Nonresident of the US alien (NRA)

Similar financial terms

Industry roll up
Special type of horizontal merger. In a roll up, the consolidator acquires a chunk of small companies with similar operations. Roll ups generally occur in fragmented industries with small, yet mature firms. The goal of the roll up is to achieve economies of scale in purchasing, marketing, information systems, logistics, distribution, and top management.

Adjusted R-Squared
A goodness-of-fit measure in multiple regression analysis that penalizes additional explanatory variables by using a degrees of freedom adjustment in estimating the error variance.

Ceteris paribus
Holding all other factors constant. latin.

Dow Jones Industrial Average
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is based on a portfolio consisting of 30 blue-chipi stocks in the United States. The weights given to the stocks are proportional to their prices.

Up on Unusual Volume
Refers to an increase in stock price for stocks exhibiting unusual volume.

USD
United States Dollar from the United States of America. Also used in American Samoa, British Virgin Islands, Ecuador, Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, Marshall Islands, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Panama (with Balboa), Puerto Rico, Turks and Caicos Islands, United States Minor Outlying Islands, US Virgin Islands.

The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States. It is also widely used as a reserve currency outside of the United States. Currently, the issu ...

USN
United States Dollar (next day). Traded currency.

USS
United States Dollar (same day). Traded currency (no longer used).

Zero-minus tick
Sale that takes place at the same price as the previous sale, but at a lower price than the last different price. Opposite of zero-plus tick.

Zero-plus tick
A zero-plus tick is a common name for listed equity securities whose the current transaction is at the same price as the preceding trade, but higher than the preceding trade at a different price. Antithesis of zero-minus tick.

Bon de souscription.
The French term for a stock purchase warrant.

Business cycles
The patterns of fluctuation in growth patterns experienced by business caused by overall econimoc and financial trends, competitive forces and the nature of supply and demand. Cycles are predictable in patterns but not always in durations.

Adjustable rate preferred stock (ARPS)
Publicly traded issues that may be collateralized by mortgages and MBSs.

Adjusted present value (APV)
The net present value analysis of an asset if financed solely by equity (present value of un-levered cash flows), plus the present value of any financing decisions (levered cash flows). In other words, the various tax shields provided by the deductibility of interest and the benefits of other investment tax credits are calculated separately. This analysis is often used for highly leveraged transactions such as a leverage buy-out.

Wire house
A firm operating a private wire to its own branch offices or to other firms, commission houses or brokerage houses.

Warehousing
The interim holding period from the time of the closing of a loan to its subsequent marketing to capital market investors.

Trust receipt
Receipt for goods that are to be held in trust for the lender.

Trust deed
Agreement between trustee and borrower setting out terms of bond.

Trade house
A firm which deals in actual commodities.

Term trust
A closed-end fund that has a fixed termination or maturity date.

Synchronous data
Data available at the same time. In testing option-pricing models, the price of the option and of the underlying should be synchronous, representing the same moment in the market.

Sustainable growth rate
Maximum rate of growth a firm can sustain without increasing financial leverage.

Sushi bond
A eurobond issued by a Japanese corporation.

Surplus funds
Cash flow available after payment of taxes in the project.

Subordination clause
A provision in a bond indenture that restricts the issuer's future borrowing by subordinating the new lender's claims on the firm to those of the existing bond holders.

Statutory surplus
The surplus of an insurance company determined by the accounting treatment of both assets and liabilities as established by state statutes.

Safety cushion
In a contingent immunization strategy, the difference between the initially available immunization level and the safety-net return.

Risk-adjusted return
Return earned on an asset normalized for the amount of risk associated with that asset.

Risk-adjusted profitability
A probability used to determine a "sure" expected value (sometimes called a certainty equivalent) that would be equivalent to the actual risky expected value.

REIT (real estate investment trust)
Real estate investment trust, which is similar to a closed-end mutual fund. REITs invest in real estate or loans secured by real estate and issue shares in such investments.

Regulatory surplus
The surplus as measured using regulatory accounting principles (RAP) which may allow the non-market valuation of assets or liabilities and which may be materially different from economic surplus.

Redemption cushion
The percentage by which the conversion value of a convertible security exceeds the redemption price (strike price).

Public warehouse
Warehouse operated by an independent warehouse company on its own premises.

Prospectus
Formal written document to sell securities that describes the plan for a proposed business enterprise, or the facts concerning an existing one, that an investor needs to make an informed decision. Prospectuses are used by mutual funds to describe the fund objectives, risks and other essential information.

Preliminary prospectus
A preliminary version of a prospectus.

Plus
Dealers in government bonds normally give price quotes in 32nds. To quote a bid or offer in 64ths, they use pluses; a dealer who bids 4+ is bidding the handle plus 4/32 + 1/64, which equals the handle plus 9/64.

Personal trust
An interest in an asset held by a trustee for the benefit of another person.

