Investment Terms
Shares / Stocks
Ownership of a company that can be determined by quantity. You can own 1,000 shares of HSBC Bank
Preferred or Preference Stocks / Shares
Second in rank to the ownership of the company, behind common stockholders or shareholders. Owners typically receive a fixed or high dividend payout
Equities
Same as shares. It originates from an accounting term (equities, liabilities, assets). Can be considered an asset class
Bonds
A loan with terms such as interest rate (%) and period (years)
Debts
Same as bonds. Corporate / accounting term
Debentures
A legal document to describe bonds & debts
Fixed Income
Investments that gives regular payout such as bonds and preferred shares
Money Market
Short-term investment in deposits, bonds or loans that can be easily converted to cash and is typically less than 1 year
Example: Fixed Deposits, Demand Deposits, Term Deposits, Certificate of Deposits, Government Bonds, High Quality Corporate Bonds
Real Estate
Land and properties. Common zoning includes residential, commercial, office, agricultural, industrial
Commodities
Goods or resources that can be traded
Example: Gold, Silver, Iron Ore, Soybean, Palm Oil, Coffee, Oil, Gas
Hedge Funds
Investments that are unregulated where the funds to be invested anywhere, anyhow
Example: Leveraged, long / short, arbitrage on equities, bonds, commodities, interest rates, futures, FX. Usually offered only to accredited investors
Asset Class
Investment grouping
Example: Equities, Fixed Income, Money Market, Real Estate, Commodities, Hedge Funds
Unit Trust
A portfolio of investments divided into units. The portfolio is placed under a trust* (a legal term). Hence the term Unit Trust. Investors invest into the units
Mutual Funds
A portfolio of investments managed by a company. Investors invest into the company
Currencies
Money in respective countries
CNY is China currency, SGD is Singapore currency, HKD is Hong Kong currency
Forex
Where you change a currency into another currency. Stands for Foreign Exchange
Foreign Exchange Rate
Exchange rate between two currencies
Eg. USD/SGD 1.30
Bitcoin
A virtual currency or cryptocurrency. Created online in 2008
REIT (Real Estate Investment Trusts)
A trust that allows investors to gain a stake in the rental profits of commercialised buildings.
WTI (West Texas Intermediate)
A grade of crude oil. It is one of the major oil price benchmark around the world, along with Brent Crude and Dubai Crude.
ETF (Exchange Traded Funds)
As its name suggests, it is a fund that is traded on an exchange. This is in contrast to certain funds that directly buy/sell its shares with its clients.
EBIT (Earnings before Interest and Taxes)
The earnings of a company before reducing any interest and taxes it has incurred.
EBITDA (Earnings before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization)
The same as EBIT, only that it does not include any depreciation and amortization the company incurred.