorglossary.com/no-load-fund.htm
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OTC Bulletin Board
The OTC Bulletin Board is an automated trading system managed by the National Association of Security Dealers (NASD). more... http://www.investorglossary.com/otc-bulletin-board.htm
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portfolio manager
A portfolio manager is the asset management professional who makes investment decisions for a portfolio. For example, in a more... http://www.investorglossary.com/portfolio-manager.htm
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quote
In the financial markets, a quote is the price at which a security is trading, has recently traded, or both. more... http://www.investorglossary.com/quote.htm
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rating service
A rating service is an organization that provides assessments of various entities for an interested audience, such as investors. more... http://www.investorglossary.com/rating-service.htm
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regional fund
The term regional fund indicates that an investment vehicle is focused on opportunities for investment within a specific region. more... http://www.investorglossary.com/regional-fund.htm
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sentiment
Sentiment is a measure of the bearishness or bullishness of market participants. Major market turning points can be accompanied by more... http://www.investorglossary.com/sentiment.htm
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stock fund
A stock fund invests primarily in corporate equity securities and can be organized as a Unit Investment Trust (UIT), closed-end more... http://www.investorglossary.com/stock-fund.htm
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value fund
A mutual fund that employs a value approach to investing is referred to as a value fund. A manager of more... http://www.investorglossary.com/value-fund.htm
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