Glossary
A | |
Active Share | The active share measures the extent to which the holdings of an equity portfolio differ from the benchmark. The ratio can take values between 0 and 1, where 0 is a complete match between the portfolio and the benchmark and 1 where is no overlap between the portfolio and the benchmark. The higher the Active Share, the more active the fund manager. |
Accumulating | Accumulating funds reinvest the income generated, i.e. they keep it permanently in the fund assets. They thus increase the unit value. |
Annual/semi annual report | A asset management company must publish two reports on each
The annual report must be published within four months of the end |
B | |
Benchmark | A benchmark is a comparative standard for measuring the investment performance of a fund. Usually, a market-relevant stock or bond index serves as a benchmark. |
Beta | The beta measures the volatility of a fund in relation to the benchmark. A beta of 0 means that there is no dependency. If the beta fluctuates between 0 and 1, the price change of the share is on average less than that of the benchmark. A beta greater than 1 indicates that the price change of the security is on average higher than that of the benchmark. |
BVI method | The BVI method is a method of calculating the performance of investment funds. The performance is the percentage change between the assets at the beginning of the investment period and their value at the end of the investment period. Distributions are mathematically invested immediately in new fund units. This makes the performance of distributing and accumulating funds comparable. |
C | |
Custodian fees | Custody fees are charged by banks or fund companies for managing an investor's securities account. |
D | |
Distribution | Distributing funds pay out the income generated to investors as a Opposite: Accumulation |
Drawdown | Drawdown measures the loss of an investment from its historical high. |
E | |
Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) | Exchange traded funds (ETFs) are traded on the stock exchange. Basic information on funds: see Investment funds. |
Equity fund | Equity funds invest primarily in equities, i.e. shares in listed companies. Basic information on funds: see Investment funds. |
F | |
Fund of Funds | Funds of funds invest their assets in other funds, the so-called "target funds". For basic information on funds, see Investment funds. |
G | |
H | |
I | |
Information Ratio | The information ratio expresses the ratio of additional returns generated to the extra risk involved. The over or underperformance of the fund relative to its performance comparison index is divided by the tracking error. |
Investment fund | Investors receive fund units in line with their deposit and do not have Investment funds differ in terms of
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Investment level | The investment level is calculated from the fund assets less the fund's cash reserve. It corresponds to the proportion of fund assets invested in securities, real estate or derivatives. |
ISIN | The international securities identification number ISIN uniquely The ISIN has twelve digits, the structure of which is defined in |
J | |
Jensen's Alpha | Jensen’s alpha is a risk adjusted measure of a fund's performance r elative to its performance comparison benchmark. Beta: A measure of the volatility of a fund relative to its performance comparison index, i.e. how sensitive the fund is to movements. |
K | |
L | |
M | |
Modified Duration | Simplification / modification of the duration formula. The modified duration indicates the percentage change in a bond price due to a 1 percent change in market interest rates. |
N | |
Net asset value | The net asset value of an investment fund is the sum of all valued assets less all liabilities. |
O | |
Ombudsman for investment funds | The ombudsman's office for investment funds offers consumers an out-of-court, neutral arbitration procedure in the event of a dispute with a capital management company. The procedure is free of charge for consumers. |
P | |
P/B ratio | The price/book ratio is a key figure for the valuation of shares. The price-to-book ratio puts the market price of a share in relation to the book value of the share. The price-to-book ratio is a substance-oriented indicator that shows how expensive a share is on the stock market compared to its book value. |
P/CF ratio | This indicator shows the ratio of the share price to the cash flow per share. The price/cash flow is used to assess the development of a company's earning power in the future and to compare different companies with each other. |
Performance | The performance is the arithmetical result of an investment over Distributions are usually regarded as reinvested, i.e. they are used Annualized performance: average annual performance according Cumulative performance: total absolute performance calculated |
Performance fee | A fund manager may receive additional performance-based compensation if the investment fund it manages meets or exceeds certain targets. |
Q | |
R | |
Rankings | Rankings sort investment funds with the same or very similar investment focus according to mathematical criteria and thus put them in an orderly sequence. This is based on historical data. In the case of investment funds, these are often performance or volatility. |
Rating | A rating is a forward-looking forecast of the quality and reliability of a company, borrower or investment vehicle, such as a bank, government, private borrower or investment fund. |
Redemption price | The redemption price is the value of a share class. It is calculated by dividing the fund assets by the number of share classes issued. |
Risk/return profile | The risk-return profile is the ratio of the expected capital gain to the risk of the investment. |
S | |
Share class | An investment fund may issue different types of share classes with different ISIN/securities identification numbers. The share classes may differ, for example, in the fee structure or the currency of the unit. |
Sharpe Ratio | Sharpe ratio is the measure of risk-adjusted return of an investment. divided by the volatility of the returns. |
T | |
TER | The total expense ratio describes the total costs and fees of a fund as a percentage of the average fund assets within a fiscal year. All costs charged to the fund assets are taken into account, with the exception of transaction costs. |
Tracking Error | A measure of how much a fund’s returns deviate from those of its performance comparison index. The lower the number the closer the fund’s historic performance has followed that of its performance comparison index. |
U | |
UCITS | In the European area, UCITS stands for "Undertakings for Collective UCITS are allowed to invest in the following assets within respective
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V | |
Volatility | Volatility is the degree of variation of a security price or index around its mean over a fixed period of time. A security is referred to as volatile when its price fluctuates sharply. |
W | |
WKN | The securities identification number is a six-digit unique identifier for securities in Germany. It is used alongside the international identification number ISIN. |
X | |
Y | |
Yield To Worst (YTW) | YTW is a ratio of callable bonds. It is usually used when the market interest rate is lower than the coupon and the issuer can terminate the bond because it can obtain financing on the market at a lower price. In such cases, YTW indicates the worst expected yield, i.e. the yield of the worst case. |
Z |