An individual or firm that offers investment advice for a fee. Both are usually registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission and/or the states in which they practice.
One who gives investment advice to individual investors or institutional investors. This person helps clients clarify investment goals and priorities, explains how the various investments work, and helps the clients decide how much and when to buy investments. Investment counselors are usually registered with one or more regulatory agencies.
1. An entity that engages in commercial activities in some particular sector, such as industry, retail, or professional services. 2. The commercial activity in which a business engages.
Gathering information on something. Firms, investment companies, and individual investors research markets and businesses to learn how they operate in the present and how they may operate in the future. One of the most worthwhile investment strategies is to research the companies in which one wants to invest.
The purchase of a potentially appreciable asset such as a stock, a bond, a property, or a unit of production. The purchase provides funds for the growth of businesses and governments.
The total investments of an individual or company.
An investment document that a corporation, government, or other organization issues as proof of debt or equity. Also, the debt or equity itself.
The middleperson who takes buy or sell orders from investors and executes them. Stockbrokers must be licensed by the National Association of Securities Dealers, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and their own associations.
A contract in which one party, called the insurer, agrees to protect another party, called the insured, against loss, damage, or medical costs in return for a premium. Another way to look at insurance is to see it as the assumption of risk by another party. In return for a periodic fee (the premium) and a set of requirements by which to abide, an insurance company will assume risks taken by those covered. Insurance companies are regulated by the insurance commissioners of their respective states or territories.
A qualified professional who helps clients set their financial goals and then meet them.
Funds set aside by places of employment to provide for their workers' retirements. The setting up and maintenance of pension funds are regulated.
A company that invests its capital in other companies. There are two principal types of investment companies: open-ended and closed-ended. Open-ended companies, also called mutual funds, issue shares as investors demand them, and willingly buy them back when requested to by their customers. Closed-end companies issue a fixed number of shares, which are traded back and forth between investors.
A financial consultant who offers services primarily to large firms, governments, and their subsidiaries for a fee.
Anything of value that a person or organization owns. Examples include cash, securities, accounts receivable, inventory, and property such as land, office equipment, or a house or car. (Compare with liability. The same item can be both an asset and a liability, depending on one's point of view. For example, a loan is a liability to the borrower because it represents money owed that has to be repaid. But to the lender, a loan is an asset because it represents money the lender will receive in the future as the borrower repays the debt.)
A place where buyers and sellers make transactions. Sometimes the term also refers to the specific demand for an investment, such as in the stock market or the commodity market.
