Reference
Investor Glossary
TermDefinitionLesson
- 10-QA company's quarterly report filed under SEC standards.Fundamental Analysis: What to Buy
- 10-QThe quarterly report form filed with the SEC.Evaluating a Company: Quarterly Earnings Reports
- Account coreThe main sum of capital that returns are calculated against.Critical Mass of Capital
- AccumulationThe narrow-range phase where large capital builds a position at the base price.The Four Market Trend Phases
- AladdinA portfolio management platform from BlackRock.Algorithmic Trading
- Algorithmic tradingExecuting a strategy through software following predefined rules.Algorithmic Trading
- AssetAnything that has value and can be bought, sold, or invested in: a stock, a bond, a commodity, a fund, and other instrumentsWhat Is a Stock Exchange
- Asset classA group of instruments sharing a common return mechanism: stocks, bonds, commodities.Portfolio Diversification
- AUMAssets Under Management — the assets managed, used as the base for the annual fee.Who Is a Financial Professional
- BarrelA unit of oil volume, roughly 159 liters.The Commodity Market
- Beat / MissA result above or below the market's expectations.Evaluating a Company: Quarterly Earnings Reports
- BlockchainA public ledger of transactions, copies of which are held by thousands of independent participants.What Is Cryptocurrency
- Bloomberg TerminalA professional system for accessing market data and analytics.Algorithmic Trading
- Bonus creditAdditional funds added to an account by the company's decision for systematic work.Company Bonuses and an Interest-Free Credit Line
- BrokerA firm through which an investor gets access to the trading infrastructure and sends buy or sell ordersWhat Is a Stock Exchange
- BuyThe command to open a position in expectation of a price rise.The Buy and Sell Buttons: What's Behind Them
- BuybackA company's repurchase of its own shares, which increases each remaining owner's stake.The Stock Market
- Cash flowThe real cash a business generates over a period.Fundamental Analysis: What to Buy
- Central bank reservesState assets, part of which is moved into gold to hedge currency and inflation risk.Metals Reports: Exchange Warehouses and Where Demand Is Going
- Certified specialistA financial specialist who passed selection and is admitted to work with contract positions.Exchange Contracts
- CFAChartered Financial Analyst — a certification in investment analysis.Who Is a Financial Professional
- CFPCertified Financial Planner — a certification in personal financial planning.Who Is a Financial Professional
- COMEXThe US precious metals exchange, publishing daily warehouse stock data for gold and silver.Metals Reports: Exchange Warehouses and Where Demand Is Going
- Commercial inventoriesThe volume of oil in US storage, excluding the strategic reserve.Crude Oil Inventory Reports: Trading on EIA Data
- Compound interestThe effect where returns start generating their own returns.Critical Mass of Capital
- ConsensusAnalysts' averaged expectation for revenue and profit.Evaluating a Company: Quarterly Earnings Reports
- ConsolidationA narrow price range — accumulation before a move.Technical Analysis: When to Enter
- Contract termThe date the position closes and the profit is paid, defined by the terms in advance.Exchange Contracts
- Corporate positionA position opened at institutional size rather than in a retail account.Exchange Contracts
- CouponThe interest payment on a bond, usually paid twice a year.Bonds and Yield
- CPIThe Consumer Price Index, the main measure of inflation.Macro and the Key Rate
- CRDA unique registration number for a broker or representative in FINRA's database.Capital Security Architecture
- Credit lineCompany capital credited to an investor's trading account at no interest.Company Bonuses and an Interest-Free Credit Line
- Critical massThe level of capital at which an account's return becomes meaningful to the investor.Critical Mass of Capital
- DepositoryThe institution where your ownership of purchased securities is recorded.The Stock Market
- DistillatesDiesel and jet fuel.Crude Oil Inventory Reports: Trading on EIA Data
- DistributionThe wide-range phase at the top where large participants take profit.The Four Market Trend Phases
- DiversificationSpreading capital across sources of return that operate on different logic.Portfolio Diversification
- DividendsPart of a company's profit paid out to shareholders.The Stock Market
- EIAThe US Energy Information Administration, which publishes oil inventory data.The Commodity Market
- EIAThe US Energy Information Administration, which publishes official oil statistics.Crude Oil Inventory Reports: Trading on EIA Data
- Entry amountThe capital with which an investor participates in a joint deal with a fund.Exchange Contracts
- EPSA company's profit divided by its number of shares outstanding.Fundamental Analysis: What to Buy
