A term deposit is a fixed-term investment that includes the deposit of money into an account at a financial institution. Term deposit investments usually carry short-term maturities ranging from one month to a few years and will have varying levels of required minimum deposits.
Cash value life insurance is a form of permanent life insurance that features a cash value savings component. The policyholder can use the cash value for many purposes, such as a source of loans, as a source of cash, or to pay policy premiums.
The Directional Movement Index, or DMI, is an indicator developed by J. Welles Wilder in 1978 that identifies in which direction the price of an asset is moving. The indicator does this by comparing prior highs and lows and drawing two lines: a positive directional movement line (+DI) and a negative directional movement line (-DI). An optional third line, called directional movement (DX) shows the difference between the lines. When +DI is above -DI, there is more upward pressure than downward pressure in the price. If -DI is above +DI, then there is more downward pressure in the price. This indicator may help traders assess the trend direction. Crossovers between the lines are also sometimes used as trade signals to buy or sell.
A money manager is a person or financial firm that manages the securities portfolio of an individual or institutional investor. Typically, a money manager employs people with various expertise ranging from research and selection of investment options to monitoring the assets and deciding when to sell them.
A build-operate-transfer (BOT) contract is a model used to finance large projects, typically infrastructure projects developed through public-private partnerships.
Capital IQ is the research division of Standard and Poor’s. It provides detailed research and analysis of the stock market to a variety of investing stakeholders.
The weighted average life (WAL) is the average length of time that each dollar of unpaid principal on a loan, a mortgage, or an amortizing bond remains outstanding. Calculating WAL shows an investor, an analyst, or a portfolio manager how many years it will take to receive roughly half of the amount of the outstanding principal. The formula is useful in measuring the credit risk associated with fixed-income securities.
An earnings announcement is an official public statement of a company’s profitability for a specific time period, typically a quarter or a year. An earnings announcement typically occurs on a specific date during earnings season and is preceded by earnings estimates that equity analysts issue. If a company has been profitable leading up to the announcement, its share price will usually increase up to and slightly after the information is released.
Total return, when measuring performance, is the actual rate of return of an investment or a pool of investments over a given evaluation period. Total return includes interest, capital gains, dividends and distributions realized over a given period of time.
In financial terms, the bond equivalent yield (BEY) is a metric that lets investors calculate the annual percentage yield for fixed-come securities, even if they are discounted short-term plays that only pay out on a monthly, quarterly, or semi-annual basis.