Definition of IMF

IMF

See International Monetary Fund.

International Monetary Fund (IMF)

Organization originally established to manage the postwar fixed exchange rate system.

Bretton Woods Agreement

An agreement signed by the original United Nations members in 1944 that
established the International Monetary Fund (imf) and the post-World War II international monetary system
of fixed exchange rates.

Special drawing rights (SDR)

A form of international reserve assets, created by the imf in 1967, whose
value is based on a portfolio of widely used currencies.

Bretton Woods

Site of a 1944 international monetary conference at which the postwar fixed exchange rate system was structured and the International Monetary Fund (imf) and World Bank were created.

SDR

Special drawing right, the name given to the "currency" of the imf.

Annual fund operating expenses

For investment companies, the management fee and "other expenses,"
including the expenses for maintaining shareholder records, providing shareholders with financial statements,
and providing custodial and accounting services. For 12b-1 funds, selling and marketing costs are included.

Balanced fund

An investment company that invests in stocks and bonds. The same as a balanced mutual fund.

Balanced mutual fund

This is a fund that buys common stock, preferred stock and bonds. The same as a
balanced fund.

Bank for International Settlements (BIS)

An international bank headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, which
serves as a forum for monetary cooperation among several European central banks, the Bank of Japan, and the
U.S. Federal Reserve System. Founded in 1930 to handle the German payment of World War I reparations, it
now monitors and collects data on international banking activity and promulgates rules concerning
international bank regulation.

Beta (Mutual Funds)

The measure of a fund's or stocks risk in relation to the market. A beta of 0.7 means
the fund's total return is likely to move up or down 70% of the market change; 1.3 means total return is likely
to move up or down 30% more than the market. Beta is referred to as an index of the systematic risk due to
general market conditions that cannot be diversified away.

Beta equation (Mutual Funds)

The beta of a fund is determined as follows:
[(n) (sum of (xy)) ]-[ (sum of x) (sum of y)]
[(n) (sum of (xx)) ]-[ (sum of x) (sum of x)]
where: n = # of observations (36 months)
x = rate of return for the S&P 500 Index
y = rate of return for the fund

Bond agreement

A contract for privately placed debt.

Cash deficiency agreement

An agreement to invest cash in a project to the extent required to cover any cash
deficiency the project may experience.

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.

Concession agreement

An understanding between a company and the host government that specifies the
rules under which the company can operate locally.

Cost of funds

Interest rate associated with borrowing money.

Dividend yield (Funds)

Indicated yield represents return on a share of a mutual fund held over the past 12
months. Assumes fund was purchased 1 year ago. Reflects effect of sales charges (at current rates), but not
redemption charges.

Domestic International Sales Corporation (DISC)

A U.S. corporation that receives a tax incentive for
export activities.

Double-tax agreement

agreement between two countries that taxes paid abroad can be offset against
domestic taxes levied on foreign dividends.

Employee stock fund

A firm-sponsored program that enables employees to purchase shares of the firm's
common stock on a preferential basis.

Endowment funds

Investment funds established for the support of institutions such as colleges, private
schools, museums, hospitals, and foundations. The investment income may be used for the operation of the
institution and for capital expenditures.

Equity contribution agreement

An agreement to contribute equity to a project under certain specified
conditions.

European Monetary System (EMS)

An exchange arrangement formed in 1979 that involves the currencies
of European Union member countries.

Federal funds

Non-interest bearing deposits held in reserve for depository institutions at their district Federal
Reserve Bank. Also, excess reserves lent by banks to each other.

Federal funds market

The market where banks can borrow or lend reserves, allowing banks temporarily
short of their required reserves to borrow reserves from banks that have excess reserves.

Federal funds rate

This is the interest rate that banks with excess reserves at a Federal Reserve district bank
charge other banks that need overnight loans. The Fed funds rate, as it is called, often points to the direction
of U.S. interest rates.

Fiscal agency agreement

An alternative to a bond trust deed. Unlike the trustee, the fiscal agent acts as an
agent of the borrower.

Forward Fed funds

Fed funds traded for future delivery.

Forward rate agreement (FRA)

agreement to borrow or lend at a specified future date at an interest rate
that is fixed today.

Fund family

Set of funds with different investment objectives offered by one management company. In many
cases, investors may move their assets from one fund to another within the family at little or no cost.

Fundamental analysis

Security analysis that seeks to detect misvalued securities by an analysis of the firm's
business prospects. Research analysis often focuses on earnings, dividend prospects, expectations for future
interest rates, and risk evaluation of the firm.

Fundamental beta

The product of a statistical model to predict the fundamental risk of a security using not
only price data but other market-related and financial data.

