Financial Glossary
Demystifying finance, one term at a time. Search our comprehensive dictionary of financial jargon, acronyms, and concepts.
Amortization
The process of spreading out a loan into a series of fixed payments over time. You pay off the loan's principal and interest in different amounts each month.
Bear Market
A market condition in which the prices of securities are falling, and widespread pessimism causes the stock market's downward spiral to be self-sustaining.
Bull Market
A financial market in which prices are rising or are expected to rise. Often characterized by investor optimism and confidence.
CAGR
Compound Annual Growth Rate. The mean annual growth rate of an investment over a specified period of time longer than one year. It represents one of the most accurate ways to calculate and determine returns.
Dividend
A distribution of a portion of a company's earnings, decided by the board of directors, paid to a class of its shareholders.
EBITDA
Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization. A measure of a company's overall financial performance and is used as an alternative to net income.
Fiduciary
A person or organization that acts on behalf of another person or persons, putting their clients' interest ahead of their own, with a duty to preserve good faith and trust.
Index Fund
A type of mutual fund or exchange-traded fund (ETF) with a portfolio constructed to match or track the components of a financial market index, such as the Nifty 50.
Liquidity
The degree to which an asset or security can be quickly bought or sold in the market without affecting the asset's price.
Mutual Fund
An investment program funded by shareholders that trades in diversified holdings and is professionally managed.
Net Worth
The value of all the non-financial and financial assets owned by an individual or institution minus the value of all its outstanding liabilities.
Portfolio
A collection of financial investments like stocks, bonds, commodities, cash, and cash equivalents, including closed-end funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
ROI
Return on Investment. A performance measure used to evaluate the efficiency or profitability of an investment or compare the efficiency of a number of different investments.
SIP
Systematic Investment Plan. A facility offered by mutual funds to investors to invest in a disciplined manner. The investor invests a fixed amount of money at regular intervals.
Volatility
A statistical measure of the dispersion of returns for a given security or market index. In most cases, the higher the volatility, the riskier the security.
Yield
The income returned on an investment, such as the interest received from holding a security. The yield is usually expressed as an annual percentage rate.