Static theory of capital structure

Similar financial terms

Static options replication
A static options replication is a procedure for hedging a portfolio that involves finding another portfolio of approximately equal value on some boundrary.

Static hedge
A hedge that does not have to be changed once it is initiated.

Dow theory
A theory contending that a primary market trend - one that will last for a year or more - will follow the movements in at least two of the three Dow Jones Averages (industrial, transportation and utilities). The theory is based on the belief that trends follow movements set by the indexes.

Agency theory
The analysis of principal-agent relationships, wherein one person, an agent, acts on behalf of anther person, a principal.

Pure expectations theory
A theory that asserts that the forward rates exclusively represent the expected future rates. In other words, the entire term structure reflects the markets expectations of future short-term rates. For example, an increasing sloping term structure implies increasing short-term interest rates. Related: biased expectations theories

Preferred habitat theory
A biased expectations theory that believes the term structure reflects the expectation of the future path of interest rates as well as risk premium. However, the theory rejects the assertion that the risk premium must rise uniformly with maturity. Instead, to the extent that the demand for and supply of funds does not match for a given maturity range, some participants will shift to maturities showing the opposite imbalances. As long as such investors are compensated by an appropriate risk p ...

Normal backwardation theory
Holds that the futures price will be bid down to a level below the expected spot price.

Modern portfolio theory
Principles underlying the analysis and evaluation of rational portfolio choices based on risk-return trade-offs and efficient diversification.

Market segmentation or preferred habitat theory
A biased expectations theory that asserts that the shape of the yield curve is determined by the supply of and demand for securities within each maturity sector.

Local expectations theory
A form of the pure expectations theory which suggests that the returns on bonds of different maturities will be the same over a short-term investment horizon.

Liquidity theory of the term structure
A biased expectations theory that asserts that the implied forward rates will not be a pure estimate of the market's expectations of future interest rates because they embody a liquidity premium.

Shingle Theory
A suitability doctrine first introduced by the SEC in the 30's. The idea is that a broker who hangs out a shingle will represent his/her customers fairly and responsibly when making suggestions regarding securities.

Bubble theory
Security prices sometimes move wildly above their true values.

Capital stock
The value of an outstanding share of stock at the time it was issued

Capitalization
The combined sources of capital, consisting of dept capital (liabilities) and equity capital (capital stock and retained earnings).

Working capital ratio
Working capital expressed as a percentage of sales.

Working capital management
The management of current assets and current liabilities to maximize short-term liquidity.

Working capital
Defined as the difference in current assets and current liabilities (excluding short-term debt). Current assets may or may not include cash and cash equivalents, depending on the company.

Weighted average cost of capital
The weighted average cost of capital (WACC) is the expected return on a portfolio of all the firm's securities when debt, equity and tax shields are taken into account. Used as a hurdle rate for capital investment.

Venture capital
An investment in a start-up business that is perceived to have excellent growth prospects but does not have access to capital markets. Type of financing sought by early-stage companies seeking to grow rapidly.

Soft Capital Rationing
Capital rationing that under certain circumstances can be violated or even viewed as made up of targets rather than absolute constraints.

Real capital
Wealth that can be represented in financial terms, such as savings account balances, financial securities, and real estate.

Pro forma capital structure analysis
A method of analyzing the impact of alternative capital structure choices on a firm's credit statistics and reported financial results, especially to determine whether the firm will be able to use projected tax shield benefits fully.

Planned capital expenditure program
Capital expenditure program as outlined in the corporate financial plan.

Pie model of capital structure
A model of the debt/equity ratio of the firms, graphically depicted in slices of a pie that represent the value of the firm in the capital markets.

Personal tax view (of capital structure)
The argument that the difference in personal tax rates between income from debt and income from equity eliminates the disadvantage from the double taxation (corporate and personal) of income from equity.

Perfect market view (of capital structure)
Analysis of a firm's capital structure decision, which shows the irrelevance of capital structure in a perfect capital market.

Perfect capital market
A market in which there are never any arbitrage opportunities.

Pecking-order view (of capital structure)
The argument that external financing transaction costs, especially those associated with the problem of adverse selection, create a dynamic environment in which firms have a preference, or pecking-order of preferred sources of financing, when all else is equal. Internally generated funds are the most preferred, new debt is next, debt-equity hybrids are next, and new equity is the least preferred source.

Outstanding share capital
Issued share capital less the par value of shares that are held in the company's treasury.

Other capital
In the balance of payments, other capital is a residual category that groups all the capital transactions that have not been included in direct investment, portfolio investment, and reserves categories. It is divided into long-term capital and short-term capital and, because of its residual status, can differ from country to country. Generally speaking, other long-term capital includes most non-negotiable instruments of a year or more like bank loans and mortgages. Other short-term capital i ...

Opportunity cost of capital
Expected return that is foregone by investing in a project rather than in comparable financial securities.

Nondiversifiability of human capital
The difficulty of diversifying one's human capital (the unique capabilities and expertise of individuals) and employment effort.

Net working capital
Current assets minus current liabilities. Often simply referred to as working capital.