Fundamental descriptors

In the model for calculating fundamental beta, ratios in risk indexes other than
market variability, which rely on financial data other than price data.

Funded debt

Debt maturing after more than one year.

Funding ratio

The ratio of a pension plan's assets to its liabilities.

Funding risk

Related: interest rate risk

Funds From Operations (FFO)

Used by real estate and other investment trusts to define the cash flow from
trust operations. It is earnings with depreciation and amortization added back. A similar term increasingly
used is funds Available for Distribution (FAD), which is FFO less capital investments in trust property and
the amortization of mortgages.

Global fund

A mutual fund that can invest anywhere in the world, including the U.S.

Hedge fund

A fund that may employ a variety of techniques to enhance returns, such as both buying and
shorting stocks based on a valuation model.

High-coupon bond refunding

Refunding of a high-coupon bond with a new, lower coupon bond.

Income fund

A mutual fund providing for liberal current income from investments.

Index fund

Investment fund designed to match the returns on a stockmarket index.

Interest rate agreement

An agreement whereby one party, for an upfront premium, agrees to compensate the
other at specific time periods if a designated interest rate (the reference rate) is different from a predetermined
level (the strike rate).

International Bank for Reconstruction and Development - IBRD or World Bank

international Bank for Reconstruction and Development makes loans at nearly conventional terms to countries for projects of high
economic priority.

International Banking Facility (IBF)

international Banking Facility. A branch that an American bank
establishes in the United States to do Eurocurrency business.

International bonds

A collective term that refers to global bonds, Eurobonds, and foreign bonds.

International Depository Receipt (IDR)

A receipt issued by a bank as evidence of ownership of one or more
shares of the underlying stock of a foreign corporation that the bank holds in trust. The advantage of the IDR
structure is that the corporation does not have to comply with all the regulatory issuing requirements of the
foreign country where the stock is to be traded. The U.S. version of the IDR is the American Depository
Receipt (ADR).

International diversification

The attempt to reduce risk by investing in the more than one nation. By
diversifying across nations whose economic cycles are not perfectly correlated, investors can typically reduce
the variability of their returns.

International finance subsidiary

A subsidiary incorporated in the U.S., usually in Delaware, whose sole
purpose was to issue debentures overseas and invest the proceeds in foreign operations, with the interest paid
to foreign bondholders not subject to U.S. withholding tax. The elimination of the corporate withholding tax
has ended the need for this type of subsidiary.

International Fisher effect

States that the interest rate differential between two countries should be an
unbiased predictor of the future change in the spot rate.

International fund

A mutual fund that can invest only outside the United States.

International market

Related: See external market.

International Monetary Fund

An organization founded in 1944 to oversee exchange arrangements of
member countries and to lend foreign currency reserves to members with short-term balance of payment
problems.

International Monetary Market (IMM)

A division of the CME established in 1972 for trading financial
futures. Related: Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME).

Liability funding strategies

Investment strategies that select assets so that cash flows will equal or exceed
the client's obligations.

Load fund

A mutual fund with shares sold at a price including a large sales charge -- typically 4% to 8% of
the net amount indicated. Some "no-load" funds have distribution fees permitted by article 12b-1 of the
Investment Company Act; these are typically 0. 25%. A "true no-load" fund has neither a sales charge nor
Freddie Mac program, the aggregation that the fund purchaser receives some investment advice or other
service worthy of the charge.

London International Financial Futures Exchange (LIFFE)

A London exchange where Eurodollar futures
as well as futures-style options are traded.

Low-coupon bond refunding

Refunding of a low coupon bond with a new, higher coupon bond.

London International Financial Futures Exchange (LIFFE)

London exchange where Eurodollar futures as well as futures-style options are traded.

Match fund

A bank is said to match fund a loan or other asset when it does so by buying (taking) a deposit of
the same maturity. The term is commonly used in the Euromarket.

Monetary gold

Gold held by governmental authorities as a financial asset.

Monetary policy

Actions taken by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to influence the
money supply or interest rates.

Monetary / non-monetary method

Under this translation method, monetary items (e.g. cash, accounts
payable and receivable, and long-term debt) are translated at the current rate while non-monetary items (e.g.
inventory, fixed assets, and long-term investments) are translated at historical rates.

Money market fund

A mutual fund that invests only in short term securities, such as bankers' acceptances,
commercial paper, repurchase agreements and government bills. The net asset value per share is maintained at
$1. 00. Such funds are not federally insured, although the portfolio may consist of guaranteed securities
and/or the fund may have private insurance protection.

