A
Alpha: This is the term used to describe the risk adjusted out performance of an investment. A large Alpha represents good performance relative to the benchmark. Alpha is calculated using monthly returns for the previous three years. Annualised Return: It is the rate that an investor would have earned each year to achieve the total cumulative return over the period. The Average Annual Return is used to compare returns over different periods on a consistent basis with the base unit in years. Asset-backed Security: A security backed by notes or receivables against assets other than real estate. Average Maturity: The remaining lifetime of all the bonds in the portfolio, weighted by the amount of money invested in each bond fund.
		B
Beta: Beta is the relative measure of the sensitivity of an investment's return to changes in the benchmark return. Bid: A bid firstly may be defined as an attempt by one company to take over another or it may the price at which the market maker is prepared to buy shares. Blue Chip: Shares in a well established, large and highly regarded company. Bonds: An interest-bearing or discounted government or corporate security that obligates the issuer to pay the bond holder a specified sum of money generally at specific intervals and to repay the principal amount of the loan at maturity. Bull: Person who believes that prices will rise. An individual can be bullish on the prospects for an individual stock, bond or commodity, an industry segment, or the market as a whole. Business Day: Any day on which banks and financial markets are open for business.
		C
Capital Appreciation: An increase in the market value of money or property. Certificate of deposit: A savings certificate entitling the bearer to receive interest. A CD bears a maturity date, a specified interest rate, and can be issued in any denomination. CDs are generally issued by commercial banks. Maturities on commercial paper rarely range any longer than 270 days. Collective Investment: An investment vehicle that combines the assets of various individuals and organisations in order to create a single, well-diversified portfolio. Commercial Paper: An unsecured, short-term loan issued by a corporation, typically for financing accounts receivable and inventories. It is usually issued at a discount reflecting prevailing market interest rates.
		D
Dealing Day: A day on which the Net Asset Value per Share is determined on the basis of the last available prices on the Business Day preceding the Valuation Date. Distributing Fund: These funds tend to distribute the net income to the client each year e.g. gross income, net income, realised gains. Diversification: Spreading of risk by putting assets in several categories of investments. Dividend: The proportion of profits which is paid out to share holders in a company. This is prorated by class of security Domicile: Region where a person has established permanent residence. Duration: A measure of the price volatility of fixed-income securities, duration is the weighted average of the present values of all the cash flows associated with a fixed income security, expressed in years.
		E
Exchange Rate: Price at which one country's currency can converted into another country's currency.
		F
Floating Rate Notes: A note with a variable interest rate. Adjustments to the interest rate are usually made every 6 months and are tied to a certain money-market index. These protect investors against a rise in interest rates, but carry lower yields than fixed notes of the same maturity Fund Performance: Reflects a fund's investment results. Fund Size: This is the total value of assets under management in a fund.
		H
Historical Yield: Refers to an investment's actual return from income over a given period measured from the beginning of the period.
		I
IMMFA: Institutional Money Market Funds Association. This organisation, based in London, provides money market fund managers with a forum in which to discuss the development of and issues relating to the industry. The core objectives include industry standardisation, investor awareness and making representation to governments and legislative and regulatory bodies. Income: Earnings, generally from interest or dividends, that are credited or paid to an investor. Income Dividend: Payments of dividends, interest, or short-term capital gains earned by a fund's portfolio of securities after deducting operating expenses. The prospectus describes how often a fund pays dividends. Income Fund: A fund that specialises in investments that can produce current income and dividends. Index: A benchmark to measure performance against. It is a statistical composite that measures changes in the economy or in financial markets often expressed in percentage changes from a base period or from the previous month. Information Ratio: This is the ratio of the excess annualised return against the tracking error. The higher the ratio, the better, as it reflects the extent to which the fund has outperformed the benchmark. Investment Objective: The stated goal of a mutual fund. It helps determine the types of securities in which a portfolio invests, the expected returns, and the level of risk.
		L
LIBID: London Inter-Bank Bid Rate. The rate bid by banks on eurocurrency deposits. LIBOR: London Inter-Bank Offered Rate. The rate at which banks lend to one another. A fixing of these rates is taken at 11am everyday, and is issued as the benchmark to determine the interest rate. Liquidity: The ease with which an asset can be turned into cash. It is a central objective of money market funds.
