Definition of Mentor

Mentor

A close personal contact, usually in your industry who has a network of contacts in the investment community and can assist a person in achieving their objectives.

Bargain-purchase-price option

Gives the lessee the option to purchase the asset at a price below fair market
value when the lease expires.

Buy on close

To buy at the end of the trading session at a price within the closing range.

Close, the

The period at the end of the trading session. Sometimes used to refer to closing price. Related:
Opening, the.

Closed-end fund

An investment company that sells shares like any other corporation and usually does not
redeem its shares. A publicly traded fund sold on stock exchanges or over the counter that may trade above or
below its net asset value. Related: Open-end fund.

Closed-end mortgage

Mortgage against which no additional debt may be issued.

Closing purchase

A transaction in which the purchaser's intention is to reduce or eliminate a short position in
a stock, or in a given series of options.

Direct stock-purchase programs

The purchase by investors of securities directly from the issuer.

Dividend reinvestment plan (DRP)

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.

Expected return on investment

The return one can expect to earn on an investment. See: capital asset
pricing model.

Financial objectives

objectives of a financial nature that the firm will strive to accomplish during the period
covered by its financial plan.

Foreign direct investment (FDI)

The acquisition abroad of physical assets such as plant and equipment, with
operating control residing in the parent corporation.

Future investment opportunities

The options to identify additional, more valuable investment opportunities
in the future that result from a current opportunity or operation.

Growth phase

A phase of development in which a company experiences rapid earnings growth as it produces
new products and expands market share.

Guaranteed investment contract (GIC)

A pure investment product in which a life company agrees, for a
single premium, to pay the principal amount of a predetermined annual crediting (interest) rate over the life of
the investment, all of which is paid at the maturity date.

Industry

The category describing a company's primary business activity. This category is usually determined
by the largest portion of revenue.

Investment analysts

Related: financial analysts

Investment bank

Financial intermediaries who perform a variety of services, including aiding in the sale of
securities, facilitating mergers and other corporate reorganizations, acting as brokers to both individual and
institutional clients, and trading for their own accounts. Underwriters.

Investment decisions

Decisions concerning the asset side of a firm's balance sheet, such as the decision to
offer a new product.

Investment grade bonds

A bond that is assigned a rating in the top four categories by commercial credit
rating companies. For example, S&P classifies investment grade bonds as BBB or higher, and Moodys'
classifies investment grade bonds as Ba or higher. Related: High-yield bond.

Investment income

The revenue from a portfolio of invested assets.
investment management Also called portfolio management and money management, the process of
managing money.

Investment manager

Also called a portfolio manager and money manager, the individual who manages a
portfolio of investments.

Investment product line (IPML)

The line of required returns for investment projects as a function of beta
(nondiversifiable risk).

Investment tax credit

Proportion of new capital investment that can be used to reduce a company's tax bill
(abolished in 1986).

Investment trust

A closed-end fund regulated by the investment Company Act of 1940. These funds have a
fixed number of shares which are traded on the secondary markets similarly to corporate stocks. The market
price may exceed the net asset value per share, in which case it is considered at a "premium." When the
market price falls below the NAV/share, it is at a "discount." Many closed-end funds are of a specialized
nature, with the portfolio representing a particular industry, country, etc. These funds are usually listed on US
and foreign exchanges.

Investment value

Related:straight value.

Investments

As a discipline, the study of financial securities, such as stocks and bonds, from the investor's
viewpoint. This area deals with the firm's financing decision, but from the other side of the transaction.

Legal investments

investments that a regulated entity is permitted to make under the rules and regulations
that govern its investing.

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.

Maturity phase

A phase of company development in which earnings continue to grow at the rate of the
general economy. Related: Three-phase DDM.

Minimum purchases

For mutual funds, the amount required to open a new account (Minimum Initial
Purchase) or to deposit into an existing account (Minimum Additional Purchase). These minimums may be
lowered for buyers participating in an automatic purchase plan

Money purchase plan

A defined benefit contribution plan in which the participant contributes some part and
the firm contributes at the same or a different rate. Also called and individual account plan.

Mutually exclusive investment decisions

investment decisions in which the acceptance of a project
precludes the acceptance of one or more alternative projects.

Net investment

Gross, or total, investment minus depreciation.

Net present value of future investments

The present value of the total sum of NPVs expected to result from
all of the firm's future investments.

Open-market purchase operation

A systematic program of repurchasing shares of stock in market
transactions at current market prices, in competition with other prospective investors.

Opening purchase

A transaction in which the purchaser's intention is to create or increase a long position in
a given series of options.

Passive investment strategy

See: passive management.