- EscrowA platform mechanism holding funds until both parties confirm the transaction.Types of Exchanges: Dollar ↔ Crypto and Brokerage Funding
- ETFAn exchange-traded fund giving exposure to a basket of companies at once.Portfolio Diversification
- Event-driven strategyAn algorithm that operates around earnings releases and macro data.Algorithmic Trading
- ExchangeOrganized trading infrastructure where buy and sell orders meet under established rulesWhat Is a Stock Exchange
- Exchange contractAn agreement on a joint deal with a fund with the entry amount, income and term fixed in advance.Exchange Contracts
- Face ValueThe debt amount the issuer repays on the maturity date.Bonds and Yield
- Fed Funds RateThe benchmark interest rate that sets the cost of money in the economy.Macro and the Key Rate
- Fiduciary DutyA legal obligation to put the client's interests ahead of one's own.Who Is a Financial Professional
- FinCEN MSBThe US registry where legitimate money transfer services are listed.Types of Exchanges: Dollar ↔ Crypto and Brokerage Funding
- FINRAA self-regulatory organization for US brokers; maintains the BrokerCheck database.Capital Security Architecture
- FOMCThe Fed committee that makes the rate decision.Macro and the Key Rate
- Form ADVA required RIA disclosure document covering services, fees, and conflicts of interest.Who Is a Financial Professional
- Free balanceThe uncommitted portion of capital, ready for a new opportunity.Risk Management
- FuturesA standardized exchange contract to deliver a commodity at a price fixed in advance.The Commodity Market
- GuidanceA company's forecast for the next quarter's figures.Evaluating a Company: Quarterly Earnings Reports
- HedgingLocking in a future commodity price to plan a budget.The Commodity Market
- HorizonThe time frame over which capital is planned to work.Critical Mass of Capital
- ICOInitial Coin Offering — a token sale to raise capital for network development.What Is an ICO
- Industrial demandMetal bought by manufacturers against specific production orders.Metals Reports: Exchange Warehouses and Where Demand Is Going
- IPOInitial Public Offering: a company's first sale of shares on an exchange.What an IPO Is
- IssuerThe entity that issued the security and is obligated to pay on it.Bonds and Yield
- LatencyThe delay between receiving data and executing an order.Algorithmic Trading
- Leading indicatorA measure that moves before official macro statistics.Metals Reports: Exchange Warehouses and Where Demand Is Going
- LevelA price at which the market has reversed before.Technical Analysis: When to Enter
- LeverageAdditional volume provided by a broker on top of an investor's own funds.Leverage: From 5x to 100x
- LiquidityThe ability to buy or sell an asset quickly without a single trade significantly moving its priceWhat Is a Stock Exchange
- ListingAdmission of a security to trading on an exchange.What an IPO Is
- LMEThe London Metal Exchange, tracking copper, aluminium, zinc and nickel inventories.Metals Reports: Exchange Warehouses and Where Demand Is Going
- Lock-upThe period during which founders can't sell their shares after an IPO.What an IPO Is
- Locking inMoving a position's result into the account's free balance.Risk Management
- Long (long position)A position opened via Buy; the result appears when the price rises.The Buy and Sell Buttons: What's Behind Them
- MarginThe share of profit contained in every dollar of revenue.Fundamental Analysis: What to Buy
- Margin collateralYour own funds securing a position.Leverage: From 5x to 100x
- Market capitalizationThe value of an entire company: the price of one share multiplied by the number of shares.The Stock Market
- MSBMoney Services Business — the registration status for exchanges and crypto services at FinCEN.Capital Security Architecture
- Network feeThe charge for processing a transfer on a blockchain network.Types of Exchanges: Dollar ↔ Crypto and Brokerage Funding
- Nonfarm PayrollsEmployment data excluding agriculture, released once a month.Macro and the Key Rate
- P/EThe ratio of a stock's price to its earnings per share — a basic valuation metric.Fundamental Analysis: What to Buy
- Pending OrderAn order the exchange executes automatically once the price is reached.Take-Profit and Stop-Loss
- Position sizeThe share of an account committed to a single idea.Risk Management
- Position sizeThe full trade amount from which the result is calculated.Leverage: From 5x to 100x
- Position sizeThe amount an investor commits to a trade.Company Bonuses and an Interest-Free Credit Line
- Quarterly reportA mandatory disclosure of a company's financial results every three months.Evaluating a Company: Quarterly Earnings Reports
- RebalancingBringing portfolio weights back to a target structure.Portfolio Diversification
- Refinery UtilizationThe share of refining capacity currently in use, as a percentage.Crude Oil Inventory Reports: Trading on EIA Data
