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Investments glossary

Back-end load mutual fund

Additional charges and fees paid out annually rather than initially, unless money is withdrawn early, then a surrender charge or deferred sales charge takes affect

Balanced fund

A mutual fund that invests in both stocks and bonds.

Bear market

A declining market, may refer to entire market or individual security.

Blue-chip stocks

Shares of a large, mature company with a steady record of profits and dividends and a high probability of continued earnings.

Bond

A long term promissory note, prices would go up when interest rates go down.

Bull market

A rising market

Capital preservation

Protecting the initial investment from loss of principal, typically accomplished by investing in conservative or guaranteed vehicles.

Closed-end mutual fund

Issues a limited number of shares and does not redeem those that are outstanding. Trades at a premium or discount to NAV as share prices determined by pressures of supply and demand.

Diversification

Spreading of risk by putting assets in several categories of investments or with a broad range of stocks in one portfolio.

Dividend

A share of a company's net profits distributed by the company to its stockholders.

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Dollar cost averaging

A formula-investment plan requiring periodic fixed-dollar-amount investments. This practice tends to average the unit cost of an investment over time.

Emerging markets

Developing foreign markets, involving greater volatility and higher risk than established markets.

Equities

May be stock, bond, or options (securities)

Growth

Investments that will provide capital appreciation over the long-term.

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Income

Money earned through employment and investments.

Index fund

A fund whose portfolio is matched to an index, such as S & P, and whose performance therefore mirrors the market as a whole. (Usually have low fees and are tax efficient in bull markets.)

Load fund

Mutual fund with shares sold at it's NAV plus a sales charge (typically 4-8%) of the net amount invested.

Long term capital gains

The difference between an asset's purchase price and selling price, on holdings of more than 12 months.

Low-load fund

Mutual funds that typically charge a 1-3% sales charge rather than a full load of 4-8%.

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Money-market account

An interest bearing account where cash is held, generally a safer haven.

Net Asset Value (NAV)

The per-share market value of a mutual fund's portfolio.

No-load fund

A fund whose shares are bought and sold directly at the fund's NAV. Unlike a load fund, no agent or sales fee is involved.

Penny-stock

Low-priced stocks, usually considered under $1 per share, but sometimes includes stocks below $3.

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Portfolio

A holding of one or more securities by a single owner (institution or individual).

Preferred stock

Shares whose indicated dividends and liquidation values must be paid before common shareholders receive any dividends or liquidation payments.

Prospectus

An official document that all companies offering new securities for public sale must file with the local regulator (i.e. BMA, SEC).

Redemption

Liquidating a shareholder's holdings.

Risk

The degree of uncertainty and chance of loss of principal regarding an investment.

Securities

Paper assets representing a claim on something of value, such as stocks, bonds, mortgages, etc.

Stock / equities

Ownership shares in a corporation.

Subscription

Acquiring / purchasing shares

Tax sfficient funds

Funds that are managed to create a minimum tax situation, but be aware of embedded unrealized gains.

Total rate of return

An annual return on an investment including appreciation and dividends or interest.

Volatility

Characteristic of a security, commodity, or market to rise or fall sharply in price within a short period of time, driven by emotions of fear and greed.

Yield

The return of an investment expressed as a percentage of its market value.

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