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Glossary of Financial Terms: M




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This article is from the Glossary of Financial Terms.

Glossary of Financial Terms: M

  • Management/closely held shares
    Percentage of shares held by persons closely related to a company, as defined by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Part of these percentages often is included in Institutional Holdings--making the combined total of these percentages over 100. There is overlap as institutions sometimes acquire enough stock to be considered by the SEC to be closely allied to the company.

  • Margin account (stocks)
    A leverageable account in which stocks can be purchased for a combination of cash and a loan. The loan in the margin account is collateralized by the stock and, if the value of the stock drops sufficiently, the owner will be asked to either put in more cash, or sell a portion of the stock. Margin rules are federally regulated, but margin requirements and interest may vary among broker/dealers.

  • Margin requirement (options)
    The amount of cash an uncovered (naked) option writer is required to deposit and maintain to cover his daily position valuation and reasonably foreseeable intra- day price changes.

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

  • Market cycle
    The period between the 2 latest highs or lows of the S&P 500, showing net performance of a fund through both an up and a down market. A market cycle is complete when the S&P is 15 % below the highest point or 15 % above the lowest point (ending a down market). The dates of the last market cycle are: 12/04/87 to 10/11/90 (low to low).

  • Market order
    An order to buy or sell a stock at the going price.

  • Minimum purchases
    For mutual funds, the amount required to open a new account (Minimum Initial Purchase) or to deposit into an existing account (Minimum Additional Purchase). These minima may be lowered for buyers participating in an automatic purchase plan

  • Money market fund
    A mutual fund that invests only in short term securities, such as bankers' acceptances, commercial paper, repurchase agreements and government bills. The net asset value per share is maintained at $1.00. Such funds are not federally insured, although the portfolio may consist of guaranteed securities and/or the fund may have private insurance protection.

  • Moving average
    Used in charts and technical analysis, the average of security or commodity prices constructed in a period as short as a few days or as long as several years and showing trends for the latest interval. As each new variable is included in calculating the average, the last variable of the series is deleted.

  • Mutual fund
    An open end investment company that pools investors' money to invest in a variety of stocks, bonds, or other securities. A mutual fund issues and redeems shares to meet demand, and the redemption value per share is the net asset value per share, less in some cases a redemption fee which represents a rear-end load. A closed end fund, often incorrectly called a mutual fund, is instead an investment trust. Both are investment companies regulated by the Investment Company Act of 1940.

 

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