Category: Investor Definitions

A public company’s net profit divided by the number of its common shares.

If a CD is redeemed before it matures, you may have to pay a penalty or forgo a portion of the interest.

Should problems arise with a company or its securities on deposit at The Depository Trust Company (DTC), DTC may impose a “chill” or a “freeze” on all the company’s securities. A “chill” is a restriction placed by DTC on one or more of DTC’s services, such as limiting a DTC participant’s ability to make a… Continue reading DTC CHILLS AND FREEZES

A portion of a company’s profit paid to shareholders. Public companies that pay dividends usually do so on a fixed schedule although they can issue them at any time. Unscheduled dividend payments are known as special dividends or extra dividends.

Diversification is a strategy that can be neatly summed up as “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” The strategy involves spreading your money among various investments in the hope that if one loses money, the others will make up for those losses.

So-called “12b-1 fees” are fees paid out of mutual fund or ETF assets to cover the costs of distribution – marketing and selling mutual fund shares – and sometimes to cover the costs of providing shareholder services. 12b-1 fees get their name from the SEC rule that authorizes a fund to charge them.  The rule permits a fund to… Continue reading DISTRIBUTION [AND/OR SERVICE] (12B-1) FEES

Fees paid out of fund assets to cover marketing and selling fund shares. These fees may cover advertising costs, compensating brokers and others who sell fund shares, payments for printing and mailing prospectuses to new investors, and providing sales literature to prospective investors. Distribution fees sometimes are referred to as “12b-1 fees.”

Short-term obligations issued at a discount from face value. Discount notes have no periodic interest payments; the investor receives the note’s face value at maturity. For example, a one-year, $1,000 face value discount note purchased at issue at a price of $950, would yield $50 or 5.26% ($50/$950).

A bond sold before it matures might not sell at full par value. If it sells below par, it is selling at discount.

Information about a company’s financial condition and business that it makes public. Investors can use this information to make informed investment decisions about the company’s securities.