Option-adjusted spread (OAS)
(a) The spread over an issuer's spot rate curve, developed as a measure of the yield spread that can be used to convert dollar differences between theoretical value and market price. (b) The cost of the implied call embedded in a MBS, defined as additional basis-yield spread. When added to the base yield spread of an MBS without an operative call produces the option-adjusted spread.

Omnibus account
An account carried by one futures commission merchant with another futures commission merchant in which the transactions of two or more persons are combined and carried in the name of the originating broker, rather than designated separately.

Nexus (of contracts)
A set or collection of something.

Net adjusted present value
The adjusted present value minus the initial cost of an investment.

Negative pledge clause
A bond covenant that requires the borrower to grant lenders a lien equivalent to any liens that may be granted in the future to any other currently unsecured lenders.

Mutually exclusive investment decisions
Investment decisions in which the acceptance of a project precludes the acceptance of one or more alternative projects.

Multicurrency clause
Such a clause on a Euro loan permits the borrower to switch from one currency to another currency on a rollover date.

Manufactured housing securities (MHSs)
Loans on manufactured homes - that is, factory-built or prefabricated housing, including mobile homes.

Mangement's discussion
A report from management to the shareholders that accompanies the firm's financial statements in the annual report. This report explains the period's financial results and enables management to discuss other ideas that may not be apparent in the financial statements in the annual report.

Discretionary trust
Discretionary trusts are one of the most flexible trust funds. Once the assets are transferred to the trust fund, the transferor no longer have legal rights to, or ownership of, them. However, the transferor can maintain control by appointing the trustee. The capital the transferor puts into the trust stays there until the time stipulated by the transferor for funds to be paid out or until such time as the trustees decide to do so.

Business ethics
The application of moral standards to business situations.

Basic business strategies
Key strategies a firm intends to pursue in carrying out its business plan.

Block house
Brokerage firms that help to find potential buyers or sellers of large block trades.

Business cycle
Repetitive cycles of economic expansion and recession.

Business failure
A business that has terminated with a loss to creditors.

Business risk
The risk that the cash flow of an issuer will be impaired because of adverse economic conditions, making it difficult for the issuer to meet its operating expenses.

Capital surplus
Amounts of directly contributed equity capital in excess of the par value.

Circus swap
A fixed rate currency swap against floating U.S. dollar LIBOR payments.

Clearing House Automated Payments System (CHAPS)
A computerized clearing system for sterling funds that began operations in 1984. It includes 14 member banks, nearly 450 participating banks, and is one of the clearing companies within the structure of the Association for Payment Clearing Services (APACS).

Clearing House Interbank Payments System (CHIPS)
An international wire transfer system for high-value payments operated by a group of major banks.

Clearing House
An adjunct to a futures exchange through which transactions executed its floor are settled by a process of matching purchases and sales. A clearing organization is also charged with the proper conduct of delivery procedures and the adequate financing of the entire operation.

Cluster analysis
A statistical technique that identifies clusters of stocks whose returns are highly correlated within each cluster and relatively uncorrelated between clusters. Cluster analysis has identified groupings such as growth, cyclical, stable and energy stocks.

Collateral trust bonds
A bond in which the issuer (often a holding company) grants investors a lien on stocks, notes, bonds, or other financial asset as security.

Commission house
A firm which buys and sells future contracts for customer accounts.

Consensus forecast
The mean of all financial analysts' forecasts for a company.

Continuous compounding
The process of accumulating the time value of money forward in time on a continuous, or instantaneous, basis. Interest is earned continuously, and at each instant, the interest that accrues immediately begins earning interest on itself.

Continuous random variable
A random value that can take any fractional value within specified ranges, as contrasted with a discrete variable.

Cumulative Translation Adjustment (CTA) account
An entry in a translated balance sheet in which gains and/or losses from translation have been accumulated over a period of years. The CTA account is required under the FASB No. 52 rule.

Cushion bonds
High-coupon bonds that sell at only at a moderate premium because they are callable at a price below that at which a comparable non-callable bond would sell. Cushion bonds offer considerable downside protection in a falling market.

Custodial fees
Fees charged by an institution that holds securities in safekeeping for an investor.

Customary payout ratios
A range of payout ratios that is typical based on an analysis of comparable firms.

Customized benchmarks
A benchmark that is designed to meet a client's requirements and long-term objectives.

Hush money
Bribe; payment to keep someone quiet

Risk-adjusted return on capital (RAROC)
Measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis. Calculated as the economic return divided by economic capital. RAROC helps determine if a company has the right balance between capital, returns and risk. The central concept in RAROC is economic capital: the amount of capital a company should put aside needed based on the risk it runs.

Target surplus (or Tied Surplus)
The capital that must remain in a life company in order to support the business already on the books. Target surplus is an amount held over and above the reserves and is needed due to the uncertain nature of the level and timing of future insurance claims. This capital may not be used for dividend payouts to shareholders.

