Glossary
Balance sheet
A financial statement that summarises a company’s assets, liabilities and shareholders’ equity at a particular point in time. Each segment gives investors an idea as to what the company owns and owes, as well as the amount invested by shareholders. It is called a balance sheet because of the accounting equation: assets = liabilities + shareholders’ equity.
Basis point (bp)
One basis point equals 1/100 of a percentage point. 1 bp = 0.01%, 100 bps = 1%.
Benchmark
A standard (usually an index) that an investment portfolio’s performance can be measured against. For example, the performance of a UK equity fund may be benchmarked against the FTSE 100 Index, which represents the 100 largest companies listed on the London Stock Exchange.
Dividend
A variable discretionary payment made by a company to its shareholders.
Earnings per share (EPS)
EPS is the bottom-line measure of a company’s profitability, defined as net income (profit after tax) divided by the number of outstanding shares.
Equity
A security representing ownership, typically listed on a stock exchange. ‘Equities’ as an asset class means investments in shares, as opposed to, for instance, bond. To have ‘equity’ in a company means to hold shares in that company and therefore have part ownership.
Index
A statistical measure of group of basket of securities, or other financial instruments. For example, the S&P 500 Index indicates the performance of the largest 500 US companies’ stocks. Each index has its own calculation method, usually expressed as a change from a base value.
Investment trust
An investment trust is a form of investment fund, specifically a publicly traded collective investment scheme that invests its shareholders’ money in the shares of other companies.
Net asset value (NAV) total return (investment trusts):
The theoretical total return on shareholders’ funds per share reflecting the change in Net Asset Value (NAV) assuming that dividends paid to shareholders were reinvested at NAV at the time the shares were quoted ex-dividend. A way of measuring investment management performance of investment trusts which is not affected by movements in discounts/premiums.
Portfolio
A grouping of financial assets such as equities, bonds, commodities, properties or cash. Also often called a ‘fund’.
Share price total return (investment trusts)
The theoretical total return to the investor assuming that all dividends received were reinvested in the shares of the company at the time the shares were quoted ex-dividend. Transaction costs are not taken into account.
Small caps
Companies with a valuation (market capitalisation) within a certain scale, e.g. $300 million to $2 billion in the US, although these measures are generally an estimate. Small-cap stocks tend to offer the potential for faster growth than their larger peers, but with greater volatility.
Tariffs
A tax or duty imposed by a government on goods imported from other countries.
Valuation metrics
Metrics used to gauge a company’s performance, financial health and expectations for future earnings, eg. price to earnings (P/E) ratio and return on equity (ROE).
Volatility
The rate and extent at which the price of a portfolio, security, or index, moves up and down. If the price swings up and down with large movements, it has high volatility. If the price moves more slowly and to a lesser extent, it has lower volatility. The higher the volatility, the higher the risk of the investment.
