Category: Investor Definitions

Investors often invest in funds through a variety of individual and family accounts and, as a result, sometimes receive multiple copies of the same documents from those funds.  To avoid duplication, the SEC allows funds to deliver a single copy of the same document to investors who share the same address. The SEC’s so-called “householding… Continue reading HOUSEHOLDING RULES

You can find the holiday schedules and trading hours for the national securities exchanges on each of their websites. You can find links to each exchange’s website here national securities exchange.

High-Yield Investment Programs (HYIP) are unregistered investments typically run by unlicensed individuals – and they are often frauds. The hallmark of an HYIP scam is the promise of incredible returns at little or no risk to the investor. A HYIP website might promise annual (or even monthly, weekly, or daily!) returns of 30 or 40… Continue reading HIGH-YIELD INVESTMENT PROGRAMS

Bonds that are believed to have a higher risk of default and receive low ratings by credit rating agencies, namely bonds rated Ba or below (by Moody’s) or BB or below (by S&P and Fitch). These bonds typically are issued at a higher yield (for example, a higher interest rate) than more creditworthy bonds, reflecting… Continue reading HIGH-YIELD BOND (OR JUNK BOND)

Like mutual funds, hedge funds pool investors’ money and invest the money in an effort to make a positive return.  Hedge funds typically have more flexible investment strategies than mutual funds.  Many hedge funds seek to profit in all kinds of markets by using leverage (in other words, borrowing to increase investment exposure as well… Continue reading HEDGE FUNDS

A Good-Til-Cancelled (GTC) order is an order to buy or sell a stock that lasts until the order is completed or canceled. Brokerage firms typically limit the length of time an investor can leave a GTC order open.  This time frame may vary from broker to broker.  Investors should contact their brokerage firms to determine… Continue reading GOOD-TIL-CANCELLED ORDER

A publicly held company generally means a company that has a class of securities that is registered with the SEC because those securities are widely held or traded on a national securities exchange. When a public company is eligible to deregister a class of its equity securities, either because those securities are no longer widely… Continue reading GOING PRIVATE

GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) are accounting standards, conventions and rules. It is what companies use to measure their financial results. These results include net income as well as how companies record assets and liabilities. In the US, the SEC has the authority to establish GAAP. However, the SEC has historically allowed the private sector… Continue reading GENERALLY ACCEPTED ACCOUNTING PRINCIPLES (GAAP)

A municipal bond not secured by any assets; instead it is backed by the issuer’s power to tax residents to pay bondholders.

Markets that trade futures contracts for commodities such as gold, oil or wheat, as well as financial futures.