Definition of Term

Term

See term to maturity.

Term

This is usually the duration of a loan.

term

The period of time during which a financial contract – such as a GIC or a loan – is in force.

Term

The time period during which a policy is in force, or the time it takes for a policy to reach maturity.

Coefficient of determination

A measure of the goodness of fit of the relationship between the dependent and
independent variables in a regression analysis; for instance, the percentage of variation in the return of an
asset explained by the market portfolio return.

coefficient of determination

a measure of dispersion that
indicates the “goodness of fit” of the actual observations
to the least squares regression line; indicates what proportion
of the total variation in y is explained by the regression model

Credit Terms

Conditions under which credit is extended by a lender to a borrower.

Deterministic models

Liability-matching models that assume that the liability payments and the asset cash
flows are known with certainty. Related: Compare stochastic models

Disintermediation

Withdrawal of funds from a financial institution in order to invest them directly.

Euro-medium term note (Euro-MTN)

A non-underwritten Euronote issued directly to the market. Euro-
MTNs are offered continuously rather than all at once as a bond issue is. Most Euro-MTN maturities are
under five years.

Financial intermediaries

Institutions that provide the market function of matching borrowers and lenders or
traders.

financial intermediary

Firm that raises money from many small investors and provides financing to businesses or other
organizations by investing in their securities.

Financial Intermediary

Any institution, such as a bank, that takes deposits from savers and loans them to borrowers.

Financial Intermediation

The process whereby financial intermediaries channel funds from lender/savers to borrower/spenders.

Flexible Term

Optional periods of time which the conditions of a contract will be carried out.

Intermarket sector

spread The spread between the interest rate offered in two sectors of the bond market for
issues of the same maturity.

Intermarket spread swaps

An exchange of one bond for another based on the manager's projection of a
realignment of spreads between sectors of the bond market.

Intermediary

An independent third party that may act as a mediator during negotiations.

Intermediate Good

A good used in producing another good.

Intermediate-term

Typically 1-10 years.

Intermediation

Investment through a financial institution. Related: disintermediation.

Liquidity theory of the term structure

A biased expectations theory that asserts that the implied forward
rates will not be a pure estimate of the market's expectations of future interest rates because they embody a
liquidity premium.

Long-term

In accounting information, one year or greater.

Long-term assets

Value of property, equipment and other capital assets minus the depreciation. This is an
entry in the bookkeeping records of a company, usually on a "cost" basis and thus does not necessarily reflect
the market value of the assets.

Long-term debt

An obligation having a maturity of more than one year from the date it was issued. Also
called funded debt.

Long-term debt

A debt for which payments will be required for a period of more than
one year into the future.

Long Term Debt

Liability due in a year or more.

Long-term debt/capitalization

Indicator of financial leverage. Shows long-term debt as a proportion of the
capital available. Determined by dividing long-term debt by the sum of long-term debt, preferred stock and
common stockholder equity.

Long-term debt ratio

The ratio of long-term debt to total capitalization.

Long-term debt to equity ratio

A capitalization ratio comparing long-term debt to shareholders' equity.

Long-term financial plan

Financial plan covering two or more years of future operations.

Long-term liabilities

Amount owed for leases, bond repayment and other items due after 1 year.

LONG-TERM LIABILITIES

Bills that are payable in more than one year, such as a mortgage or bonds.

Long-term liabilities

Amounts owing after more than one year.

Longer-Term Fixed Assets

Assets having a useful life greater than one year but the duration of the 'long term' will vary with the context in which the term is applied.

Medium-term note

A corporate debt instrument that is continuously offered to investors over a period of
time by an agent of the issuer. Investors can select from the following maturity bands: 9 months to 1 year,
more than 1 year to 18 months, more than 18 months to 2 years, etc., up to 30 years.

Other long term liabilities

Value of leases, future employee benefits, deferred taxes and other obligations
not requiring interest payments that must be paid over a period of more than 1 year.

predetermined overhead rate

an estimated constant charge per unit of activity used to assign overhead cost to production or services of the period; it is calculated by dividing total budgeted annual overhead at a selected level of volume or activity by that selected measure of volume or activity; it is also the standard overhead application rate

Repayment Terms

The length of time given a borrower by a lender to repay a debt and the frequency of principal payments which the borrower has to meet.

