Category: Investor Definitions

Market capitalization is the value of a corporation determined by multiplying the current public market price of one share of the corporation by the number of total outstanding shares.

If you buy on margin and the value of your securities declines, your brokerage firm can require you to deposit cash or securities to your account immediately, or sell any of the securities in your account to cover any shortfall, without informing you in advance. The brokerage firm decides which of your securities to sell.… Continue reading MARGIN CALL

A “margin account” is a type of brokerage account in which the broker-dealer lends the investor cash, using the account as collateral, to purchase securities.  Margin increases investors’ purchasing power, but also exposes investors to the potential for larger losses. Learn More.

A fee paid out of fund assets to the fund’s investment adviser for investment portfolio management. A fund’s management fees appear under Annual Fund Operating Expenses in the fee table in the fund’s prospectus.

Fees that direct-sold college savings plans may charge for continued participation in the plan.

A payment of a sum of money at one time, such as an inheritance.

Brokerage firms, banks, transfer agents and corporations have procedures in place to help investors replace lost or stolen certificates. If your securities certificate is lost, accidentally destroyed, or stolen, you should immediately contact the transfer agent and request a “stop transfer” to prevent ownership of the securities from being transferred from your name to another’s.… Continue reading LOST OR STOLEN STOCK CERTIFICATES

Congress directed the establishment of the Lost and Stolen Securities Program (LSSP) to curtail trafficking in lost, stolen, missing, and counterfeit securities certificates.  Rule 17f-1 under the Exchange Act governs LSSP operations.  The LSSP consists mainly of a database for securities that have been reported lost, stolen, missing, or counterfeit. The LSSP has two essential… Continue reading LOST AND STOLEN SECURITIES PROGRAM

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