Category: Investor Definitions

You may cancel your contract within a short period (usually lasting at least 10 days) of receiving it without a surrender charge. Upon cancellation, you will typically receive a refund of your purchase payments. The refund may be adjusted up or down to reflect the performance of your investment options. The length of the free… Continue reading VARIABLE ANNUITIES – FREE LOOK PERIOD

A variable annuity is a contract between you and an insurance company, under which you make a lump-sum payment or series of payments.  In return, the insurer agrees to make periodic payments to you beginning immediately or at some future date.  You can choose to invest your purchase payments in a range of investment options,… Continue reading VARIABLE ANNUITIES

A unit investment trust UIT is one of three basic types of investment companies. The other two types are open-end funds (usually mutual funds) and closed-end funds. Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are generally structured as open-end funds, but can also be structured as UITs. A UIT invests the money raised from many investors in its one-time public offering in a generally fixed portfolio… Continue reading UNIT INVESTMENT TRUSTS (UITS)

Ultra-short bond funds are mutual funds that generally invest in fixed income securities with extremely short maturities, or time periods in which they become due for payment. Like other bond funds, ultra-short bond funds may invest in a wide range of securities, including corporate debt, government securities, mortgage-backed securities and other asset-backed securities.  Some investors don’t realize that there are material differences… Continue reading ULTRA-SHORT BOND FUNDS

An institution, usually a bank, designated by the issuer as the custodian of funds and official representative of bondholders.

Treasury securities—including Treasury bills, notes, and bonds—are debt obligations issued by the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Treasury securities are considered one of the safest investments because they are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government.  The income from Treasury securities may be exempt from state and local taxes, but not… Continue reading TREASURY SECURITIES

All brokerage account transfers start and end with your new firm.  Customers initiate the transfer process by completing a Transfer Instruction Form (TIF) and sending it to the new firm.  Most account transfer delays occur because the TIF is either incorrect or incomplete.  It is critical that you use the correct form and fill it… Continue reading TRANSFERRING YOUR BROKERAGE ACCOUNT

The total of a fund’s annual fund operating expenses, expressed as a percentage of the fund’s average net assets. You’ll find the total in the fund’s fee table in the prospectus.

Your time horizon is the number of months, years, or decades you need to invest to achieve your financial goal.

Each publicly traded common stock in the U.S. receives a short abbreviation that identifies it, known as its stock symbol or stock ticker symbol. Some stocks have single-letter ticker symbols while others may have up to five. Letters that appear after a ticker provide additional information. For instance, the letter “Q” after a ticker signifies… Continue reading TICKER