Short-term financial plan

A financial plan that covers the coming fiscal year.

Short-term investment services

Services that assist firms in making short-term investments.

Short-term solvency ratios

Ratios used to judge the adequacy of liquid assets for meeting short-term
obligations as they come due, including
1) the current ratio,
2) the acid-test ratio,
3) the inventory turnover ratio, and
4) the accounts receivable turnover ratio.

Short-term tax exempts

Short-term securities issued by states, municipalities, local housing agencies, and
urban renewal agencies.

Term bonds

Often referred to as bullet-maturity bonds or simply bullet bonds, bonds whose principal is
payable at maturity. Related: serial bonds

Term Deposit

An interest-earning bank deposit that cannot be withdrawn without penalty until a specific time.

Term Fed Funds

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

Term insurance

Provides a death benefit only, no build-up of cash value.

Term Life

A product that provides life coverage for a specified duration typically not beyond the age of 75.

Term life insurance

A contract that provides a death benefit but no cash build-up or investment component.
The premium remains constant only for a specified term of years, and the policy is usually renewable at the
end of each term.

Term Life Insurance

A plan of insurance which covers the insured for only a certain period of time and not necessarily for his or her entire life. The policy pays a death benefit only if the insured dies during the term.

Term loan

A bank loan, typically with a floating interest rate, for a specified amount that matures in between
one and ten years and requires a specified repayment schedule.

Term Loan

A secured loan made to business concerns for a specific period (normally three to ten years). It is repaid with interest, usually with periodical payments.

Term premiums

Excess of the yields to maturity on long-term bonds over those of short-term bonds.

Term repo

A repurchase agreement with a term of more than one day.
term structure of interest rates
Relationship between interest rates on bonds of different maturities usually
depicted in the form of a graph often depicted as a yield curve. Harvey shows that inverted term structures
(long rates below short rates) have preceded every recession over the past 30 years.

Term Sheet

A list of the major points of the proposed financing being offered by an investor.

Term structure

The relationship between the yields on fixed-interest
securities and their maturity dates. Expectation of changes in interest rates
affects term structure, as do liquidity preferences and hedging pressure. A
yield curve is one representation in the term structure.

Term Structure of Interest Rates

Relationship among interest rates on bonds with different terms to maturity.

Term to maturity

The time remaining on a bond's life, or the date on which the debt will cease to exist and
the borrower will have completely paid off the amount borrowed. See: Maturity.

Term to Maturity

Period of time from the present to the redemption date of a bond.

Term trust

A closed-end fund that has a fixed termination or maturity date.

Terminal Illness Insurance (Credit Insurance)

Coverage that provides a lump-sum payment should you become terminally ill. The payment is made to your creditors to pay off your debt owing.

Terminal value

The value of a bond at maturity, typically its par value, or the value of an asset (or an entire
firm) on some specified future valuation date.

Terminate

Cease all legal obligations under a contract.

Termination Pay

Additional pay due to an employee whose employment is
being terminated, usually in accordance with a termination pay schedule contained
within the employee manual.

Terms of sale

Conditions on which a firm proposes to sell its goods services for cash or credit.

terms of sale

Credit, discount, and payment terms offered on a sale.

Terms of trade

The weighted average of a nation's export prices relative to its import prices.

Terms of Trade

The quantity of imports that can be obtained for a unit of exports, measured by the ratio of an export price index to an import price index.

Yearly Renewable Term Insurance

Sometimes, simply called YRT, this is a form of term life insurance that may be renewed annually without evidence of insurability to a stated age.

Abandonment option

The option of terminating an investment earlier than originally planned.

ABC Test

A test used to determine the status of an employee under a state unemployment
insurance program, where a person is a contractor only if there is
an Absence of control by the company, Business conducted by the employee is
substantially different from that of the company, and the person Customarily
works independently from the company.

Account

An explanation or report in financial terms about the transactions of an organization.

accounting

A broad, all-inclusive term that refers to the methods and procedures
of financial record keeping by a business (or any entity); it also
refers to the main functions and purposes of record keeping, which are
to assist in the operations of the entity, to provide necessary information
to managers for making decisions and exercising control, to measure
profit, to comply with income and other tax laws, and to prepare financial
reports.

