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Accounts Payable: A balance sheet item stating the amount of money a company owes to its creditors.

Accounts Receivable: A balance sheet item stating the amount of money owed to a company for goods or services purchased on credit.

Accrual Basis: An accounting method that dictates the inclusion of interest or dividend income when earned and expenses when incurred.

Accrued Interest: Interest on a fixed income security after an interest payment has been made. Accrued interest has been earned, but is not yet due because the interest payment date has not yet arrived.

Accrued Wages: A balance sheet item stating wages a company owes its employees.

Accumulation Plan: An arrangement that enables an investor to purchase mutual fund shares regularly in large or small amounts.

Active Investment Management: A portfolio style requiring ongoing monitoring and decision-making with respect to security purchases and sales.

Actuarial Present Value: The methodology forming the core of actuarial science. It is the value placed on future contingent payments based on an actuary's assumptions regarding risk and probability.

Actuary: A specialist in calculating insurance and annuity premiums, reserves, and dividends for insurance products and defined benefit pension plans.

Additional Rent: Includes items for which the landlord invoices the tenant over and above the net rent. This charge typically recovers the tenant's proportionate share of building costs such as realty taxes, operating costs, and electricity (if not metered separately). Business taxes are not included in additional rent and other items such as capital tax may or may not be added.

Adjusted Cost Base: The amount used when calculating capital gains or losses for income tax purposes. The adjusted cost base includes commissions and other current tax considerations.

Administrator: An individual or trust appointed by a probate court to handle the estate of a person who died intestate (without leaving a valid will).

Affinity Credit Card: A credit card that has a promotion arrangement with an affiliated organization (often a charity or non-profit group). The logo of the group appears on the card and the group usually gets a percentage of the sales made on the card.

Aggregate Demand: The relationship between the total quantity of goods and services that consumers are willing and able to purchase and the price level.

Aggressive Investment: A volatile, difficult-to-predict investment. It can have rapid gains and loss, and is normally suited for long-term holdings (10 or more years), by investors willing to accept the wild price swings associated with their investment.

Allowance for Doubtful Loans: The amount considered adequate to absorb anticipated credit-related losses in a portfolio of loans.

Amortization Period: The number of years it will take to repay a loan in full. The amortization period can be well in excess of the loan's term. For example, mortgages often have five-year terms and 25-year amortization periods.

Amortize: Literally, to kill off, to make dead in business; it means to put money aside at intervals in order to provide funds in advance of maturity for the payment of a debt.

Analyst, Security Analyst: Typically, an employee of a brokerage firm who attempts, with varying degrees of success, to evaluate the investment quality of securities. The security analyst studies the financial condition of companies or markets with attention to capital structure, the amount of working capital available, prospective earnings and dividends, etc., and makes recommendations based on this research. Some analysts specialize in certain industries, markets or types of securities.

Annuitant: An individual who purchases and receives payments from an annuity.

Annuity: A contract that guarantees the purchaser (the annuitant) a series of periodic payments comprising of principal and interest sometime in the future. Sold primarily by life insurance firms, annuities may have more complicated features such as indexing, guarantee periods and benefits payable to a spouse or other beneficiary after the death of the annuitant. The periodic payment may be calculated by dividing a lump sum amount by an annuity factor based on mortality, interest rates and payment features.

Appraised Value: An estimate of the value of the property offered as security for a mortgage loan. The appraisal is done for mortgage-lending purposes and may not accurately reflect the market value of the property.

Arbitrage: The simultaneous purchase and sale of a commodity or security in different markets for a profit. The term arbitrage is used for a string of trading manoeuvres, exploiting the differences in spot prices, futures prices and interest rates.

Arm's Length: Acting at arm's length contemplates a negotiation between parties with opposing interest, each of whom has only an economic interest in the outcome. Non-arm's length is one with a conflict of interest.

Arm's Length Transaction: A transaction conducted as though the parties were unrelated, thus avoiding any conflict of interest.

Arrears: Accrued dividend or interest that has not been paid.

Ask Price: The lowest price any seller is willing to accept in exchange for a security.

Assay: An assay is a test of a metal to determine purity.

Asset Class: Typically refers to securities that have similar features. For example, bonds and stocks are the two main classes. They are then subdivided into additional classes such as mortgages, common stock and preferred stock. Asset classes are used in the process of asset allocation to control the risk and return characteristics of a portfolio.

Asset Class Performance: The historical and expected future return and volatility of the basket of securities that make up a particular asset class. These measures are used primarily for comparing asset classes and predicting future returns.

Attribution Rule: Any taxable income or gain realized on an asset will be attributed back to the person who made the investment, regardless of who holds title to the asset.

Averages (or Indexes): Major indexes contain a representative collection of shares listed on a stock exchange and thus are considered indicators of market direction. Specialized indexes and subindexes of the major indexes are used as benchmarks for stock performance of particular companies within their sectors.