Category: Investor Definitions

No brokerage firm can guarantee you will be able to purchase shares in an initial public offering (IPO). While it can be difficult for individual investors to buy IPO shares, more firms, including several online brokers, offer IPOs.  Because these firms often have a small allotment of shares to sell to the public, your ability… Continue reading INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERINGS: ELIGIBILITY TO GET SHARES AT BROKER-DEALERS

The underwriters and the company that issues the shares control the IPO process. They have wide latitude in allocating IPO shares. The SEC does not regulate the business decision of how IPO shares are allocated. While smaller or individual investors are finding it easier to buy IPO shares through online brokerage firms, they may still… Continue reading INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERINGS, WHY INDIVIDUALS HAVE DIFFICULTY GETTING SHARES

An initial public offering, or IPO, generally refers to when a company first sells its shares to the public. For more information about IPOs generally, see our Investor Bulletin. You can also find fast answers on why investors have difficulty getting shares in an IPO, a brokerage firm’s IPO eligibility requirements, and lockup agreements.

Before you invest in any traditional investment company—such as a mutual fund, closed-end fund, or unit investment trust (UIT)—you should read the fund’s prospectus and any other available information from the fund. Below you’ll find descriptions of the different types of information that investment companies provide to investors. For information available to exchange-traded fund (ETF) investors, please refer to that separate… Continue reading INFORMATION AVAILABLE TO INVESTMENT COMPANY SHAREHOLDERS

Investors are sometimes surprised to learn the SEC does not have information about all companies that offer and sell securities. When a company conducts a registered offering or an exempt offering under Regulation A or Regulation Crowdfunding, the company is required to file information about the company, including financial statements, and a description of the offering with the… Continue reading INFORMATION ABOUT SOME COMPANIES NOT AVAILABLE FROM THE SEC

An indexed annuity is a type of annuity contract between you and an insurance company. It generally promises to provide returns linked to the performance of a market index. There are two phases to an annuity contract – the accumulation (savings) phase and the annuity (payout) phase. During the accumulation phase, you make either a lump sum payment… Continue reading INDEXED ANNUITIES

An “index fund” describes a type of mutual fund or unit investment trust (UIT) whose investment objective typically is to achieve approximately the same return as a particular market index, such as the S&P 500 Composite Stock Price Index, the Russell 2000 Index or the Wilshire 5000 Total Market Index. An index fund will attempt to achieve its investment objective… Continue reading INDEX FUND

Impersonators may falsely claim to be affiliated with the SEC (or another federal government agency) in an attempt to steal your personal information or your money. Federal government agencies, including the SEC, do not endorse or sponsor any particular securities, issuers, products, services, professional credentials, firms, or individuals. Fraudsters may use the names of real… Continue reading IMPERSONATORS

An Immediate-Or-Cancel (IOC) order is an order to buy or sell a stock that must be executed immediately. Any portion of an IOC order that cannot be filled immediately will be cancelled.  Learn More.

This annuity has no accumulation phase. Instead, you start receiving annuity payments right after you purchase the annuity.