Mutual fund

Mutual funds are pools of money that are managed by an investment company. They offer
investors a variety of goals, depending on the fund and its investment charter. Some funds, for example, seek
to generate income on a regular basis. Others seek to preserve an investor's money. Still others seek to invest
in companies that are growing at a rapid pace. funds can impose a sales charge, or load, on investors when
they buy or sell shares. Many funds these days are no load and impose no sales charge. Mutual funds are
investment companies regulated by the Investment Company Act of 1940.
Related: open-end fund, closed-end fund.

Mutual fund theorem

A result associated with the CAPM, asserting that investors will choose to invest their
entire risky portfolio in a market-index or mutual fund.

Net advantage of refunding

The net present value of the savings from a refunding.

No load mutual fund

An open-end investment company, shares of which are sold without a sales charge.
There can be other distribution charges, however, such as Article 12B-1 fees. A true "no load" fund will have
neither a sales charge nor a distribution fee.

No-load fund

A mutual fund that does not impose a sales commission. Related: load fund

Nonrefundable

Not permitted, under the terms of indenture, to be refundable.

Note agreement

A contract for privately placed debt.

Objective (mutual fund)

The fund's investment strategy category as stated in the prospectus. There are
more than 20 standardized categories.

Open-end fund

Also called a mutual fund, an investment company that stands ready to sell new shares to the
public and to redeem its outstanding shares on demand at a price equal to an appropriate share of the value of
its portfolio, which is computed daily at the close of the market.

Overfunded pension plan

A pension plan that has a positive surplus (i.e., assets exceed liabilities).

Preferred stock agreement

A contract for preferred stock.

Prerefunded bond

Refunded bond.

Private Export Funding Corporation (PEFCO)

Company that mobilizes private capital for financing the
export of big-ticket items by U.S. firms by purchasing at fixed interest rates the medium- to long-term debt
obligations of importers of U.S. products.

Purchase agreement

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

Purchase fund

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

Pure index fund

A portfolio that is managed so as to perfectly replicate the performance of the market portfolio.

Raw material supply agreement

As used in connection with project financing, an agreement to furnish a
specified amount per period of a specified raw material.

Refundable

Eligible for refunding under the terms of indenture.

Refunded bond

Also called a prerefunded bond, one that originally may have been issued as a general
obligation or revenue bond but that is now secured by an "escrow fund" consisting entirely of direct U.S.
government obligations that are sufficient for paying the bondholders.

Refunding

The redemption of a bond with proceeds received from issuing lower-cost debt obligations
ranking equal to or superior to the debt to be redeemed.

Regional fund

A mutual fund that invests in a specific geographical area overseas, such as Asia or Europe.

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.

Revenue fund

A fund accounting for all revenues from an enterprise financed by a municipal revenue bond.

Revolving credit agreement

A legal commitment wherein a bank promises to lend a customer up to a
specified maximum amount during a specified period.

SIMEX (Singapore International Monetary Exchange)

A leading futures and options exchange in Singapore.

Single country fund

A mutual fund that invests in individual countries outside the United States.

Sinking fund requirement

A condition included in some corporate bond indentures that requires the issuer to
retire a specified portion of debt each year. Any principal due at maturity is called the balloon maturity.

Smithsonian agreement

A revision to the bretton woods international monetary system which was signed at
the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., U.S.A., in December 1971. Included were a new set of par
values, widened bands to +/- 2.25% of par, and an increase in the official value of gold to US$38.00 per ounce.

Standby agreement

In a rights issue, agreement that the underwriter will purchase any stock not purchased by investors.

Standstill agreements

Contracts where the bidding firm in a takeover attempt agrees to limit its holdings
another firm.

Stopping curve refunding rate

A refunding rate that falls on the stopping curve.

Surplus funds

Cash flow available after payment of taxes in the project.

Tax clawback agreement

An agreement to contribute as equity to a project the value of all previously
realized project-related tax benefits not already clawed back to the extent required to cover any cash
deficiency of the project.

Term Fed Funds

Fed funds sold for a period of time longer than overnight.

Throughput agreement

An agreement to put a specified amount of product per period through a particular
facility. For example, an agreement to ship a specified amount of crude oil per period through a particular
pipeline.

Tolling agreement

An agreement to put a specified amount of raw material per period through a particular
processing facility. For example, an agreement to process a specified amount of alumina into aluminum at a
particular aluminum plant.

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).

Two-fund separation theorem

The theoretical result that all investors will hold a combination of the riskfree
asset and the market portfolio.

Underfunded pension plan

A pension plan that has a negative surplus (i.e., liabilities exceed assets).

Unfunded debt

Debt maturing within one year (short-term debt). See: funded debt.

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