Accounting Irregularities

Intentional misstatements or omissions of amounts or disclosures in
financial statements done to deceive financial statement users. The term is used interchangeably with fraudulent financial reporting.

accounts payable

Short-term, non-interest-bearing liabilities of a business
that arise in the course of its activities and operations from purchases on
credit. A business buys many things on credit, whereby the purchase
cost of goods and services are not paid for immediately. This liability
account records the amounts owed for credit purchases that will be paid
in the short run, which generally means about one month.

Accounts payable

Acurrent liability on the balance sheet, representing short-term obligations
to pay suppliers.

accounts receivable

Short-term, non-interest-bearing debts owed to a
business by its customers who bought goods and services from the business
on credit. Generally, these debts should be collected within a month
or so. In a balance sheet, this asset is listed immediately after cash.
(Actually the amount of short-term marketable investments, if the business
has any, is listed after cash and before accounts receivable.)
Accounts receivable are viewed as a near-cash type of asset that will be
turned into cash in the short run. A business may not collect all of its
accounts receivable. See also bad debts.

Accounts receivable

A current asset on the balance sheet, representing short-term
amounts due from customers who have purchased on account.

accrual-basis accounting

Well, frankly, accrual is not a good descriptive
term. Perhaps the best way to begin is to mention that accrual-basis
accounting is much more than cash-basis accounting. Recording only the
cash receipts and cash disbursement of a business would be grossly
inadequate. A business has many assets other than cash, as well as
many liabilities, that must be recorded. Measuring profit for a period as
the difference between cash inflows from sales and cash outflows for
expenses would be wrong, and in fact is not allowed for most businesses
by the income tax law. For management, income tax, and financial
reporting purposes, a business needs a comprehensive record-keeping
system—one that recognizes, records, and reports all the assets and liabilities
of a business. This all-inclusive scope of financial record keeping
is referred to as accrual-basis accounting. Accrual-basis accounting
records sales revenue when sales are made (though cash is received
before or after the sales) and records expenses when costs are incurred
(though cash is paid before or after expenses are recorded). Established
financial reporting standards require that profit for a period
must be recorded using accrual-basis accounting methods. Also, these
authoritative standards require that in reporting its financial condition a
business must use accrual-basis accounting.

accrued expenses payable

The account that records the short-term, noninterest-
bearing liabilities of a business that accumulate over time, such
as vacation pay owed to employees. This liability is different than
accounts payable, which is the liability account for bills that have been
received by a business from purchases on credit.

Accumulated Benefit Obligation (ABO)

An approximate measure of the liability of a plan in the event of a
termination at the date the calculation is performed. Related: projected benefit obligation.

accumulated depreciation

A contra, or offset, account that is coupled
with the property, plant, and equipment asset account in which the original
costs of the long-term operating assets of a business are recorded.
The accumulated depreciation contra account accumulates the amount of
depreciation expense that is recorded period by period. So the balance in
this account is the cumulative amount of depreciation that has been
recorded since the assets were acquired. The balance in the accumulated
depreciation account is deducted from the original cost of the assets
recorded in the property, plant, and equipment asset account. The
remainder, called the book value of the assets, is the amount included on
the asset side of a business.

acid test ratio (also called the quick ratio)

The sum of cash, accounts receivable, and short-term marketable
investments (if any) is divided by
total current liabilities to compute this ratio. Suppose that the short-term
creditors were to pounce on a business and not agree to roll over the
debts owed to them by the business. In this rather extreme scenario, the
acid test ratio reveals whether its cash and near-cash assets are enough
to pay its short-term current liabilities. This ratio is an extreme test that
is not likely to be imposed on a business unless it is in financial straits.
This ratio is quite relevant when a business is in a liquidation situation
or bankruptcy proceedings.

actual cost system

a valuation method that uses actual direct
material, direct labor, and overhead charges in determining
the cost of Work in Process Inventory

Agency basis

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.