Market capitalization rate
Expected return on a security. The market-consensus estimate of the appropriate discount rate for a firm's cash flows.

Market capitalization
The total dollar value of all outstanding shares. Computed as shares times current market price. It is a measure of corporate size.

Long-term debt/capitalization
Indicator of financial leverage. Shows long-term debt as a proportion of the capital available. Determined by dividing long-term debt by the sum of long-term debt, preferred stock and common stockholder equity.

Legal capital
Value at which a company's shares are recorded in its books.

Capital
Money invested in a firm.

Capital account
Net result of public and private international investment and lending activities.

Capital allocation decision
Allocation of invested funds between risk-free assets versus the risky portfolio.

Capital budget
A firm's set of planned capital expenditures.

Capital budgeting
The process of choosing the firm's long-term capital assets.

Capital Builder Account (CBA)
A Merrill Lynch brokerage account that allows investors to access the loan value of his or her eligible securities to buy or sell securities. Excess cash in a CBA can be invested in a money market fund or an insured money market deposit account without losing access to the money.

Capital expenditures
Amount used during a particular period to acquire or improve long-term assets such as property, plant or equipment.

Capital flight
The transfer of capital abroad in response to fears of political risk.

Capital gain
When a stock is sold for a profit, it's the difference between the net sales price of securities and their net cost, or original basis. If a stock is sold below cost, the difference is a capital loss.

Capital gains yield
The price change portion of a stock's return.

Capital lease
A lease obligation that has to be capitalized on the balance sheet.

Capital loss
The difference between the net cost of a security and the net sale price, if that security is sold at a loss.

Capital market
The market for trading long-term debt instruments (those that mature in more than one year).

Capital market efficiency
Reflects the relative amount of wealth wasted in making transactions. An efficient capital market allows the transfer of assets with little wealth loss.

Capital market imperfections view
The view that issuing debt is generally valuable but that the firm's optimal choice of capital structure is a dynamic process that involves the other views of capital structure (net corporate/personal tax, agency cost, bankruptcy cost, and pecking order), which result from considerations of asymmetric information, asymmetric taxes, and transaction costs.

Capital market line (CML)
The line defined by every combination of the risk-free asset and the market portfolio.

Capital rationing
Placing one or more limits on the amount of new investment undertaken by a firm, either by using a higher cost of capital, or by setting a maximum on parts of, and/or the entirety of, the capital budget.

Capital structure
The makeup of the liabilities and stockholders' equity side of the balance sheet, especially the ratio of debt to equity and the mixture of short and long maturities.

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

Capitalization method
A method of constructing a replicating portfolio in which the manager purchases a number of the largest-capitalized names in the index stock in proportion to their capitalization.

Capitalization ratios
Also called financial leverage ratios, these ratios compare debt to total capitalization and thus reflect the extent to which a corporation is trading on its equity. Capitalization ratios can be interpreted only in the context of the stability of industry and company earnings and cash flow.

Capitalization table
A table showing the capitalization of a firm, which typically includes the amount of capital obtained from each source - long-term debt and common equity - and the respective capitalization ratios.

Capitalized
Recorded in asset accounts and then depreciated or amortized, as is appropriate for expenditures for items with useful lives greater than one year.

Capitalized interest
Interest that is not immediately expensed, but rather is considered as an asset and is then amortized through the income statement over time.

Complete capital market
A market in which there is a distinct marketable security for each and every possible outcome.

Cost of capital
The required return for a capital budgeting project.

Cost of limited partner capital
The discount rate that equates the after-tax inflows with outflows for capital raised from limited partners.

Authorised capital
The maximum amount of share capital that a public limited company or a private limited company can issue according to its articles of association. Part of the authorised capital can remain unissued.

Basel II (Basel Capital Accord)
Basel II - short for the new Basel Capital Accord - lays down new guidelines for determining the minimum solvency requirements for banks. The main change in these guidelines is a new system for weighting the risks run by banks in their loans to retail and corporate customers. The objective of Basel II is to improve the soundness of the financial system.

Capital coverage ratio
Available capital divided by required capital.

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.

Flight Capital
Money that flows offshore and likely never returns. Flight is exacerbated by a lack of confidence as government grows without bounds.

Risk Capital
Money put up by ordinary shareholders, an individual entrepreneur or venture capitalist that will be lost if the enterprise fails.

Volatility term structure
The volatility term structure is the variation of implied volatility with time to maturity.

Term structure of interest rates
The relationship between interest rates and their maturities.

Structured settlement
An agreement in settlement of a lawsuit involving specific payments made over a period of time. Property and casualty insurance companies often buy life insurance products to pay the costs of such settlements.

Structured portfolio strategy
A strategy in which a portfolio is designed to achieve the performance of some predetermined liabilities that must be paid out in the future.

Structured debt
Debt that has been customized for the buyer, often by incorporating unusual options.

Structured arbitrage transaction
A self-funding, self-hedged series of transactions that usually utilize mortgage securities as the primary assets.

Flat Organisational Structure
An organisation where there is less distance between the higher and lower levels within the hierarchy. This involves a shorter chain of command and usually, a wider span of control.