- ReinvestingPutting earned profit back to work to grow the base.Critical Mass of Capital
- RepaymentReplacing the line amount with the investor's own capital.Company Bonuses and an Interest-Free Credit Line
- Resistance levelA horizontal zone price has not held above before; after a breakout it often becomes support.The Four Market Trend Phases
- RIARegistered Investment Adviser — an adviser registered with the SEC or a state.Who Is a Financial Professional
- Rig CountThe number of active drilling rigs, an indicator of future production.Crude Oil Inventory Reports: Trading on EIA Data
- S-1An SEC registration document with a full disclosure of the company's finances.What an IPO Is
- S&P 500An index of the 500 largest publicly traded US companies.Portfolio Diversification
- SECThe US Securities and Exchange Commission — the market's primary regulator.Capital Security Architecture
- Securities borrowingThe mechanism by which an asset is borrowed through the brokerage infrastructure, sold at the current price, and then bought back cheaper to close the position.The Buy and Sell Buttons: What's Behind Them
- SellThe command to open a position in expectation of a price decline.The Buy and Sell Buttons: What's Behind Them
- Short (short position)A position opened via Sell; the result appears when the price falls.The Buy and Sell Buttons: What's Behind Them
- SIPCAn investor protection fund that covers assets up to $500,000 if a broker fails.Capital Security Architecture
- Smart ContractA blockchain program that executes terms automatically.What Is an ICO
- SpreadThe difference between the buy and sell rate built into the exchange price.Types of Exchanges: Dollar ↔ Crypto and Brokerage Funding
- StablecoinA token pegged 1:1 to the dollar and backed by reserves.What Is Cryptocurrency
- StockA share of ownership in a company that entitles the holder to part of its profit and assets.The Stock Market
- StopA pre-set boundary for a trade at which the position closes automatically.Take-Profit and Stop-Loss
- SupplyThe total number of coins that can ever exist on a network.What Is Cryptocurrency
- Supply and demandThe balance between participants' willingness to buy an asset and others' readiness to sell it, which drives price formationWhat Is a Stock Exchange
- Support levelA horizontal zone where price has turned back up several times before.The Four Market Trend Phases
- Take-ProfitAn order to close a position at a set price, locking in the result.Take-Profit and Stop-Loss
- Target/Boundary RatioThe ratio of distance to target versus distance to the boundary.Take-Profit and Stop-Loss
- The 30% ruleUsing leverage above 30% of capital is coordinated with an advisor.Leverage: From 5x to 100x
- The FedThe Federal Reserve — the central bank of the United States.Macro and the Key Rate
- TimeframeThe chart's scale: hourly, daily, weekly.Technical Analysis: When to Enter
- TokenA digital asset with a specific function within a project's ecosystem.What Is an ICO
- Trade planPreset parameters: entry, size, target, and horizon.Risk Management
- Trailing StopA moving boundary that follows the price as it moves into profit.Take-Profit and Stop-Loss
- TreasuriesDebt securities issued by the US Treasury — the core benchmark of the global market.Bonds and Yield
- TrendA persistent direction of price movement over a chosen horizon.Technical Analysis: When to Enter
- UnderwriterThe investment bank that organizes the offering and collects orders.What an IPO Is
- USDCA digital dollar from a US issuer, backed one-to-one by reserves.Types of Exchanges: Dollar ↔ Crypto and Brokerage Funding
- USDCA digital dollar from a US issuer with public reporting on its reserves.What Is Cryptocurrency
- VestingA schedule for gradually unlocking tokens held by the team and early participants.What Is an ICO
- VolumeThe amount of an asset traded in a period; it confirms the strength of a move.Technical Analysis: When to Enter
- VolumeThe number of shares or contracts traded in a period; it confirms the strength of a move.The Four Market Trend Phases
- WalletA network address to which your digital assets are tied.What Is Cryptocurrency
- Warehouse StocksThe volume of metal physically held in the exchange's certified warehouses.Metals Reports: Exchange Warehouses and Where Demand Is Going
- WhitepaperA project's technical document covering the product, issuance, and the token's role.What Is an ICO
- Window of opportunityA short period when the market offers a favorable entry point.Company Bonuses and an Interest-Free Credit Line
- Working capitalThe amount set aside for market activity.Risk Management
- WTIThe American benchmark crude oil grade, delivered at Cushing, Oklahoma.The Commodity Market
- WTIA benchmark grade of US crude oil.Leverage: From 5x to 100x
- Yield to Maturity (YTM)The overall return factoring in the purchase price and all future payments.Bonds and Yield