A bond backed by a pool of mortgages. These bonds are issued by the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac). These bonds pay out both interest and principal on a semiannual basis. |||The pool is made up of residential mortgages. If the mortgage is paid off at a faster than anticipated rate, the investor will still receive the entire principal amount of their investment.
A ballot cast by one person on behalf of another. One of the benefits of being a shareholder is the right to vote on on certain corporate matters. Since most shareholders cannot or do not want to attend the annual and special meetings at which the voting occurs, corporations provide shareholders with the option to cast a proxy vote. Shareholders receive a proxy ballot in the mail along with an informational booklet called a proxy statement describing the issues to be voted on. Shareholders return a form by mail agreeing to have their vote cast by proxy. Issues commonly decided by proxy vote include electing directors to the board, approving a merger or acquisition, and approving a stock compensation plan. Taobiz explains Proxy Vote Registered investment management companies also cast proxy votes for the securities in their portfolios. For example, Fidelity Investments' mutual funds are shareholders in numerous corporations. As such, Fidelity casts proxy votes on behalf of its mutual fund shareholders.
A type of dividend to which capital gains tax rates are applied. These tax rates are usually lower than regular income tax rates. Taobiz explains Qualified Dividend Ordinary dividends that do not qualify for this tax preference are taxed at an individual's normal income tax rate. In order to qualify: 1. The dividend must have been paid by an American company or a qualifying foreign company. 2. The dividends are not listed with the IRS as dividends that do not qualify. 3. The required dividend holding period has been met.
A guaranteed income bond (GIB) is an investment tool that provides income in the form of interest over a specified time period, usually between 6 months and 10 years. These bonds are issued by life insurance companies in the United Kingdom and are generally considered a low-risk investment. You can typically choose how frequently you want the payments, such as monthly, quarterly or yearly. |||Guaranteed income bonds provide investors with fixed periodic interest payments so the investor knows what to expect in terms of return on their investment. The initial capital investment is guaranteed to be safe under most circumstances and is returned at the end of the investment period.
A stock valuation system that uses over 100 variables in seven major categories to determine the value of a stock. The overall score for a particular stock is determined by a weighted average of all 100 variables. Taobiz explains Quadrix The seven categories of variables used in quadrix are momentum, quality, value, financial strength, forecasted earnings, performance, and volume.
A type of bond in which the interest and principal on the bond are guaranteed to be paid by a firm other than the issuer of the bond. |||This guarantee limits the impact on bondholders if the issuer of the bond goes into default. For example, in Canada, bonds issued by crown corporations are guaranteed by the federal government. If the issuer defaults on the debt obligation, the government is on the hook for the interest and principal payments.
The ticker symbol for the Nasdaq 100 Trust, an ETF that trades on the Nasdaq. This security offers broad exposure to the tech sector by tracking the Nasdaq 100 Index, which consists of the 100 largest and most actively traded non-financial stocks on the Nasdaq. It is also known as "cubes" or the "quadruple-Qs". This was formerly known as the QQQ. Taobiz explains QQQQ The QQQQ is a great way to invest in the long-term prospects of the technology industry. It offers diversification across various companies and business types with a range of market caps.
Fees charged by mortgage-backed securities (MBS) providers, such as Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, to lenders for bundling, servicing, selling and reporting MBS to investors. The main component of the guarantee fee is charged to protect against credit-related losses in the mortgage portfolio (think of it like MBS insurance), but small sub-fees are also deducted to cover internal expenses for such services as: -Managing and administering the securitized mortgage pools -Selling the MBS to investors -Reporting to investors and the SEC -Maintaining the MBS on the open market, and selling, general and administrative expense |||Commonly known in the industry as "g-fees", this small deduction (the average is 15-25 basis points in relation to the stated coupon rate) allows the corporations selling the MBS to make a profit, while benefiting both mortgage lenders and borrowers by making groups of mortgages more marketable and liquid. This helps bring investor capital into the business, allowing all participants to lower their risk exposure and enabling them to offer mortgages to borrowers of lower credit quality. The coupon rate on an MBS (also known as the pass-through rate) is the average rate on the underlying mortgages minus the guarantee fees.