The highest historical price level reached by a security, commodity or index during trading. The record high is measured from when the instrument first starts trading and updates whenever the last record high is exceeded. The values for record highs are usually nominal, which means they do not account for inflation. Taobiz explains Record High All-time record highs typically represent significant price news for companies. Investors may be enticed to purchase stock, believing this company will continue to perform well in the future. Companies who constantly reach record highs quickly catch the eyes of prospective investors, while those who repeatedly hit record lows tend to scare off buyers.
The date established by an issuer of a security for the purpose of determining the holders who are entitled to receive a dividend or distribution. Taobiz explains Record Date On the record date, a company looks to see who its shareholders or "holders of record" are. Essentially, a date of record ensures the dividend checks get sent to the right people.
A reevaluation of a market index that involves adding and removing stocks and re-ranking existing stocks so that the index mirrors current market capitalization and style. The Russell indexes are well known for their annual reconstitution. To reconstitute the Russell indexes, all publicly traded stocks are ranked by market capitalization. Stocks that are ineligible for inclusion in the indexes are weeded out, and the new indexes are formed. Taobiz explains Reconstitution Because many index funds track the Russell indexes, the Russell reconstitution has a ripple effect that changes the constitution of many index funds and affects investors' holdings and the prices of many stocks. Some advanced investors, particularly hedge-fund mangers, try to profit from the impending changes by guessing which stocks will be added, removed or switched to a different index and trading in those stocks. Russell's transparent stock-picking methodology makes educated guesses about these changes possible.
1. An evaluation of a corporate or municipal bond's relative safety from an investment standpoint. Basically, it scrutinizes the issuer's ability to repay principal and make interest payments. 2. An analyst's recommendation on whether to buy, sell or hold a specific stock. Taobiz explains Rating Bonds are rated by various organizations such as S&P and Moody's. Ratings range from AAA or Aaa (the highest), to C or D, which represents a company that has already defaulted.
The theory that stock price changes have the same distribution and are independent of each other, so the past movement or trend of a stock price or market cannot be used to predict its future movement. Taobiz explains Random Walk Theory In short, this is the idea that stocks take a random and unpredictable path. A follower of the random walk theory believes it's impossible to outperform the market without assuming additional risk. Critics of the theory, however, contend that stocks do maintain price trends over time - in other words, that it is possible to outperform the market by carefully selecting entry and exit points for equity investments. This theory raised a lot of eyebrows in 1973 when author Burton Malkiel wrote "A Random Walk Down Wall Street", which remains on the top-seller list for finance books.
Exchange-traded funds that invest the majority of assets in equity REIT securities and related derivatives. REIT ETFs are passively managed around an index of publicly traded real estate owners; indexes may vary from provider to provider but two popular benchmarks are the MSCI U.S. REIT Index and the Dow Jones U.S. REIT Index, both of which cover about two-thirds of the aggregate value of the publicly-traded REIT market domestically. REIT ETFs are characterized by their above-average dividend yields. Watch: Understanding ETF Taobiz explains REIT ETF REIT securities have traits of both equities and fixed income securities; high dividend yields provide consistent income (REITS must pay out the majority of profits to investors each year), but valuations can swing along with the equity market. Investors should read prospectus materials closely when researching REIT ETFs; many different indexes with a variety of focuses (commercial mortgages, high-risk mortgages etc.) exist.
Using dividends, interest and capital gains earned in an investment or mutual fund to purchase additional shares or units, rather than receiving the distributions in cash. 1. In terms of stocks, it is the reinvestment of dividends to purchase additional shares. 2. In terms of mutual funds, it is the reinvestment of distributions and dividends to purchase additional units of that fund. 3. In terms of tax gain/loss harvesting, it is the realization of losses to offset a capital gains liability. Taobiz explains Reinvestment This is definitely a great way to significantly increase the value of a stock or mutual fund. In the case of stocks, investors can use dividends to buy additional shares instead of receiving payments in cash.
An indicator of potential problems with a security. Most often used to refer to a stock, a red flag can be any undesirable characteristic that stands out to an analyst. There is no universal standard for identifying red flags; the method used will depend on the investment methodology being employed. Taobiz explains Red Flag A red flag is anything that marks a stock as undesirable. Because there are many different methods used to pick stocks, there are many different types of red flags. What is a red flag for one person might even be considered desirable by another. For example, low institutional ownership might be a positive for someone looking for undiscovered companies, but a negative for a pension fund that searches out blue chips.