Author: SEC

The interest rates banks charge each other for short-term loans. LIBOR is frequently used as the base for resetting rates on floating-rate securities.

The amount that investors pay when they buy (front-end load) or redeem (back-end load) shares in a mutual fund, similar to a commission. The SEC’s rules do not limit sales loads a fund may charge, but FINRA’s rules cap mutual fund sales loads at 8.5% of the purchase or sale, or at lower levels, depending… Continue reading LOAD

Before a company’s stock can begin trading on an exchange, the company must meet certain minimum financial and non-financial requirements, or “initial listing standards.” Initial listing standards generally include a company’s total market value and stock price, and the number of publicly traded shares and shareholders of the company. Once listed on an exchange, a… Continue reading LISTING STANDARDS

Liquidity generally refers to how easily or quickly a security can be bought or sold in a secondary market. Liquid investments can be sold readily and without paying a hefty fee to get money when it is needed. A stock’s liquidity generally refers to how rapidly shares of a stock can be bought or sold… Continue reading LIQUIDITY (OR MARKETABILITY)

A limit order is an order to buy or sell a security at a specific price. A buy limit order can only be executed at the limit price or lower, and a sell limit order can only be executed at the limit price or higher.

A diversified mutual fund that automatically shifts towards a more conservative mix of investments as it approaches a particular year in the future, known as its “target date.” A lifecycle fund investor picks a fund with the right target date based on his or her particular investment goal. The managers of the fund then make… Continue reading LIFECYCLE FUNDS

An amount owed to a person or organization for borrowed funds. Loans, notes, bonds, and mortgages are forms of debt. These different forms all call for borrowers to pay back the amount they owe, typically with interest, by a specific date, which is set forth in the repayment terms.

Investors sometimes complain to the SEC staff about late payments of interest owed to them on their bonds. The SEC, however, does not generally regulate this issue. Instead, the process for paying bondholders ordinarily involves banking transactions that are subject to the supervision of state and federal banking authorities. Here’s how the process should work: the… Continue reading LATE PAYMENT OF INTEREST ON BONDS

Terms used to describe a company’s size and market value (market capitalization).

The entity obligated to pay principal and interest on a bond.