Aggregate Production Function

An equation determining aggregate output as a function of aggregate inputs such as labor and capital.

algorithm

a logical step-by-step problem-solving technique
(generally requiring the use of a computer) that continuously
searches for an improved solution from the one previously
computed until the best answer is determined

Alpha equation

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

amortization

This term has two quite different meanings. First, it may
refer to the allocation to expense each period of the total cost of an
intangible asset (such as the cost of a patent purchased from the inventor)
over its useful economic life. In this sense amortization is equivalent
to depreciation, which allocates the cost of a tangible long-term operating
asset (such as a machine) over its useful economic life. Second, amortization
may refer to the gradual paydown of the principal amount of a debt.
Principal refers to the amount borrowed that has to be paid back to the
lender as opposed to interest that has to be paid for use of the principal.
Each period, a business may pay interest and also make a payment on
the principal of the loan, which reduces the principal amount of the loan,
of course. In this situation the loan is amortized, or gradually paid down.

Amortization

Reduction in value of an asset over some period for accounting
purposes. Generally used with intangible assets. Depreciation is the term used
with fixed or tangible assets.

Amortization

The write-off of an asset over the period when the asset is used. This term
is most commonly applied to the gradual write-down of intangible items, such as
goodwill or organizational costs.

Annuity

Periodic payments made to an individual under the terms of the policy.

Appraisal rights

A right of shareholders in a merger to demand the payment of a fair price for their shares, as
determined independently.

ARM

Adjustable rate mortgage. A mortgage that features predetermined adjustments of the loan interest rate
at regular intervals based on an established index. The interest rate is adjusted at each interval to a rate
equivalent to the index value plus a predetermined spread, or margin, over the index, usually subject to perinterval
and to life-of-loan interest rate and/or payment rate caps.

Asset pricing model

A model for determining the required rate of return on an asset.

Asset pricing model

A model, such as the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM), that determines the required
rate of return on a particular asset.

Assuris

Assuris is a not for profit organization that protects Canadian policyholders in the event that their life insurance company should become insolvent. Their role is to protect policyholders by minimizing loss of benefits and ensuring a quick transfer of their policies to a solvent company where their benefits will continue to be honoured. Assuris is funded by the life insurance industry and endorsed by government. If you are a Canadian citizen or resident, and you purchased a product from a member life insurance company in Canada, you are protected by Assuris.
All life insurance companies authorized to sell in Canada are required, by the federal, provincial and territorial regulators, to become members of Assuris. Members cannot terminate their membership as long as they are licensed to write business in Canada or have any in force business in Canada.
If your life insurance company fails, your policies will be transferred to a solvent company. Assuris guarantees that you will retain at least 85% of the insurance benefits you were promised. Insurance benefits include Death, Health Expense, Monthly Income and Cash Value. Your deposit type products will also be transferred to a solvent company. For these products, Assuris guarantees that you will retain 100% of your Accumulated Value up to $100,000. Deposit type products include accumulation annuities, universal life overflow accounts, premium deposit accounts and dividend deposit accounts. The key to Assuris protection is that it is applied to all benefits of a similar type. If you have more than one policy with the failed company, you will need to add together all similar benefits before applying the Assuris protection. The Assuris website can be found at www.assuris.ca.

Auction markets

Markets in which the prevailing price is determined through the free interaction of
prospective buyers and sellers, as on the floor of the stock exchange.

Average

An arithmetic mean of selected stocks intended to represent the behavior of the market or some
component of it. One good example is the widely quoted Dow Jones Industrial Average, which adds the
current prices of the 30 DJIA's stocks, and divides the results by a predetermined number, the divisor.

Back To Back Annuity

This term refers to the simultaneous issue of a life annuity with a non-guaranteed period and a guaranteed life insurance policy [usually whole life or term to 100]. The face value of the life insurance would be the same amount that was used to purchase the annuity. This combination of life annuity providing the highest payout of all types of annuities, along with a guaranteed life insurance policy allowed an uninsurable person to convert his/her RRSP into the best choice of annuity and guarantee that upon his/her death, the full value of the annuity would be paid tax free through the life insurance policy to his family members. However, in the early 1990's, the Federal tax authorities put a stop to the issuing of standard life rates to rated or uninsurable applicants. Insuring a life annuity in this manner is still an excellent way to provide guaranteed tax free funds to family members but the application for the annuity and the application for the life insurance are separate transactions and today, most likely conducted through two different insurance companies so that there is no suspicion of preferential treatment given to the life insurance application.

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