Passive investment management

Buying a well-diversified portfolio to represent a broad-based market
index without attempting to search out mispriced securities.

Personal tax view (of capital structure)

The argument that the difference in personal tax rates between
income from debt and income from equity eliminates the disadvantage from the double taxation (corporate
and personal) of income from equity.

Personal trust

An interest in an asset held by a trustee for the benefit of another person.

Purchase

To buy, to be long, to have an ownership position.

Purchase accounting

Method of accounting for a merger in which the acquirer is treated as having purchased
the assets and assumed liabilities of the acquiree, which are all written up or down to their respective fair
market values, the difference between the purchase price and the net assets acquired being attributed to goodwill.

Purchase agreement

As used in connection with project financing, an agreement to purchase a specific
amount of project output per period.

Purchase and sale

A method of securities distribution in which the securities firm purchases the securities
from the issuer for its own account at a stated price and then resells them, as contrasted with a best-efforts sale.

Purchase fund

Resembles a sinking fund except that money is used only to purchase bonds if they are selling
below their par value.

Purchase method

Accounting for an acquisition using market value for the consolidation of the two entities'
net assets on the balance sheet. Generally, depreciation/amortization will increase for this method compared
with pooling and will result in lower net income.

Purchasing power parity

The notion that the ratio between domestic and foreign price levels should equal
the equilibrium exchange rate between domestic and foreign currencies.

Purchasing-power risk

Related: inflation risk

Reinvestment rate

The rate at which an investor assumes interest payments made on a debt security can be
reinvested over the life of that security.

Reinvestment risk

The risk that proceeds received in the future will have to be reinvested at a lower potential
interest rate.

REIT (real estate investment trust)

Real estate investment trust, which is similar to a closed-end mutual
fund. REITs invest in real estate or loans secured by real estate and issue shares in such investments.

Relative purchasing power parity (RPPP)

Idea that the rate of change in the price level of commodities in
one country relative to the price level in another determines the rate of change of the exchange rate between
the two countries' currencies.

REMIC (real estate mortgage investment conduit)

A pass-through tax entity that can hold mortgages
secured by any type of real property and issue multiple classes of ownership interests to investors in the form
of pass-through certificates, bonds, or other legal forms. A financing vehicle created under the Tax Reform
Act of 1986.

Repurchase agreement

An agreement with a commitment by the seller (dealer) to buy a security back from
the purchaser (customer) at a specified price at a designated future date. Also called a repo, it represents a
collateralized short-term loan, where the collateral may be a Treasury security, money market instrument,
federal agency security, or mortgage-backed security. From the purchaser (customer) perspective, the deal is
reported as a reverse Repo.

Repurchase of stock

Device to pay cash to firm's shareholders that provides more preferable tax treatment
for shareholders than dividends. Treasury stock is the name given to previously issued stock that has been
repurchased by the firm. A repurchase is achieved through either a dutch auction, open market, or tender offer.

Return on investment (ROI)

Generally, book income as a proportion of net book value.

Share repurchase

Program by which a corporation buys back its own shares in the open market. It is usually
done when shares are undervalued. Since it reduces the number of shares outstanding and thus increases
earnings per share, it tends to elevate the market value of the remaining shares held by stockholders.

Short-term investment services

Services that assist firms in making short-term investments.

Stochastic models

Liability-matching models that assume that the liability payments and the asset cash flows
are uncertain. Related: Deterministic models.

Stock repurchase

A firm's repurchase of outstanding shares of its common stock.

Targeted repurchase

The firm buys back its own stock from a potential bidder, usually at a substantial
premium, to forestall a takeover attempt.

Three-phase DDM

A version of the dividend discount model which applies a different expected dividend
rate depending on a company's life-cycle phase, growth phase, transition phase, or maturity phase.

Transition phase

A phase of development in which the company's earnings begin to mature and decelerate to
the rate of growth of the economy as a whole. Related: three-phase DDM.

Underinvestment problem

The mirror image of the asset substitution problem, wherein stockholders refuse
to invest in low-risk assets to avoid shifting wealth from themselves to the debtholders.
Underlying
The "something" that the parties agree to exchange in a derivative contract.

Unit investment trust

Money invested in a portfolio whose composition is fixed for the life of the fund.
Shares in a unit trust are called redeemable trust certificates, and they are sold at a premium above net asset value.

Whole life insurance

A contract with both insurance and investment components: (1) It pays off a stated
amount upon the death of the insured, and (2) it accumulates a cash value that the policyholder can redeem or
borrow against.

Wholesale mortgage banking

The purchasing of loans originated by others, with the servicing rights
released to the buyer.

