Definition of Commission
Commission
The fee paid to a broker to execute a trade, based on number of shares, bonds, options, and/or
their dollar value. In 1975, deregulation led to the creation of discount brokers, who charge lower
commissions than full service brokers. Full service brokers offer advice and usually have a full staff of
analysts who follow specific industries. Discount brokers simply execute a client's order -- and usually do not
offer an opinion on a stock. Also known as a round-turn.
Related Terms:
A broker on the floor of an exchange acts as agent for a particular brokerage house and
who buys and sells stocks for the brokerage house on a commission basis.
A firm which buys and sells future contracts for customer accounts. Related: futures
commission merchant, omnibus account.
A firm or person engaged in soliciting or accepting and handling orders for
the purchase or sale of futures contracts, subject to the rules of a futures exchange and, who, in connection
with such solicitation or acceptance of orders, accepts any money or securities to margin any resulting trades
or contracts. The FCM must be licensed by the CFTC. Related: commission house , omnibus account
The SEC is a federal agency that regulates the U.S.financial markets.
The federal agency that
oversees the issuance of and trading in securities of public businesses.
The SEC has broad powers and can suspend the trading in securities of a
business. The SEC also has primary jurisdiction in making accounting
and financial reporting rules, but over the years it has largely deferred to
the private sector for the development of generally accepted accounting
principles (GAAP).
Federal agency responsible for regulation of securities markets in the United
States.
A federal agency that administers securities legislation,
including the Securities Acts of 1933 and 1934. Public companies in the United States
must register their securities with the SEC and file with the agency quarterly and annual financial
reports.
Also known as the National commission on Fraudulent Financial
Reporting. A special committee formed in 1985 to investigate the underlying causes of fraudulent
financial reporting. The commission was named after its chairman, former SEC commissioner
James Treadway. The commission's report, published in 1987, stressed the need for strong
and independent audit committees for public companies.
A means of compensating the broker of a program trade solely on the basis of commission
established through bids submitted by various brokerage firms. agency incentive arrangement. A means of
compensating the broker of a program trade using benchmark prices for issues to be traded in determining
commissions or fees.
Brokerage house clerical operations that support, but do not include, the trading of stocks and
other securities. Includes all written confirmation and settlement of trades, record keeping and regulatory
compliance.
Back-end loan fund
A mutual fund that charges investors a fee to sell (redeem) shares, often ranging from
4% to 6%. Some back-end load funds impose a full commission if the shares are redeemed within a
designated time, such as one year. The commission decreases the longer the investor holds the shares. The
formal name for the back-end load is the contingent deferred sales charge, or CDSC.
An individual who is paid a commission for executing customer orders. Either a floor broker who
executes orders on the floor of the exchange, or an upstairs broker who handles retail customers and their
orders.
The Commodity Futures Trading commission is the federal agency created by Congress to regulate
futures trading. The Commodity Exchange Act of 1974 became effective April 21, 1975. Previously, futures
trading had been regulated by the Commodity Exchange Authority of the USDA.
Excessive trading of a client's account in order to increase the broker's commissions.
he written statement that follows any "trade" in the securities markets. Confirmation is issued
immediately after a trade is executed. It spells out settlement date, terms, commission, etc.
Automatic reinvestment of shareholder dividends in more shares of a
company's stock, often without commissions. Some plans provide for the purchase of additional shares at a
discount to market price. Dividend reinvestment plans allow shareholders to accumulate stock over the Long
term using dollar cost averaging. The DRP is usually administered by the company without charges to the
holder.
EDGAR
The Securities & Exchange commission uses Electronic Data Gathering and Retrieval to transmit
company documents such as 10-Ks, 10-Qs, quarterly reports, and other SEC filings, to investors.
Liquidity risk
The risk that arises from the difficulty of selling an asset. It can be thought of as the difference
between the "true value" of the asset and the likely price, less commissions.
Management/closely held shares
Percentage of shares held by persons closely related to a company, as
defined by the Securities and exchange commission. Part of these percentages often is included in
Institutional Holdings -- making the combined total of these percentages over 100. There is overlap as
institutions sometimes acquire enough stock to be considered by the SEC to be closely allied to the company.
No-load fund
A mutual fund that does not impose a sales commission. Related: load fund
Omnibus account
An account carried by one futures commission merchant with another futures commission
merchant in which the transactions of two or more persons are combined and carried in the name of the
originating broker, rather than designated separately. Related: commission house.
Redemption charge
The commission charged by a mutual fund when redeeming shares. For example, a 2%
redemption charge (also called a "back end load") on the sale of shares valued at $1000 will result in payment of $980 (or 98% of the value) to the investor. This charge may decrease or be eliminated as shares are held for
longer time periods.
Registered representative
A person registered with the CFTC who is employed by, and soliciting business
for, a commission house or futures commission merchant.
Round-trip transactions costs
Costs of completing a transaction, including commissions, market impact
costs, and taxes.
Sales charge
The fee charged by a mutual fund when purchasing shares, usually payable as a commission to
marketing agent, such as a financial advisor, who is thus compensated for his assistance to a purchaser. It
represents the difference, if any, between the share purchase price and the share net asset value.
SEC
The Securities and Exchange commission, the primary federal regulatory agency of the securities
industry.