		M
Market Value: The current price of an asset, as indicated by the most recent price at which the asset was traded on the open market. Maturity: The date on which a debt instrument falls due or becomes largely payable, the date on which an agreement or contract must be settled, fulfilled, or repaid, or the date on which it ceases to be binding. Maximum Monthly Loss: A measure of volatility of return indicating the largest loss (or the smallest gain) within a single month for a fund or benchmark during the most recent 36-month period. Money Market: The market for short-term investments. Short-term is usually defined as less than one year. Money Market Fund: An open-ended mutual fund that invests in very short-term instruments such as: government treasury bonds, corporate commercial paper and certificates of deposit from banks. Mutual Fund: An investment company that invests the money of its shareholders in a (usually) diversified group of securities to achieve a specific objective over time.
		N
Net Asset Value (NAV): The market price of a mutual fund's total assets (after deducting liabilities) per share. It is the price at which a shareholder would sell a fund's shares. Net Asset Value per Share: Is determined by dividing the value of the total assets of the Fund properly allocable to such class of shares less the liabilities of the Fund properly allocable to such class of shares by the total number of shares of such class outstanding on any Valuation Date. Non Distributing Fund: These funds tend to re-invest income earned from investment activities.
		O
Open-ended Fund: A pooled fund which has no limits to the number of shares they can issue. The fund will sell shares to investors who wish to buy them, and will buy back shares when investors wish to sell.
		P
Portfolio: A combination of securities such as stocks, bonds and other assets are owned by a mutual fund an other investors. Portfolio Manager: Handles the assets of a securities portfolio of a mutual fund, an individual, or an institutional investor. Usually, this individual is responsible for deciding which securities to buy, hold, or sell. Principal Value: Represents an investment's original invested amount. Prospectus: Describes its history, the background of its managers, its objectives, its financial statement, its eligible investments, its charges, and other essential facts an investor would need to make an informed decision concerning the fund's prospects.
		R
Rating Agency: A company which rates debt and preferred stock issues for safety of payment of principal, interest, or dividends. Ratings range from AAA or Aaa (the highest) to C or D, which represents a company that has already defaulted. E.g. Standard & Poor's or Moody's. Repos: Repurchase Agreement. This is a money-market instrument usually used to raise short-term capital by dealers in government securities. The dealer sells the government securities to investors, usually on an overnight basis, and buys them back the following day. For the party selling the security (and agreeing to repurchase it in the future) it is a repo; for the party on the other end of the transaction (buying the security and agreeing to sell in the future) it is a reverse repo. Reinvestment: Using dividend or capital gain payments to purchase more shares instead of taking payments in cash.
		S
Securities: Shares and debut obligations of every kind, including options, warrants, and rights to acquire shares and debt obligations. Security: An investment interest that can be bought and sold. Examples include stocks, bonds, and money market obligations. Share: A unit of ownership in a fund or a stock. Shareholder: Owns shares of a mutual fund or a stock. Simple Interest: The charge for borrowing money, typically expressed as an annual percentage rate. Standard Deviation: A volatility measure indicating the dispersion of returns, representing the square root of the variance of data points from the mean. Subscription: An agreement of intent to buy newly issued securities.
		T
Time Deposits: A savings account or Certificate of Deposit held for a fixed-term. The depositor must give written notice to withdraw his/her monies. Trading Deadline: The time by which all deals (purchases and sales) must be placed for them to be executed that day.
		U
UCITS: Undertaking for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities. Subject to local legal and regulatory requirements a UCITS fund can be marketed in the member countries of the European Union.
		V
Valuation Date: The Funds are valued daily and the Net Asset Value per Share is or will be calculated on each Business Day.
		Y
Yield: The percentage rate of return of the annual dividends paid on a stock, a bond, or a mutual fund. Yield to Maturity: A measure of the annual return on the income-paying securities assuming that they are held to maturity. This measure accounts for both the interest payments received throughout the life of the security and the repayment of principal at maturity.

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