M

Managed Fund – A fund actively overseen by a professional manager.
Management Fee – A charge for managing investment assets.
Margin – Borrowed funds used to buy securities.
Margin Call – A demand for additional funds due to losses.
Market Capitalization – Total value of a company’s outstanding shares.
Market Maker – A participant providing liquidity by quoting prices.
Market Order – An order executed immediately at market price.
Market Risk – Risk from broad market movements.
Maturity Date – The date principal repayment is due.
Money Market Fund – A low-risk fund investing in short-term debt.

N

Naked Option – An options position where the seller does not own the underlying asset, resulting in elevated risk exposure.
National Debt – The total outstanding financial obligations of a government, typically funded through bond issuance.
Nasdaq – A U.S. exchange known for technology stocks.
Negative Equity – A condition in which an asset’s market value falls below the remaining loan balance.
Net Asset Value (NAV) – Per-share value of a fund’s net assets.
Net Income – A company’s profit after expenses.
Net Present Value (NPV) – A valuation method that subtracts an initial investment from the discounted value of expected future cash flows.
Net Worth – Assets minus liabilities.
New Issue – A security being offered to investors for the first time, such as through an IPO.
No-Load Fund – A fund without sales commissions.
Non-Callable Bond – A bond that cannot be redeemed early by the issuer, ensuring fixed interest payments until maturity.
Non-Qualified Dividend – A dividend taxed at ordinary income rates because it does not meet favorable tax criteria.

O

Odd Lot – A trade involving fewer than the standard 100 shares.
Off-Balance Sheet – Financial obligations or assets not recorded on the balance sheet but still affecting a company’s risk profile.
Offer Price – The price at which a seller is willing to sell a security, also known as the ask price.
Offering Memorandum – A disclosure document outlining terms, risks, and details of a private investment offering.
Offset – A transaction used to reduce or eliminate exposure from an existing position.
Open-End Fund – A mutual fund that continuously issues and redeems shares at net asset value.
Open Interest – The total number of outstanding derivative contracts that remain unsettled.
Option – A contract granting the right to buy or sell an asset.
Option Premium – The amount paid by the buyer to acquire an options contract.
Order Book – A real-time record of outstanding buy and sell orders organized by price.
Outperform – Achieving returns above a benchmark.
Over-The-Counter (OTC) – Trading conducted directly between parties rather than through a centralized exchange.

P

Par Value – The stated face value of a bond or the nominal value assigned to a share of stock.
Passive Investing – Tracking an index rather than selecting securities.
Penny Stock – A low-priced, speculative stock with limited liquidity and higher volatility.
Performance Fee – Compensation paid to an investment manager based on returns achieved above a benchmark.
Portfolio – A collection of investments.
Portfolio Diversification – The strategy of spreading investments across multiple assets to reduce risk.
Portfolio Manager – A professional responsible for investment selection and asset allocation decisions.
Preferred Stock – Equity with priority dividends and claims.
Price-to-Book (P/B) Ratio – A valuation metric comparing a company’s market capitalization to its accounting book value.
Price-to-Earnings (P/E) Ratio – Stock price divided by earnings per share.
Private Equity – Investment in privately held companies.
Prospectus – A legal disclosure document for an investment offering.