Selling short
If an investor thinks the price of a stock is going down, the investor could borrow the stock from
a broker and sell it. Eventually, the investor must buy the stock back on the open market. For instance, you
borrow 1000 shares of XYZ on July 1 and sell it for $8 per share. Then, on Aug 1, you purchase 1000 shares
of XYZ at $7 per share. You've made $1000 (less commissions and other fees) by selling short.
Slippage
The difference between estimated transaction costs and actual transaction costs. The difference is
usually composed of revisions to price difference or spread and commission costs.
Soft dollars
The value of research services that brokerage houses supply to investment managers "free of
charge" in exchange for the investment manager's business/commissions.
Stock exchanges
Formal organizations, approved and regulated by the Securities and Exchange commission
(SEC), that are made up of members that use the facilities to exchange certain common stocks. The two major
national stock exchanges are the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the American Stock Exchange (ASE
or AMEX). Five regional stock exchanges include the Midwest, Pacific, Philadelphia, Boston, and Cincinnati.
The Arizona stock exchange is an after hours electronic marketplace where anonymous participants trade
stocks via personal computers.
Trading costs
Costs of buying and selling marketable securities and borrowing. Trading costs include
commissions, slippage, and the bid/ask spread. See: transaction costs.
Transactions costs
The time, effort, and money necessary, including such things as commission fees and the
cost of physically moving the asset from seller to buyer. Related: Round-trip transaction costs, Information
costs, search costs.
12b-1 funds
Mutual funds that do not charge an upfront or back-end commission, but instead take out up to
1.25% of average daily fund assets each year to cover the costs of selling and marketing shares, an
arrangement allowed by the SEC's Rule 12b-I (passed in 1980).
Wire house
A firm operating a private wire to its own branch offices or to other firms, commission houses or
brokerage houses.
generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP)
This important term
refers to the body of authoritative rules for measuring profit and preparing
financial statements that are included in financial reports by a business
to its outside shareowners and lenders. The development of these
guidelines has been evolving for more than 70 years. Congress passed a
law in 1934 that bestowed primary jurisdiction over financial reporting
by publicly owned businesses to the Securities and Exchange commission
(SEC). But the SEC has largely left the development of GAAP to the
private sector. Presently, the Financial Accounting Standards Board is
the primary (but not the only) authoritative body that makes pronouncements
on GAAP. One caution: GAAP are like a movable feast. New rules
are issued fairly frequently, old rules are amended from time to time,
and some rules established years ago are discarded on occasion. Professional
accountants have a heck of time keeping up with GAAP, that’s for
sure. Also, new GAAP rules sometimes have the effect of closing the barn
door after the horse has left. Accounting abuses occur, and only then,
after the damage has been done, are new rules issued to prevent such
abuses in the future.
revenue-driven expenses
Operating expenses that vary in proportion to
changes in total sales revenue (total dollars of sales). Examples are sales
commissions based on sales revenue, credit card discount expenses, and
rents and franchise fees based on sales revenue. These expenses are one
of the key variables in a profit model. Segregating these expenses from
other types of expenses that behave differently is essential for management
decision-making analysis. (These expenses are not disclosed separately
in externally reported income statements.)
SEC
See Securities and Exchange commission.
Abusive Earnings Management
A characterization used by the Securities and Exchange
commission to designate earnings management that results in an intentional and material misrepresentation
of results.
Blue Ribbon Committee on Improving the Effectiveness of Corporate Audit Committees
A committee formed in response to SEC chairman Arthur Levitt's initiative to improve the financial
reporting environment in the United States. In a report dated February 1999, the committee
made recommendations for new rules for regulation of financial reporting in the United States that
either duplicated or carried forward the recommendations of the Treadway commission.
Division of Enforcement
A department within the Securities and Exchange commission that
investigates violations of securities laws.
EBBS - Earnings before the bad stuff
An acronym attributed to a member of the Securities and
Exchange commission staff. The reference is to earnings that have been heavily adjusted to
remove a wide range of nonrecurring, nonoperating, and noncash items.
Fraudulent Financial Reporting
Intentional misstatements or omissions of amounts or disclosures
in financial statements done to deceive financial statement users. The term is used interchangeably
with accounting irregularities. A technical difference exists in that with fraud, it
must be shown that a reader of financial statements that contain intentional and material misstatements
must have used those financial statements to his or her detriment. In this book, accounting
practices are not alleged to be fraudulent until done so by an administrative, civil, or
criminal proceeding, such as that of the Securities and Exchange commission, or a court.
Policy Acquisition Costs
Costs incurred by insurance companies in signing new policies, including expenditures on commissions and other selling expenses, promotion expenses, premium
taxes, and certain underwriting expenses. Refer also to customer, member, or subscriber
acquisition costs.
Independent Broker
This is a provincial government licensed independent businessperson who usually represents five or more life insurance companies in a sales and service capacity and who is paid a commission by those life insurance companies for sales and service of life insurance products. We for example, have been in business for 12 years and regularly place new business with over twenty different life insurance companies.
Factor
An agent who buys and sells goods on behalf of others for a commission.
loads
Loads are sales fees (or commissions) that are charged when you buy a mutual fund.
management expense ratio (MER)
The total expenses expressed as an annualized percentage of daily average net assets. MER does not include brokerage fees and commissions, which are also payable by the Fund.
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