Stocks
What Is a Stock? A stock is a long-term, growth-oriented investment representing ownership in a company; also known as ‘equity.’ ...
Bonds
What Is a Bond? A bond acts like a loan or an IOU that is issued by a corporation, municipality, ...
Annualized Rate of Return
What is Annualized Rate of Return? Annualized rate of return is the average annual return over a period of years, ...
Bear/Bull Market
What is a Bear or Bull Market? A bear market is a prolonged period of falling stock prices, usually marked ...
Basis Points (BPS)
What is a Basis Point? A basis point represents one gradation on a 100-point scale representing 1%. This term is ...
Asset Allocation
What is Asset Allocation? Asset allocation is the process of dividing investments among cash, equities (ex. U.S. Large Cap, International), ...
Appreciation
What is Appreciation? Appreciation means that the value of a financial asset increases over time. This increase occurs for many ...
Alternative Investments
What Are Alternative Investments? Alternative investments indicate assets that aren’t considered “conventional” investment types, like stocks, bonds, and cash. Alternative ...
Inflation
What Is Inflation? Inflation is an increase in the average price of goods or services in an economy. Each month, ...
Annuity
What Is an Annuity? An annuity is a contract with an insurance company that guarantees current or future payments in ...
Fixed Income Investment
What are Fixed Income Investments? A fixed income investment is a fund or portfolio in which bonds are primarily purchased ...
Share Classes
What are Share Classes? Share classes represent ownership in the same fund that charge different fees. This can enable shareholders ...