AAA
» The highest rating awarded by various bond agencies. It indicates that an investment is extremely safe and there is very little risk of default.

 Absolute Priority Rule
» The absolute priority rule is the rule used in bankruptcy proceedings which states that creditors' claims take priority over shareholders' claims in the event of liquidation.

 Absorbed
» A business that is merged into another company due to an acquisition. Can also mean something that is treated as an expense instead of being passed on to the customer.

 Accelerated Cost Recovery System
» A depreciation schedule used for tax purposes. Abbreviated as ACRS.

 Accounts Receivable
» Money owed to a person or business by their customers.

 Accredited Investor
» A wealthy individual whom generally has a net worth of at least $1,000,000 or has an annual income of no less than $200,000. Some limited partnerships will only admit accredited investors.

 Accreted Value
» The price a bond would sell for if interest rates remained at their current level indefinitely.

 Accrual Bond
» Same as a zero-coupon bond. An issue in which the interest is added to the principle and not paid to the bond holder until maturity.

 Accumulate
» A term that has a slightly different definition depending upon who is using it. Accumulate is a "rating" by either a broker or an analyst, which means that shares in a company should not be liquidated or sold, but an investor should add more shares to their portfolio if they have the chance. It can be read as a very weak buy recommendation.

 Acid-Test Ratio
» Another name for the "quick ratio". It is used to measure how easily a company could be liquidated, and therefore help financial institutions decide upon how credit worthy the company is. It is found by taking a company's quick assets [those that can be converted to cash in a short amount of time] subtracted by current liabilities.

 Acquisition
» When a company buys another company.

 ACRS
» An abbreviation for Accelerated Cost Recovery System. It is a depreciation schedule used for tax purposes.

 Action to Quiet Title
» An Action to Quiet Title action by the court that establishes ownership of property.

 Active Asset
» Any asset that is used in the day-to-day operations of a business..

 Active Box
» Active Box is a term used to describe securities that are being held as collateral for an investor's margin positions. In the event of default, they can be used to satisfy the balance of the loan.

 Active Portfolio Strategy
» A portfolio in which the manager uses financial and economic indicators along with various other tools to forecast the market and achieve higher gains than a buy-and-hold [passive] portfolio.

 Adjusted Basis
» A tool used to calculate the gain or loss when a security or asset is sold. It reflects any improvement or adverse event the investment may have been subject to.

 Adverse Selection
» A situation in which the buyer or seller knows something about the product quality or condition that the other does not know.

 Affiliate
» A term used to describe the relationship between two companies in which one owns a substantial, but not controlling, amount of the voting stock. Can also mean when two companies are both subsidiaries of a third company.

 After Hours Trading
» After Hours Trading is a term that refers to securities being traded after regular business hours on the major exhanges.

 Aggressive Growth
» A strategy of investing that prefers higher risk in return for higher potential profit. Many mutual funds invest with this model.

 Aging Schedule
» A system in which accounts receivable are broken down into date due [e.g., 30-day, 60-day, 90-day, etc...]