> What is the sharemarket?
>?What are GICS sectors?
Types of listed products:
>?Derivatives
>?ETFs
>?ETMFs
>?Hybrids
>?LICs
>?mFunds
>?MINI warrants
>?Options
>?Warrants
>?What is a share?
>?Rights, bonuses and splits
>?Dividends explained
>?What is dividend imputation?
>?Margin lending
>?Key sharemarket ratios
>?Glossary
Glossary
| AGM | The Annual General Meeting provides an opportunity for shareholders to view company accounts, hear from key stakeholders, elect directors and vote on company-related issues. |
| Alpha | That portion of an investment return above market return, generally created through active portfolio management. |
| Authorised capital | The total amount of capital a company is authorised to raise from the public – it should reflect the company’s future capital needs. |
| Bank bill rate | The bank bill interest rate is the wholesale interbank rate within Australia and is widely used as the benchmark interest rate for financial instruments. |
| Basis point | One hundredth of one percent and is often used to express movements in interest rates – a 25 basis point change is equivalent to 0.25%. |
| Bear market | A market in which share prices are falling; volumes generally dwindle as prices decline. |
| Beta | Market return |
| Blue chip | A share in a company recognised for its ability to make profits and pay dividends, generally a big-name brand. ASX50 companies are considered blue chip. |
| Bonus | A free issue of shares to shareholders on a pro-rata basis – for example, three new shares for every share held. |
| Brokerage | A broker’s fee for buying or selling shares for a client. |
| Bull market | A market in which share prices are rising; volumes increase as prices rise. |
| Capital base | A company’s issued capital. |
| Capital gain/loss | Gains or losses that arise from selling securities. |
| Capital raising | The issue of debt or equity securities to raise money. |
| Closing price | The price quoted at the end of a day’s trading. |
| Contract note | Document that verifies the details of transactions made through a broker. |
| Crossing | When a broker matches a buyer and seller of a specific stock, and both are clients of broker’s firm. |
| Delisted | A formerly listed company whose securities are no longer quoted on an exchange. |
| Hedging | A strategy to protect assets by minimising risk; futures and options contracts may be used to minimise the risk of capital loss. |
| Market capitalisation | The total value of a company’s issued capital. |
| Net asset backing | Total shareholder’s funds in a company, less liabilities, divided by the number of shares on issue. |
| Net asset value (NAV) | Total assets of a company or fund, less total liabilities. |
| Net tangible assets (NTA) | Total assets of a company less total liabilities, not including intangible items such as goodwill or trademarks. |
| Off market offer | A takeover bid made directly to shareholders, not via an exchange. |
| Over the counter (OTC) options | Options that are not traded on an exchange. |
| Paid up capital | The proportion of a company’s capital that has been paid for by shareholders. |
| Rights issue | An offer to shareholders to purchase additional shares, usually below market price and at a predetermined ratio. |
| Settlement | There are two steps in the settlement of trades: > payment is made electronically > legal ownership of the security is transferred to the buyer Settlement occurs automatically two business days after a trade takes place – otherwise known as T+2. |
| Short selling | The sale of a security that is not owned; the expectation is that the price will fall so it can be bought in the future at a profit. |
| Split | Dividing a company’s shares into a greater number of units by reducing the par value of each share. |
| Stop loss | An investor’s instruction to a broker to sell if and when a stock falls to a certain price level; this limits the loss on the investment. |
| Unlisted securities | Securities that are not listed on an exchange. |
| Volume | The aggregate value or number of securities traded during a specific period. |
