Category: Investor Definitions

The legal name for a mutual fund. An open-end company is a type of investment company.

An old stock or bond certificate may still be valuable even if it no longer trades under the name printed on the certificate. The company may have merged with another company or simply changed its name. Keep in mind that due to corporate reorganizations (such as splits, mergers, or reverse mergers), the current share price… Continue reading OLD STOCK AND BOND CERTIFICATES

The disclosure document prepared by a bond issuer that gives detailed financial information about the issuer and the bond offering. Municipal securities issuers must prepare an “Official Statement” before presenting the primary offering. These municipal disclosure documents provide information for investors, including the terms of the bond and financial information on the issuer. They also… Continue reading OFFERING DOCUMENT (OR OFFICIAL STATEMENT OR PROSPECTUS)

A fund that does not charge any type of sales load. But not every type of shareholder fee is a “sales load,” and a no-load fund may charge fees that are not sales loads. No-load funds also charge operating expenses.

An individual or entity who is not certain whether a particular product, service, or action would constitute a violation of the federal securities law may request a “no-action” letter from the SEC staff. Most no-action letters describe the request, analyze the particular facts and circumstances involved, discuss applicable laws and rules, and, if the staff… Continue reading NO ACTION LETTERS

The profit earned by a company after all expenses and taxes have been deducted from revenue. A simple way to think about net income is it’s the price of a widget multiplied by the number of widgets sold (this result is revenue) minus the cost to make and sell the widgets, other expenses and any interest or… Continue reading NET INCOME

“Net asset value,” or “NAV,” of an investment company is the company’s total assets minus its total liabilities. For example, if an investment company has securities and other assets worth $100 million and has liabilities of $10 million, the investment company’s NAV will be $90 million. Because an investment company’s assets and liabilities change daily, NAV will… Continue reading NET ASSET VALUE

Prior to July 1, 2009, a Nationally Recognized Municipal Securities Information Repository (NRMSIR) was an entity, designated by the Securities and Exchange Commission, to which an issuer of municipal securities or an obligated person that entered into a continuing disclosure agreement was contractually required to send annual financial information and disclosures of certain events relating… Continue reading NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED MUNICIPAL SECURITIES INFORMATION REPOSITORIES (NRMSIRS)

A “national securities exchange” is a securities exchange that has registered with the SEC under Section 6 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.  For a complete list of national securities exchanges and recently approved exchange applications please check here.

This year’s top-performing mutual funds aren’t necessarily going to be next year’s best performers. It’s not uncommon for a fund to have better-than-average performance one year and mediocre or below-average performance the following year. That’s why the SEC requires funds to tell investors that a fund’s past performance does not necessarily predict future results. You… Continue reading MUTUAL FUNDS, PAST PERFORMANCE