If a bond has been deemed AAA by a credit rating agency, it means that the credit issuer sees the issuer of the bond as having a very high degree of creditworthiness.

Bonds rated AAA are typically added to an investment portfolio when the investor wants to decrease risk.

AAA rated bonds usually offer low yield compared to lower rated bonds with the same maturity date.

The main idea behind acceleration life insurance (instead of classic life insurance) is to provide financial resources for medical costs instead of just being a life insurance policy. The illness or emergency triggered payout will therefore normally be made directly to the insured, and not to the person named as beneficiary.

The remaining part of the death benefit is paid out when the insured dies and goes to the beneficiary.

As of 2011, ten of the companies are based in the USA, four in the United Kingdom, four in Australia, three in Japan, two in Hong Kong, two in Germany, two in Switzerland, on in France, one in Sweden, and one in South Korea.

There is no legal definition of bear market. In the United States, a downturn of at least 20% in multiple broad market indices over a minimum of two months is generally considered a bear market.

A short-term downturn (< 2 months) is not the same as bear market. A short-term downturn is known as a correction.

The acronym was coined by Goldman Sachs in 2001.

The price you pay when you purchase a call stock option is called premium.

Convertible preference shares is the same thing as convertible shares of preferred stock.

This is a UK-based registry where shares in certain stock companies are recorded.

The DIJA is also known as Dow Jones Industrial, Dow 30 or simply The Dow. It was first calculated in May 1896. The industrial part of the name is today largely historical, and many of the companies currently included in the index are not heavy industry companies.

DIJA is owned by S&P Dow Jones Indices.

If you sign up with a DRIP, the dividend payments you receive on your company shares will be automatically used to purchase more shares for you in the company.

Using a DRIP instead of doing the transaction manually

The acronym was introduced by the bank BBVA in 2010. Back then, the ten economies considered eagles by BBVA were Russia, Mexico, Brazil, China, South Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia, India, Turkey, and Egypt.

The holder (owner) of the FX Option has a right (but no obligation) to exchange a predetermined amount of a certain currency for another specified currency for a predetermined exchange rate. This exchange rate is known as the strike price.

If it is a European-style FX Option, the holder of the FX Option can only exercise (use) it on the option’s expiry date. An American-style FX Option on the other hand can be exercised on any date until it expires.

The settlement date (when the payment is made) is called the spot date. For most currency pairs, the spot date is two bank days after the contract date, but for spots between USD and any of the currencies EUR, RUB, TRY and CAD, the spot date is usually just one bank day after the contract date.

This is a EU law applicable to the EU member states + Liechtenstein, Norway and Iceland. The main objective for this directive is to increase consumer protection within the investment services field.

The MSCI is based on stock companies from 23 different countries. No companies in emerging or frontier economies are included. 15 of the 23 markets are in Europe, four in Asia, two in North America and two in Oceania.

Municipality bonds are especially common in the USA, where they are issued by cities, school districts, etc.

The opposite of the open-ended investment fund is the close-ended investment fund.

The price you pay when you purchase a put stock option is called premium.

Return is usually expressed as a percentage.

In many jurisdictions, a share of common stock must give the shareholder a company voting right.

In most jurisdictions, it is even legal for a company to make a dividend payment to the holders of shares of preferred stock without making any subsequent payment of dividends to the holders of shares of common stock.

Shares of preferred stock also gives the holder preferential treatment in case of company liquidation.

In most companies, shares of preferred stock do not give the holder company voting rights.

Preference shares is a synonym for shares of preferred stock.

This index, owned by S&P Dow Jones Indices, is commonly hailed as a bellwether for the U.S. economy.

The stock is portioned into shares. In everyday language, the word stock and the word share is often used interchangeably.

As soon as you own at least one share in a company, you are one of the company’s owners.

The payment of dividends must be approved by the shareholders.

In many jurisdictions, stock dividend payments receives favorable tax treatment.

A venture capital fund will typically make investments that are considered high risk.

A Yankee bond must be registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission before selling it is permitted.