Zero-investment portfolio

A portfolio of zero net value established by buying and shorting component
securities, usually in the context of an arbitrage strategy.

RETURN ON INVESTMENT (ROI)

In its most basic form, the rate of return equals net income divided by the amount of money invested. It can be applied to a particular product or piece of equipment, or to a business as a whole.

Investment centre

A division or unit of an organization that is responsible for achieving an adequate return on
the capital invested in the division or unit.

Return on investment (ROI)

The net profit after tax as a percentage of the shareholders’ investment in the business.

Purchase discounts

A contra account that reduces purchases by the amount of the discounts taken for early payment.

Purchase returns

A contra account that reduces purchases by the amount of items purchased that were subsequently returned.

Purchases

Items purchased by the company for the purpose of resale.

Purchases journal

A journal used to record the transactions that result in a credit to accounts payable.

capital investment analysis

Refers to various techniques and procedures
used to determine or to analyze future returns from an investment
of capital in order to evaluate the capital recovery pattern and the
periodic earnings from the investment. The two basic tools for capital
investment analysis are (1) spreadsheet models (which I strongly prefer)
and (2) mathematical equations for calculating the present value or
internal rate of return of an investment. Mathematical methods suffer
from a lack of information that the decision maker ought to consider. A
spreadsheet model supplies all the needed information and has other
advantages as well.

return on investment (ROI)

A very general concept that refers to some
measure of income, earnings, profit, or gain over a period of time
divided by the amount of capital invested during the period. It is almost
always expressed as a percent. For a business, an important ROI measure
is its return on equity (ROE), which is computed by dividing its net
income for the period by its owners’ equity during the period.

Investment

The commitment of funds (capital) in anticipation of an increased
return of funds at some point in the future

investment center

a responsibility center in which the manager
is responsible for generating revenues and planning
and controlling expenses and has the authority to acquire,
dispose of, and use plant assets to earn the highest rate
of return feasible on those assets within the confines and
to the support of the organization’s goals

investment decision

a judgment about which assets will be
acquired by an entity to achieve its stated objectives

network organization

a flexible organization structure that
establishes a working relationship among multiple entities,
usually to pursue a single function

open purchase ordering

a process by which a single purchase
order that expires at a set or determinable future
date is prepared to authorize a supplier to provide a large
quantity of one or more specified items on an as-requested
basis by the customer

postinvestment audit

the process of gathering information
on the actual results of a capital project and comparing
them to the expected results

purchasing cost

the quoted price of inventory minus any
discounts allowed plus shipping charges

reinvestment assumption

an assumption made about the rates of return that will be earned by intermediate cash flows from a capital project; NPV and PI assume reinvestment at the discount rate; IRR assumes reinvestment at the IRR

return on investment

a ratio that relates income generated
by an investment center to the resources (or asset base)
used to produce that income

steady-state phase

the point at which the learning curve becomes flat and only minimal improvements in performance are achieved

High-low-close chart

A financial chart usually used to plot the high, low,
open, and close price of a security over time. Plots are vertical lines whose top
is the high, bottom is the low, open is a short horizontal tick to the left, and
close is a short horizontal tick to the right.

Purchase price

Price actually paid for a security. Typically the purchase
price of a bond is not the same as the redemption value.

Stochastic

Involving or containing a random variable or variables; involving
chance or probability.

Purchase method

An accounting method used to combine the financial statements of
companies. This involves recording the acquired assets at fair market value, and the
excess of the purchase price over this value as goodwill, which will be amortized
over time.

investment grade

Bonds rated Baa or above by Moody’s or BBB or above by Standard & Poor’s.

purchasing power parity (PPP)

Theory that the cost of living in different countries is equal, and exchange rates adjust to offset inflation differentials across countries.

stock repurchase

Firm buys back stock from its shareholders.

Closed Economy

An economy in which imports and exports are very small relative to GDP and so are ignored in macroeconomic analysis. Contrast with open economy.

Investment Banker

Middleman between a corporation issuing new securities and the public. The middleman buys the securities issue outright and then resells it to customers. Also called an underwriter.

Investment Spending

Expenditures on capital goods including new housing. Financial ''investments" and sales of existing assets are not included.

Investment Tax Credit

A reduction in taxes offered to firms to induce them to increase investment spending.

Net Investment

investment spending minus depreciation.

Purchasing Power Parity

Theory that says that over the long run exchange rate changes offset any difference between foreign and domestic inflation. This result assumes that the real exchange rate remains constant, something that is not true even in the long run.

Related to : financial, finance, business, accounting, payroll, inventory, investment, money, inventory control, stock trading, financial advisor, tax advisor, credit.