A service charge assessed by a broker or investment advisor in return for providing investment advice and/or handling the purchase or sale of a security. Most major, full-service brokerages derive most of their profits from charging commissions on client transactions. Commissions vary widely from brokerage to brokerage. Taobiz explains Commission The brokerage with the lowest commissions is not necessarily the best one. Discount brokerages offer no advice, which can prove to be troublesome for many rookie investors. On the other hand, full-service brokerages offer a more personalized service, but commissions are much higher. However, when commission is charged there is the potential for a conflict of interest to develop between brokerages and their clients. Because commission compensated brokers will not get paid very much if their clients do not conduct many transactions, unethical brokers may encourage clients to conduct more trades than necessary.
Someone who gets paid by the brokerage company for which he works for each order of securities he executes on a customer's behalf. The commission structure can encourage unethical behavior by unscrupulous commission brokers. For example, a dishonest commission broker may engage in a practice called churning, which means executing multiple trades in a customer's account for the sole purpose of generating more commissions. The additional trades do not benefit the customer. Taobiz explains Commission Broker A broker who charges a flat fee for his or her services rather than earning a commission based on order size has more incentive to put the customer's best interest first. A flat-fee broker will not have an incentive to push a customer into certain securities because they are paying a high commission. Instead, he or she will have an incentive to get the customer into the best-performing investments so the customer will be loyal to that broker and be a steady source of business.
1. A protective options strategy that is implemented after a long position in a stock has experienced substantial gains. It is created by purchasing an out of the money put option while simultaneously writing an out of the money call option. Also known as "hedge wrapper". 2. A general restriction on market activities. Taobiz explains Collar 1. The purchase of an out-of-the money put option is what protects the underlying shares from a large downward move and locks in the profit. The price paid to buy the puts is lowered by amount of premium that is collect by selling the out of the money call. The ultimate goal of this position is that the underlying stock continues to rise until the written strike is reached. 2. An example is a circuit breaker which is meant to prevent extreme losses (or gains) once an index reaches a certain level. Collars can protect you against massive losses, but they also prevent massive gains.
An investment strategy in which investors mimic the trades of well-known and historically successful investors. Taobiz explains Coattail Investing This copycat investing can be very good - why not follow the best? This investing strategy works the best when the money manager or institution being mimicked buys companies with a buy-and-hold mentality. If the manager is buying the company for a short period of time, the delay between the purchase and the release of the information to the public may render the particular purchase a bad one. However, many money managers buy companies with a buy-and-hold mindset.
An investment approach that places securities into groups based on the correlation found among their returns. Securities with high positive correlations are grouped together and segregated from those with negative correlation. Between each cluster, very little correlation should exist. Holding stocks in each cluster provides the investor with a diversified portfolio. Taobiz explains Cluster Analysis Cluster analysis enables the investor to eliminate any overlap in his or her portfolio by identifying securities with related returns. This approach increases diversification, which provides the investor will a less risky portfolio. Cluster analysis has uncovered certain categories of stocks, such as cyclical and growth stocks.
1. The end of a trading session. The closing of a trading day halts trading on exchanges. After-hours trading still occurs until 8 pm. 2. An action which will eliminate your position in a security. Closing a position is done by taking an action which will take away your exposure to risk. 3. The final procedure in a sale in which documents are signed and recorded. This is the time when the ownership of the property is transferred. Taobiz explains Closing 1. The close of the New York Stock Exchange is marked by ringing a bell at 4 pm EST. The closing price is often quoted and used when looking at historical prices. 2. For example if you own a stock, then you can close your position by selling it. 3. Closing is often referred to in sales as the act of convincing the purchaser to actually purchase, often seen as the toughest part.
The number of stocks which closed higher than their previous trade minus the number of stocks whose closing prices were lower than their previous trade. A positive closing tick means that there was buying at the close and indicates strength, the opposite is true for a down closing tick. Taobiz explains Closing Tick Those closing higher are called an uptick, while those closing lower are a downtick.
A security’s final regular-hours trading price for the day. Because of the forces of supply and demand, the previous day’s closing quote will not necessarily be the next day’s opening quote. The first trade of the next day will not occur until the first buyer and seller agree on a price. The closing quote is used to compare the change in the price of a security from day to day. Taobiz explains Closing Quote On most exchanges, securities are traded Monday through Friday, from 9:30am to 4pm EST - except for major holidays, when the exchanges are closed. For the NYSE and Nasdaq, these holidays are New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr., Day, President’s Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. The highest trading volume still occurs during regular trading hours. However, shares can also be traded pre-market and after hours.