Away from us
Used in context of general equities, to characterize role of a competing broker or dealer. Trading away from us signifies that stock is bought and/or sold with institutions using other trading firms.

Usury
Charge an excessive or inordinate interest rate on a loan.

Generation-skipping trust
A trust in which a principal amount is placed in a trust on the death of person A and is transferred to A's grandchildren when A's children die. However, the income generated from the trust while the children of person A are alive goes to the children of person A.

Focus group
A small group of people meet an interviewer to discuss a product, service or marketing policy. This provides insight into consumers` behaviours and attitudes.

Household income
The total level of income earned by all the households in the economy. This will be a significant part of the overall level of National Income.

Just-in-time
Just-in-time production is a system in which materials, parts and finished products are delivered at the precise time they are needed. This encourages lower stock holdings, shorter lead times, quicker supply chains, better customer contact and relations, greater efficiency and a more profit-focused organisation.

Adverse trustee
One who has a substantial, beneficial interest in the trust assets as well as the income or benefits derived from the trust. A trustee that is related to the creator by birth, marriage or in an employer/employee relationship.

Asset Protection Trust (APT)
A special form of irrevocable trust, usually created (settled) offshore for the principal purposes of preserving and protecting part of one's wealth offshore against creditors. Title to the asset is transferred to a person named the trustee. Generally used for asset protection and usually tax neutral. Its ultimate function is to provide for the beneficiaries of the APT.

Custodian
A bank, financial institution or other entity that has the responsibility to manage or administer the custody or other safekeeping of assets for other persons or institutions.

Discretionary Trust
A grantor trust in which the trustee has complete discretion as to who among the class of beneficiaries receives income and/or principal distributions. There are no limits upon the trustee or it would cease to be a discretionary trust. The letter of wishes could provide some guidance to the trustee without having any legal and binding effects. Provides flexibility to the trustee and the utmost privacy.

Independent Trustee
A trustee who is independent of the settlor. Independence is generally defined as not being related to the settlor by blood, through marriage, by adoption or in an employer/employee relationship.

International Business Company (IBC)
An IBC is a corporation formed (incorporated) under a Company Act of a tax haven, but not authorized to do business within that country of incorporation; intended to be used for global operations. Owned by member(s)/shareholder(s). Has the usual corporate attributes.

Layered Trusts
Trusts placed in series where the beneficiary of the first trust is the second trust; used for privacy.

Pure Equity Trust
A special type of irrevocable trust marketed by promoters. The trust assets are obtained by an exchange of a certificate of beneficial interest in return for the assets, as opposed to traditional means, such as by gifting.

Pure Trust
A contractual trust as opposed to a statutory trust, created under the Common Law. A pure trust is one in which there must be a minimum of three parties(the creator or settlor (never grantor), the trustee and the beneficiary(and each is a separate entity. A pure trust is claimed to be a lawful, irrevocable, separate legal entity.

The Securities Industry Protection Corporation
Commonly named the SIPC. Provides up to $500,000 insurance protection for your U.S. stock brokerage account.

Trustee
A person totally independent of the settlor who has the fiduciary responsibility to the beneficiaries to manage the assets of the trust as a reasonable prudent business person would do in the same circumstances. Shall defer to the trust protector when required in the best interest of the trust. The trustee reporting requirements shall be defined at the onset and should include how often, to whom, how to respond to instructions or inquiries, global investment strategies, fees (flat and/or percent ...

Precious Metals
Refer to Gold, Palladium, Platinum and Silver from a futures or bullion trading perspective.

Precious Metals Lease
A vehicle or technique used to finance precious metals inventories. It is related to the term structure of precious metals prices.

Adjusted basis
The cost of property after adjustment for certain deductions or additions as permitted or prescribed by the U.S. tax laws. In some instances, the basis of property is derived from the basis of other parties - such as a donor or an estate.

Seasonal Adjustment
A statistical technique used to remove the effect of normal seasonal fluctuations in data so underlying trends become more evident. For example, the seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate smoothes out the changes in unemployment due to the typical seasonal hiring in the summer and layoffs in the winter for workers in industries such as agriculture and construction.

Fictitious Trading
Wash trading, bucketing, cross trading, or other schemes which give the appearance of trading. Actually, no bona fide, competitive trade has occurred.

Licensed Warehouse
A warehouse approved by exchange from which a commodity may be delivered on a futures contract.

Crush Spread
In the soybean futures market, the simultaneous purchase of soybean futures and the sale of soybean meal and soybean oil futures to establish a processing margin.

Omnibus Account
An account carried by one futures commission merchant with another futures commission merchant in which the transactions of two or more persons are combined and carried in the name of the originating broker rather than designated separately.

Austraclear
An Australian computerised settlement and safe custody system for bills of exchange and cash transactions. The Austraclear system is a real-time system which members access from their premises. Austraclear records trades and changes of ownership and removes the need for bills of exchange or cash to physically change hands.